I’m a stickler for not getting too far ahead – looking at tables is a total waste of time. So said Emma Hayes last week before her Chelsea side defeated Spurs 2-1, then travelled to Birmingham three days later to scrape a 1-0 win.
Everything now hinges on the last day of the WSL season on Sunday when Manchester United – harbouring European dreams of their own – visit Kingsmeadow.
Arsenal have been gaining strength and confidence just as Chelsea’s seems to be ebbing away.
That became obvious during the exhausting match against Birmingham, played in a monsoon, when only a penalty (scored by Pernille Harder) separated the teams.
Despite having the dream strike force up front of Sam Kerr, Beth England and Harder, Chelsea simply couldn’t score in open play.
Frankly, the end of the season can’t come soon enough. Although the Blues still have their Wembley FA Cup final date to look forward, the players just look bushed.
No amount of urging or substituting by Hayes could revive the team on Sunday as they slushed through alarming puddles in the Midlands before the relief of the ref’s final whistle.
Now, at least, there’s a week to recover, regroup and prepare for what’s expected to be a sell-out crowd at Kingsmeadow for the visit of United.
With all the turmoil at Stamford Bridge over the last two months, and the club’s ownership (and the future of the women’s team) up in the air, everyone’s just dreaming of the beach.
“The team need to remain humble,” insists Hayes. “Getting over the line requires detail and diligence, and I have to enforce that as much as possible.”
With Ji So-Yun returning to South Korea and Jonna Andersson going back to Scandinavia in the summer, the next Chelsea Women’s team will have a very different look.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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