Chelsea and Liverpool are becoming sick of the sight of each other. Last weekend’s dull goalless draw between the men at Anfield was followed, the next day, by a clash between Chelsea and Liverpool’s women teams at Kingsmeadow.
Only nothing happened there either. The ref decided, six minutes into the league encounter, that the pitch was too frozen to be safe, and called the whole thing off.
So what do we have looming this weekend? You’ve guessed it. Chelsea Women v Liverpool Women at Kingsmeadow. Again. This time it’s the FA Cup, and the staff at what was once the Norbiton sports ground are confident that slightly milder weather means the pitch will be playable this time.
Actually, it’s Liverpool I feel sorriest for. At least the Blues travelling army at Anfield had something to watch, including the second-half debut of new young talent Mykhailo Mudryk.
But the fans, team and entourage who made the chilly early-morning journey to London from Liverpool last week only had six bitterly cold minutes of ‘entertainment’ to enjoy. And they have to do it all again this weekend.
The Women’s Super League winter break fell across Christmas and New Year, when the weather would have allowed games to be played. Now that the mid-season interval is over, the weather isn’t playing ball.
Both Graham Potter and Emma Hayes, Chelsea’s men’s and women’s coaches, are taking positives from the weekend’s events, even if Hayes’ frustration was clear at the end of the abandoned match as she apologised to frozen fans.
Potter said after his game: "I thought the performance was good, and I’m happy with the team, the energy, what we tried to do. Anfield is always tough. It is a clean sheet and a point, we move forward.”
Mudryk’s start was positive, with one shot into the side netting, and a couple of other half-chances. “We had to manage his minutes, but you can see his quality,” he said.
Now it’s the quality of the weather that will determine the short-term future.
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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