Chelsea beat Charlton Athletic 4-0 at Kingsmeadow on Sunday to qualify for the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup, with Mayra Ramirez as player of the match.
It was a dominant performance by Sonia Bompastor’s side to win their first game after the winter break and to remain unbeaten for the 17th match in a row in all competitions.
It was also the first match for Lauren James after her injury in October, with the English forward playing for 45 minutes before getting subbed off.
The Blues struggled to score in the first half as the visitors defended well in the opening minutes with their goalkeeper, Jessica Gray, making some important saves.
Chelsea broke the deadlock on the 40th minute when Lucy Bronze made a cross from the right side and Ramirez headed the ball over the goalkeeper to give the lead to her team.
The home side were awarded a penalty after Ramirez was brought down in the box by Gracie Pearse. Guro Reiten converted the penalty into the bottom right corner sending Gray the wrong way to double Chelsea’s lead before half-time.
Three minutes into the second half, Chelsea scored a third goal with Ramirez involved again as the Colombian found substitute Aggie Beever-Jones who beat Gray to make it 3-0. It marked her 50th appearance for the club on the scoresheet.
Two more substitutes combined for Chelsea’s fourth and final goal as Sjoeke Nusken made a run on the right side of the box and found Niamh Charles on the other side to make it 4-0 for Chelsea on the 73rd minute.
“I have faith in my squad,” Bompastor said to The River in the post-match press conference. “When they come in (from the bench) and are able to make an impact in the game, it is good for them individually, for their confidence and also for the team.
“They showed me that I will have some headaches to make choices in the future which is the best for a manager.”
However, it was not all smiles for the Blues as in the final minutes of the game, Sophie O’Rourke pulled down Wieke Kaptein who seemed in back pain and was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.
O’Rourke received the only booking of the game for her bad challenge on Kaptein and Chelsea were forced to finish the match with 10 players as Bompastor had used all of her available substitutions.
“She will be assessed by the medical team tomorrow and we will have more information then,” Bompastor said.
Chelsea now focus on their away game with West Ham on January 19 in the Women’s Super League, while Charlton will face Durham away for the Women’s Championship on the same day.
Zara Ferreira Modeste
Balsam Maki
Dharmi Dave