Chelsea thrash Durham to reach League Cup semi-finals

Chelsea beat Durham 5-0 at Kingsmeadow on Wednesday to qualify for the semi-finals of the Women’s League Cup, proving too strong for their opponents in the second half.

The Blues struggled in the first half against Durham’s tight defence, but got the job done after the break with a flurry of four goals in 16 minutes.

Sonia Bompastor’s side took the lead in the 21st minute after Aggie Beever-Jones scored a header following a deflected cross to make it 1-0.

However, the visitors defended well for the rest half and did not allow any space for Chelsea to find a second goal.

Oriane Jean-Francois made it two for Chelsea with a powerful shot on the edge of the box after 62 minutes.

The Blues then ruthlessly netted three times in four minutes to finish off their opponents.

First, substitute Erin Cuthbert’s header went in off the post, and two minutes later Guro Reiten, who stood in as captain on the night, finished from close range after Durham’s substitute goalkeeper, Rylee Foster, gave the ball away.

Maika Hamano scored Chelsea’s fifth and final goal after catching Foster off her line.

“Really pleased with the performance and the result and the fact that we were able to get five goals from different players,” Bompastor said to The River after the game. “It makes it more difficult for the opposition to guess how to defend.”

The visitors only had 16 players available on Wednesday and could not prevent the heavy defeat by the Blues, who are now unbeaten in 19 matches across all competitions.

Chelsea will play West Ham in the semi-finals while Arsenal and Manchester City will also compete for a place in the final.

Chelsea now switch their focus to Sunday’s London derby clash with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the Women’s Super League.

More than 30,000 fans are expected to attend.

“It will be a great atmosphere,” Bompastor said. “But when you think about it, this game will be about three points, no more than that, same as the other games.”

Meanwhile, Durham will host Southampton on the same day in the Women’s Championship, the second tier of women’s English football.