Chelsea breezed past West Ham in the Subway Women’s League Cup semi-final on Wednesday night. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s powerful strike and Sjoeke Nüsken’s tidy finish proved to be the difference between the sides.
For the first time in women’s football history, Chelsea have reached the final of the competition for six consecutive seasons, last winning the trophy in 2021 after hitting Bristol City for six at Vicarage Road.
The 2024/25 final is due to be played at the Pride Park Stadium, the home of Derby County – and Chelsea will discover who their opponents will be after tomorrow’s fixture between Manchester City and the current holders, Arsenal.
As it happened
Sonia Bompastor’s team were in full control of the game from the first minute, spreading the ball across the pitch and each pass reached a blue shirt with ease. The visitors would need some magic to beat this Chelsea side.
The Blues were comfortable and It was just a matter of when for Chelsea – the answer would be the 20th minute, as Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s effort was full of pace and direction which enabled her strike to beat Kinga Szemik and break the deadlock.
Chelsea doubled their lead just nine minutes later through German international Sjoeke Nüsken, who got her sixth goal of the campaign after she was played in by Guro Reiten. The forward skipped past Szemik and tapped the ball into an unguarded net.
The hosts were relentless and despite the Hammers having a flurry of possession towards the end of the first-half, they failed to create any clear-cut chances to reduce the deficit – their best opportunity to halve the gap saw a Viviane Asseyi set-piece reflected off the woodwork.
After play had resumed for the second period, the Hammers grew into the game and attempted to find a route back in the game.
Mayra Ramírez and Maika Hamano should have given the hosts a cushion and extended their lead, but both fantastic chances were sent far and wide of the target.
It took the Hammers 76 minutes to register their first shot on target as Kirsty Smith advanced inside the area but her strike failed to inspire any hope of a comeback when Hannah Hampton caught her effort.
Chelsea will now turn their attention to another cup competition, as they are set to face Everton in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup. Meanwhile, West Ham’s next game sees them host Brighton & Hove Albion one week later, on February 16th.
The lineups
CHE: Hampton, Lawrence, Bright, Bjorn, Charles, Walsh, Nusken, Rytting Kaneryd, Hamano, Reiten, Ramirez
WHU: Szemik; Smith, Siren, Ueki, Nystrom, Zadorsky, Martinez, Asseyi, Gorry, Mengwen, Hanshaw