Chelsea Ladies beat Manchester City Women to clinch their second FA Cup in the last three seasons. The Blues have now won four doubles since Emma Hayes took over as manager, and they will look to maintain that level of success at a time when many believe the club is on its way back up again.
Chelsea Women’s Football Club will be going for their third consecutive FA Cup trophy after a 3-0 victory over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. The Blues secured the win thanks to goals from Ji So-Yun, Fran Kirby and Jill Scott in an eventful game that saw both teams reduced to ten players due to red cards and injuries.
Emma Hayes leads Chelsea to yet more glory in 50th Women’s FA Cup final. The Blues won their second consecutive FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday.
Emma Hayes and Fran Kirby celebrate their FA Cup victory. Getty Images/John Walton/PA Images
LONDON, United Kingdom — Chelsea opened another chapter to their incredible dynasty of success with an easy win over Arsenal in the 50th Women’s FA Cup final on a day when pioneers were remembered and honored.
Chelsea triumphed 3-0 (see a replay on ESPN+ in the United States), but it might have been seven. And, when Magda Eriksson raised the trophy aloft in front of a crowd of 40,942 at Wembley, it was a reminder of how far the game has gone, a century after women were prohibited from playing football by the FA.
As this was a celebration of the present, the current generation and FA Cup winners are also cognizant of the past’s significance. Lesley Lloyd and Elsie Cook stepped out with the FA Cup before the teams came to the game, with Wembley already filled. They were the first captains of the women’s FA Cup, which was then known as the Mitre Challenge Trophy, in 1971. The players drove themselves to and from the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, where they sat and ate cheese and pickle sandwiches before kickoff, and despite Lloyd winning the cup after her Southampton team defeated Stewarton Thistle 4-1, the Cup has now vanished.
– Don’t have access to ESPN? Get immediate access
Cook and Lloyd embraced after putting this year’s award on the stand. The two 1971 captains took a moment to take in the impressive Wembley surroundings, the pyrotechnics being prepared, the players going through their pre-match routines as the stands filled with eager-eyed young fans and those with memories of the near-pre-professionalism past (the top flight Women’s Super League only went pro in 2016), as the stands filled with eager-eyed young fans and those with memories of the near-pre-professionalism past (the top flight Women’s Super They were a part of it as they stepped to the field in front of a rickety wooden stand and kicked off a 50-year history that has led to today.
But there was another occasion to commemorate: the banning of women from playing football in 1921, with the FA’s council declaring in its minutes that the sport was “unsuitable for girls and ought not to be fostered.” There was also concern that the women’s game was catching up to the men’s, considering that only a year before, on Boxing Day, 1920, 53,000 people paid to see Dick Kerr’s play versus St Helen’s Ladies at Goodison Park. The embargo was ultimately removed in 1971, and Chelsea put forth a memorable performance against Arsenal 50 years later.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes remarked, “This was for them because they may not have had those opportunity.” “They didn’t have the chance to perform in front of 40,000 people on national television; today is for them. Someone has already walked this route and made it accessible to us. We must honor the sacrifices that have been made.”
At Wembley, Chelsea won the FA Cup. Getty Images/Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC
While the 1920 attendance record for a women’s club match in the UK still stands, having so many fans at Wembley at a time when the country is bracing itself for increasingly strict COVID-19 protocols was testament not only to the work done to grow and market the women’s game, but also to the match in front of us, which featured Chelsea’s Sam Kerr and Vivienne Miedema, who finished third and fourth in the Ballon d’Or voting last week.
However, this game served as more proof of Hayes’ great job at Chelsea and the fantastic team he has constructed. This was the FA Cup final from previous season, which was postponed due to COVID-19, and Chelsea’s magnificent win completed a rare domestic treble.
“I genuinely believe we’re getting better,” Hayes remarked. “Winning, and the occasional setback, that experience counts for something – you can’t take it for granted, and we put it to good use today.”
Chelsea’s FA Cup victory came three years after their last success. Only three players, Magda Eriksson, Millie Bright, and Fran Kirby, started both the 2018 final and the 2021 edition to judge Hayes’ efforts in developing this squad. Since then, proven internationals Kerr and goalie Melanie Leupolz have been recruited to the squad, in addition to Hayes’ crop of young potential.
However, the constants from the last FA Cup win to Sunday’s were crucial in this stunning victory. Kirby was brilliant, scored the game’s first goal after only three minutes, taking advantage of defensive disarray to fire past Manuela Zinsberger of Arsenal. She would hit the crossbar twice more and was a persistent menace, well deserving of the Player of the Match award.
After the game, Hayes commented, “I believed it was Fran’s greatest game in a Chelsea jersey.” “Take care of her; she’s a national treasure.”
Sam Kerr, who scored two goals for Chelsea, was one of the team’s heroes. Getty Images/Tom Dulat – The FA/The FA
Eriksson and Bright did a fantastic job of neutralizing the danger posed by Miedema, who had a peaceful day. But it’s savvy transfer business in the signing of Kerr, Pernille Harder, and Leupolz, among others, plus Hayes’ insatiable quest for more silverware that have propelled this team forward from last year’s Champions League finalist.
Kerr was named Player of the Match for her two goals, the first of which was a well-directed shot beyond Zinsberger’s near post and the second of which was a brilliantly lofted chip. “Sam is the finest striker in the world,” Hayes said. “She’s fearless and full of confidence.” “She’s a fantastic athlete and a wonderful person.”
Kerr had just returned to London on Thursday after being on international duty with Australia in Sydney, and he had a restless night on Saturday, but he was brilliant in keeping Arsenal at bay as Chelsea produced opportunity after chance.
Arsenal, who were leading the WSL by two points, were outplayed by Hayes’ Chelsea, who countered Arsenal’s pressing tactics by drawing them wide and then playing through the half-spaces. This was a result of Hayes’ tactical adjustment after their Champions League final loss to Barcelona in May 2021, when he switched to a new 3-4-3 formation. But she altered it up again, going from 4-4-2 to a back five in the blink of an eye, as well as moving about with such ease that it can pull the opponents out of position and leave them clutching for air.
Hayes is one of the best coaches in the game, and she still pinches herself every morning when she sees the potential in this bunch. She downplayed the importance of the FA Cup final being the last leg of the Treble, partially owing to the odd blending of two seasons, but also because it is their current situation. They’re accustomed to competing for a variety of awards, and nothing but victory is acceptable.
“London is blue, and we were purring until the third girl came in,” Hayes added. “Winning a treble — a quadruple, adding the Community Shield — is the greatest accomplishment [I’ve had at Chelsea].”
“Women’s football is having a fantastic day. We were talking about the Dick, Kerr’s Ladies a century ago, and now we’re talking about Chelsea ladies. We should be, too. I’m going to enjoy it tonight. Are we England’s most dominating team? Yes. I was under the impression that we were a machine. We were purring.”
While this triumph adds to Chelsea’s already bulging trophy cabinet, it was also a celebration of the game’s origins and the women who helped make a match like Sunday’s possible, as well as an endorsement of this great squad headed by the magnificent Hayes.
Watch This Video-
Related Tags
- fa cup final
- fa cup winners
- efl cup final
