45,243 watched the Womens Cup Final
Bachmann in overdrive for Chelsea Ladies
Arsenal 1 : 3 Chelsea
Steve Clare, Wembley Stadium
Two splendid goals from Swiss striker Ramona Bachmann prevented Arsenal from recording their record 15th FA Cup win in front of a record 45,243 fans at Wembley Stadium. Her brace allowed Chelsea to beat London rivals Arsenal 3-1 to lift the coveted trophy with later goals from Chelsea’s Fran Kirby and Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema not affecting the outcome in an unforgettable second half.
Chelsea Ladies Manager Emma Hayes said:
“This is more enjoyable than the first time round because that was such a dominant performance from my team today. I thought we controlled it from the first whistle.
“We created chances we looked like a team building up chances for a period. The goals came at the perfect time, but the quality of the goals showed the difference between the two sides. And, that’s what happens when you have good leaders and good experience on the biggest occasion.”
Yet it all looked so unlikely after a goalless first half. Arsenal dominated the opening 15 minutes at a frenetic pace before the Blues started to gain superiority. However the last eight minutes of the first period were somewhat dull and far from a harbinger of the excitement to come.
Two minutes after the interval, Chelsea’s delight began when Bachmann nipped lightfootedly between Louise Quinn and Emma Mitchell to rifle in Chelsea’s opener. She doubled her side’s lead just after the hour when a shot deflected off the unfortunate Quinn and over Sari van Veenendaal in the Arsenal goal.
Chelsea hadn’t conceded a goal in this year’s competition in four games going into the final, having scored 21. That record lasted until the 73rd minute when Beth Mead’s trickery brought Arsenal back into the game. On the left Mead she created a wonderful moment but easy finish for Miedema to bring Arsenal back to 2-1. Their joy was short lived.
Four minutes later Kirby who was excellent all round on the day, curled a left footer beyond Van Veenendaal to restore Chelsea’s two goal advantage.
A disappointed Gunners manager Joe Montemurro said:
“Chelsea are powerful team. Structurally we didn’t set the line up high enough today. I’m very proud of my team but we still have come a long way. We have found some rhythm that is synonymous with Arsenal. I’ll take nothing away from the players. There is still some work to do as a collective. We need to be more patient in the build up and play smarter.”
Chelsea are still in with a chance of winning the League and Cup double following their midweek exit from the Champions League at the hands of Wolfsburg.
