Everton Women are still without a point at home this season following a 3-0 defeat to reigning WSL Champions, Chelsea.
Despite the defeat, it was a positive performance from the Blues who fought until the final whistle in an attempt to reignite the faith from fans following a heavy midweek defeat in the League Cup.
Brian Sørensen made 7 changes to the side that lost away at Manchester United. The Holmgaard twins were both handed starts, Martina Piemonte was back in the side as well as captain, Megan Finnigan.
The Toffee’s started the game well and forced an early save from Chelsea goalkeeper, Ann-Katrin Berger. The Chelsea custodian did a good job of blocking a strong shot from Ireland international Heather Payne, one of the seven players who was back in the starting lineup.
However, Chelsea took the lead in the 14th minute. Sam Kerr’s header was not cleared effectively by Everton, and Jessie Fleming pounced on the opportunity giving Chelsea an early lead with a deft volley past Courtney Brosnan.
Both teams continued to create chances, and around the thirty-minute mark, Berger produced another stop, this time from Justine Vanhaevermaet’s first-time attempt after some excellent work by Heather Payne.
Just a mere few minutes later, Martina Piemonte dispossessed the experienced Chelsea Defender, Millie Bright, however Ann-Katrin Berger blocked her shot preventing the Toffee’s from equalising.
Shortly before halftime, Vanhaevermaet believed she had levelled and was once again in the thick of the action. Martina Piemonte masterfully held up play before setting Heather Payne up on the right. Sara Holmgaard met the ball played by the Ireland international, forcing a fantastic save from Berger. However, the German parried right into Vanhaevermaet’s path, and her finish was disallowed for offside.
In the second half, Chelsea took charge and demonstrated their class and proved exactly why they are reigning WSL Champions. And unlike Everton, their pressure paid off when Sam Kerr doubled their advantage after 62 minutes.
It became a 3-0 defeat in the dying minutes of the game, Aggie Beever-Jones (who spent last season on loan gaining WSL experience at Everton) sent the ball into the top right hand corner of the net to give Emma Hayes’ team the win.
Everton Women are back in action on Sunday the 19th of November when they face bottom of the table Bristol City at Walton Hall Park. A must win game for the Blue’s, kick off is at 1pm.
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