Albion beaten but scare the leaders

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Chelsea 4 Albion 2: Goals from Jelena Cankovic and Kiko Seike give the champions a scare.

2024-12-08T16:45+00:00

Guro Bergsvand challenges Nathalie Bjorn in the air. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

Albion failed to prevent Chelsea from maintaining their 100% record in the WSL but they gave a very good account of themselves at Kingsmeadow and were unfortunate not to take a point.

On an afternoon when high pressing brought mistakes and goals by both sides, Albion trailed 2-0 and 3-1 but got themselves back into the game through goals by former Chelsea player Jelena Cancovic and Kiko Seike.

Seike was denied an equaliser by Chelsea keeper Hannah Hampton near the end of a frenetic game and instead the hosts scored a decisive fourth in stoppage time.

Albion were without seven players because of injury with Fran Kirby, Madison Haley and Maisie Symonds the latest additions to the casualty list leaving head coach Dario Vidosic with fewer resources than usual and five under-19s on the bench.

Nikita Parris leads the celebrations with Jelena Cancovic (No10) after her first-half goal. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

But they acquitted themselves well in difficult conditions as driving rain swept across the Kingsmeadow pitch and should have gone in front after nine minutes. Nikita Parris won the ball off a defender and although Hannah Hampton parried her shot it went straight to Cancovic whose effort was cleared off the line.

In the 20th minute Parris fired over in space 15 yards out when a better option might have been a pass to the unmarked Pauline Bremer to her left.

Chelsea stirred themselves and began to play like champions, and Vicky Losada was in the right place to deflect a shot from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd wide after she had deflected Aggie Beever-Jones' cross towards goal.

But Albion had another opportunity on 30 minutes when Jorelyn Carabali met Marisa Olislagers’ inswinging corner but her free header was cleared off the line.

Poppy Pattinson challenges Johanna Rytting Kaneryd. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

The visitors were punished for their profligacy five minutes later. Cancovic was caught in possession when Albion tried to play out and Sjoeke Nusken’s shot from close range went in despite Guro Bergsvand’s efforts to hook it off the line.

Albion were caught again when Chelsea doubled their lead in the 40th minute. This time keeper Sophie Baggaley was dispossessed trying to play out and Beever-Jones had the simple task of prodding the ball into the empty net.

But the visitors responded by pulling one back just before the break. Again Parris did well, holding off two defenders and squaring to Cancovic who made no mistake.

Albion were denied an equaliser early in the second half when Hampton gave the ball away but made amends with a fine save to deny Seike.

Kiko Seike makes it 3-2 in the second half. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

The value of that was emphasised when Chelsea made it 3-1 after 51 minutes. Baggaley did brilliantly to deny Lucy Bronze but the ball deflected off Kaneryd and into the net.

Albion kept plugging away. Parris, whose movement and control kept Chelsea on their toes throughout, again went close before they profited from another error by the hosts playing out from the back. Substitute Michelle Agyemang stole in after Hampton’s clearance hit her and teed up Seike for a simple finish to make it 3-2 with 19 minutes to go.

Nikita Parris is denied by Hannah Hampson in the first half. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

Mayra Ramirez’s header took a deflection off a defender and onto the post as the hosts sought to put the game to bed but they needed England international Hampton to be at her best with a fine save when Seike got through on goal after being sent clear by Agyemang with five minutes to go.

That was Albion’s chance to claim a point and Chelsea made the game safe in stoppage time when Nusken bundled home her second following a corner.