MAYRA RAMIREZ gave Chelsea lift off in their quadruple trophy chase with Manchester City consigned to League Cup heartbreak on Saturday.
A devastating own-goal for Yui Hasegawa saw City’s fightback crumble with the Blues taking first blood in the two sides first of four showdown clashes.
GettyChelsea beat Man City in the League Cup final in Derby[/caption]
PAChelsea took the first step towards their quadruple dream[/caption]
ReutersMayra Ramirez set Chelsea on their way to winning the League Cup[/caption]
PAIt was the Blues first trophy under manager Sonia Bompastor and ends a run of three final defeats on the bounce[/caption]
GettyThe return of Nick Cushing to Man City could not prevent the Blues winning the game[/caption]
After Chelsea‘s win today, the two sides play each other again on Wednesday for the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final tie before they play in the WSL next weekend and then the second leg of their European clash four days later.
Ramirez’s close-range finish, courtesy of Lauren James’ class assist, helped the London giants end a run of three straight League Cup final losses in a row.
The clash played in front of a Pride Park crowd of 14,187 – far smaller than the record 21,000-strong crowd at last year’s decider – saw the WSL leaders lift their first trophy under Sonia Bompastor.
It also dealt a fresh blow to City’s hopes of winning silverware this season, five days after their shock sacking of Gareth Taylor.
Chelsea came under significant pressure early on from a Man City side playing in their first final and first game since Taylor’s departure.
The Cityzens, who are currently off the pace in this term’s title race were hoping for a new manager bounce following the return of Nick Cushing.
The Chester-born head coach was the first and last person to guide the WSL giants to a top-flight title.
However, with City currently 12 points off the league leading opponents the chances of winning that prize look very slim.
But one of their best hopes of a trophy this term came today.
For periods of the first half they had Chelsea under the cosh, dominating possession.
But for all their retention of the ball City found themselves behind when Ramirez broke the deadlock early on.
A Man City corner swiftly turned into a Chelsea counter with James’ deft through ball finding Ramirez who fired home after keeper Ayaka Yamashita’s initial save.
Last ditch defending from the Blues kept City at bay as they cranked up the pressure.
This included winger Sandy Baltimore charging the ball down after Khadija Shaw’s attempted first-half shot.
And skipper Millie Bright was among the other aces throwing their bodies in the way of shots and crosses, with the defender spotted stuffing tissue up a bloody nose.
But City were eventually rewarded for their efforts with Aoba Fujino firing in their leveller in the 64th minute after Shaw distracted Chelsea’s backline.
But in a cruel twist of fate their fight back was thwarted after Hasegawa’s attempted hooked clearance dropped into the net behind keeper Yamashita.
The City midfielder and her team-mates will hope for better fortunes when the two sides meet on Wednesday in the Champions League quarters first leg.
GettyMillie Bright put in a Player of the Match performance at Pride Park[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
