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Sunday August 24, 2008; National Premier League Blackburn Rovers Ladies v. Chelsea Ladies Blackburn: D.Hill, J.Carroll, N.Brewer, N.Twohig, T.Byrne, K.Burke, L.Shepherd, N.Preston, C.Parry (E.McDougall 79), F.McCoy (L.Penny 62), K.Anderton. Chelsea: S.Chamberlain, C.Stoney, K.Davies, A.Asante, S.Perry, J.Smith, D.Buet, C.Rafferty (K.Owen 79), D.Susi (B.Chaplen 45), L.Sanderson, E.Aluko. After a comfortable home win over Liverpool Ladies in their opening fixture this promised to be the new, improved Chelsea's first real test as they travelled north to take on the normally competitive Blackburn Rovers Ladies. The game took its' time to get going. First there was the almost obligatory late kick off with proceedings only starting at ten past one, for no obvious reason, and the early stages were fragmented at best with a fussy referee continually delaying matters for a series of pointless lectures and the Blackburn forwards racing headlong into the Chelsea offside trap with reckless abandon. The first piece of composed play came from the Chelsea right back and captain Casey Stoney who sent Eni Aluko scampering forward to win a corner that was cleared with difficulty by the Blackburn defence. Over ten minutes had elapsed before Blackburn could put a move together and the architect was the burly forward Faye McCoy who showed nimble footwork tight to the right hand touchline before producing a perfectly weighted ball for Katie Anderton to chase. Anderton appeared to be away from Anita Asante who brought the forward down with an untidy challenge just outside the penalty area. The referee, who had spent the first ten minutes issuing warnings here, there and everywhere, typically failed to back up his words with actions and did nothing more than speak to Asante over her indiscretion. Blackburn were unable to inflict punishment of their own as Chantelle Parry's free kick flew way over the crossbar. The game was in danger of degenerating into a messy squabble as the referee irritated the home side with a series of debatable decisions in the visitors' favour which were still not enough to please several Chelsea players who were quick to put their opinions to the official on a regular basis. Chief malcontent was Lianne Sanderson whose persistent dialogue with the referee eventually brought a warning which did seem to be genuine and this seemed to do the trick. Sanderson immediately produced a moment of quality and the game began in earnest to become an exciting and entertaining spectacle. Sanderson, much more than an out and out goalscorer, showed her class with an instant turn away from her marker and a slide rule pass which had Claire Rafferty in behind the Rovers defence. Rafferty was not as decisive in shooting, however, which allowed Tammy Byrne to get back and block at the expense of a corner. With the game beginning to flow Blackburn looked to have escaped the offside trap for the first time as Parry broke from deeper onto a long ball over the top but once again the flag went up, seemingly against Anderton who was making no attempt to go for the ball in the middle. Despite the fact that Blackburn were continually caught in this Chelsea trap the offside tactic looked an extremely dangerous one to me. Chelsea were often holding their line almost on halfway giving Blackburn half a pitch in which to run. Anyone timing their run from midfield would have been straight through on goal and on other occasions teams will surely be able to exploit this opportunity. With such a strong back four I would prefer to simply let my defenders defend. The partnership of Sanderson and Eni Aluko was becoming more of a threat by the minute as the pair began to link up cleverly and Aluko was able to test Danielle Hill twice in quick succession with low efforts that the Blackburn keeper dealt with securely. Danielle Buet was also becoming more of a force in midfield as Chelsea began to really up the tempo and her first moment of real influence saw her set up Dunia Susi for a shooting chance and her low drive, through a defenders' legs, flashed just wide of the post with Hill rooted to the spot. The referee, deeming the ball to have clipped a Blackburn leg, awarded a debatable corner which was met by Stoney charging in but her powerful header also flashed marginally wide of the post. The visitors were in real control at this stage and the goal they were threatening duly arrived on the half hour mark. Chelsea were finding it too easy to get the ball into their strikers' feet and Blackburn were guilty again as a free kick, given for a foul on Rafferty, was rolled low into Sanderson deep inside the penalty area. There was immediate panic in the Blackburn defence and a spot of pinball ended with Aluko's low shot deflecting home with Hill stranded. Blackburn were struggling to stay in the game at this point and Sanderson was quickly causing trouble again as she got the wrong side of Nicky Twohig but, under pressure, she could only poke her shot straight at Hill. McCoy went for an ambitious chip from over forty yards out, a good idea with Siobhan Chamberlain well off her line, but the execution was lacking with the ball dropping well wide but Chelsea were soon threatening again after more intelligent link up play between Sanderson and Aluko ended with Sanderson sending in a fierce drive that was well tipped over by Hill. Blackburn enjoyed a better spell leading up to half time but Anderton was halted again by the offside flag, unjustly for the first time, when through on goal and then good approach play by Byrne and Lynda Shepherd had Natalie Preston in behind the Chelsea defence for a shot that was parried by Chamberlain with the loose ball being mopped up by Asante. Chelsea still had time to pose a threat of their own, however, and it needed a superb blocking challenge from Natalie Brewer to deny Sanderson right on the stroke of half time. Half Time: Blackburn Rovers Ladies 0 Chelsea Ladies 1 Chelsea made a change at half time with Brooke Chaplen replacing Susi who had taken a couple of knocks during the first half. Chaplen, who was lively throughout, was immediately into the action with a dangerous break down the right wing which she eventually spoiled by over hitting her centre. Four minutes into the second period, however, Blackburn were suddenly level with a team goal of real quality. Channy Parry started the move with a clever turn on the left wing and after a quick dart up the wing a one touch passing move involving McCoy and Anderton left Karen Burke clean through and she made no mistake with a low finish past Chamberlain. This setback inspired Chelsea to regain control and the visitors were soon pressing to restore their lead. Aluko seized on a weak clearance by Burke to send in a rocket from outside the box that Hill tipped over in spectacular fashion but the Blackburn keeper was powerless as Chelsea restored their lead just past the hour mark. Chaplen was the creator with a slick turn and precision pass for Sanderson who finished clinically in the one on one with Hill. The game began to open up with Blackburn trying to get players forward in search of another equaliser but it was generally Chelsea who looked the more likely to score. Sanderson wasted a good opportunity with a weak pass after Blackburn had created problems for themselves from their own throw in and there was real danger when Aluko skipped round Hill as the keeper came out to clear a through ball. Aluko shot from the narrow angle but Twohig was able to clear at full stretch under pressure from Sanderson at the far post. This led to a corner which was taken short to Stoney whose measured centre picked out Jess Smith but she could not keep her free header down. At the other end Katie Anderton managed one shot at goal but, under pressure from Kylie Davies, she was not able to get this on target. The home side were given fresh impetus by the introduction of Emma McDougall with just over ten minutes remaining. I remembered the pacy McDougall from last seasons' meeting between the two sides and the pocket dynamo was to have a similar impact here. McDougall was quickly embarrassing Sophie Perry with her extra pace and although her centre was overhit Karen Burke retrieved possession for a better cross that was met by Preston with a cushioned volley that was agonisingly too high. Lynda Shepherd was also unlucky with a glancing header from a left wing corner that flew untouched across the face of goal and then the referee made a bad decision when he penalised McDougall after Perry went down under a perfectly fair shoulder charge which had left the Blackburn player clear inside the penalty area. The fresh and extremely pacy McDougall had simply been too strong for the full back but this would be the last time Blackburn could exploit this advantage. The game was flashing from end to end as injury time arrived, despite Chelsea's attempts to wind the clock down, but Chamberlain calmed any Chelsea nerves with a commanding take from a Blackburn corner and the visitors remained a threat on the counter attack right up to the final seconds. Aluko unselfishly set up Chaplen but the substitute spoiled an impressive display with a wild finish before the game finished in a depressing manner as Danielle Hill collapsed in obvious agony after coming outside her area to meet the onrushing Sanderson. The referee stopped the game with Sanderson deciding whether or not to go for the empty net and then blew the final whistle as Hill began to receive treatment. We can only hope that this injury is not as serious as it looked at the time and that Hill, who had given an excellent performance, will be fit to continue for her new club. This sombre end should not deflect attention away from what had been a really good game of football. Chelsea have obviously been massively boosted by the arrival of Sanderson and Asante and looked much more of a team than at any stage last season. They look strong all over the pitch and also have good depth, Mary Phillip was an interesting substitute, and should be able to maintain a strong challenge this season. Blackburn have had the toughest possible start to the campaign with defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea but they should take plenty of encouragement from this display. I have seen quite a bit of Blackburn over the past few seasons and I would possibly rate this as the best performance I have seen them give. Their defence coped well with the imposing threat of Aluko and Sanderson, they competed well in midfield and Chantelle Parry was impressive in giving strong support and service to Anderton and McCoy. They should start picking points up very soon but they will obviously be concerned about the welfare of Danielle Hill who had offered Rovers the authority in goal they have lacked since losing Kay Hawke before the start of last season. Full Time: Blackburn Rovers Ladies 1 Chelsea Ladies 2 Star Player: Casey Stoney Stoney played much of last season at centre half for Chelsea and is now the resident left back in the England team but right back is her best position which she proved conclusively here with a display of real authority and quality.
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