Takeaways as Chelsea Women advance to Conti Cup semifinals

To begin their quest to reclaim the Conti Cup, Emma Hayes and the Blues took down London rivals Tottenham in a relatively routine 90 minutes that finished with a scoreline that read 3-1. Both teams were coming off weekend fixtures in the WSL that had been postponed due to frozen pitches. That combined with the inclement weather in east London, and lousy pitch conditions resulted in an extremely slow start from both sides.

Overall, it was clear both teams have not played a match for quite some time, but at the end of the day, the Blues were a far too dominant side for a team in the bottom half of the WSL. Hayes made just one change from the lineup that was put out against Liverpool, sliding in Lauren James in the attack on the right flank to replace Niamh Charles in the backline.

CFC kept the pressure on toward the end of the first half and were rewarded with Sam Kerr redirecting Cuthbert’s cross into the back of the net. Two second-half goals sparked by the introduction of Fran Kirby closed the book on Tottenham’s Conti Cup chances, placing the Blues in the friendly semi-final where they will take on West Ham United at the beginning of February.

With Spurs playing five in the back, CFC was forced to adjust, resulting in a dominant second-half display that should have accounted for more than just two goals. Behind the constant activity from Cuthbert in the middle of the park and James’ willingness to attack backlines vertically, CFC proved once again to be too much for their northern rivals advancing to the Conti Cup semifinals for the sixth consecutive campaign. From a windy night at Brisbane Road, here are the takeaways from the Blues’ second straight victory this season over a regressing Spurs’ side: