Chelsea punish West Ham for misses to return to the WSL summit

Rehanne Skinner, the manager of West Ham, expressed her frustration with the substandard officiating in the Women's Super League. Her team was robbed of a fair first-half goal thanks to a mistaken offside decision. This blunder enabled Chelsea to secure a 2-0 victory. Skinner stated that the poor officiating was beginning to grate on her nerves.

Aggie Beever-Jones and Erin Cuthbert made West Ham pay for their missed opportunities in the attacking third as Chelsea reclaimed their spot at the top of the WSL standings over Manchester City. The away team didn't have an easy time and if Honoka Hayashi's goal had not been mistakenly ruled offside in the first 15 minutes, things could have been much more intense for Chelsea.

Honestly, it appears that when we obtained the goal, which was well over a meter past the offside line, it would have altered the outcome of the game if it had been approved. This was the viewpoint of Skinner.

To be frank, I am starting to feel quite frustrated. We have had opportunities during the match and it is important that we capitalize on them. However, the continued occurrence of these errors throughout the game is unacceptable. It has a destructive impact on our performance.

Emma Hayes was pleased to have Mayra Ramírez and Nathalie Björn back in the team, as they were considered healthy enough to be on the bench. She opted to make three modifications to the squad, after their triumphant 3-0 victory over Ajax the previous Tuesday.

Skinner noticed two alterations after her squad lost 3-1 to Liverpool in a recent game.

Chelsea had a goal to win their sixth game in March with two games left this month. They started well, but the reigning champions didn't have it easy. In the first few minutes, West Ham could have scored two goals, but they missed their chances. As a result, they ended up a goal behind at home. Chelsea have won 12 of the past 12 WSL games when they score first.

Riko Ueki delivered a ball and Viviane Asseyi almost scored with a header within a minute. However, her attempt missed the target. Unfortunately, the team was immediately punished when Chelsea passed the ball to Lauren James on the left, who then sent it back to Beever-Jones. Beever-Jones successfully executed a turn and scored.

After a promising beginning, West Ham suffered a disappointing setback and remained a threat, with Kirsty Smith meeting Jessica Ziu's cross. Nevertheless, the defender from Scotland, who was not being marked, missed her attempt from a short distance.

In the 14th minute, Hayashi scored a goal by hitting the ball into the net. She did this after receiving the ball from a teammate who had headed it towards her during a free-kick. However, the referee wrongly flagged offside even though Lawrence had played her on and she was in a good position to score.

Skinner expressed his dissatisfaction by stating that the current situation is unacceptable. He added that if he were to perform in such a manner in his occupation, he wouldn't be employed. This is a recurrent problem and apologies made after the match are not sufficient to alter the result.

The manager requested the implementation of VAR by saying, “There is a lot of talk about VAR currently... If it is the solution to achieve correct results, then we should go for it.”

In the end, the referees are not considered professionals in this sport and therefore they aren't able to fully concentrate solely on these games. As a result, I believe that this needs to be changed.

Shortly after, the home team suffered another setback as their influential midfielder, Katrina Gorry, had to leave the pitch due to an injury. Marika Bergman Lundin was sent in to replace her. Despite this, West Ham continued to pose a threat to their opponents. Ueki ran from the halfway line and managed to hit the crossbar, and Hayashi found Asseyi who unfortunately missed the target.

The challenge was significant, as the opposing team had not lost in their last 11 games against West Ham in the WSL since 2018. They had won 10 times and drawn once against their London rivals. However, West Ham put up a tough fight and didn't give in easily at Chigwell Construction stadium.

Hayes became aware of the danger presented by the Hammers' and decided to introduce Cuthbert and Catarina Macário. Shortly after, Ramírez and Fran Kirby were brought on, just over an hour into the game.

With just two minutes of regular time left, Chelsea scored a goal that gave them a more comfortable lead. Macário took a corner kick that Cuthbert controlled and swiftly kicked into the top part of the net.

Chelsea are still doing well in all four competitions and are currently ahead of Manchester City based on goal difference. Beever-Jones stressed that they do not take any opponent lightly. Although they scored two excellent goals, the overall performance level wasn't up to par.

At Chelsea, we have a high expectation to win every match and do so with excellent displays. We fell short of that mark today and didn't perform up to our usual standard. However, we have numerous games approaching quickly, so we must accept our performance and move on. Despite not meeting our expectations, we were still able to complete the task at hand.