Chelsea Ladies win Women’s FA Cup

Chelsea Ladies 1-1 Notts County Ladies

Ji So-Yun scored the winner as Chelsea Ladies triumphed at Wembley to win the Women’s FA Cup.

The South Korea international netted eight minutes before half-time after being set up by the outstanding Eniola Aluko.

A crowd of 30,710 – the largest UK attendance for a domestic women’s match – saw Chelsea, beaten on penalties by Birmingham in the 2012 final and pipped to the Women’s Super League title on the final day of last season, win their first major trophy.

After a cagey start, the game suddenly swung towards them during a first-half spell in which Aluko terrorised the Notts County defence.

First she raced on to Gemma Davison’s through ball and rounded Carly Telford but was unable to find the target from a tricky angle.

Then Aluko brought a save from Telford with a strike from near the edge of the penalty area which the England keeper did well to palm away.

Aluko then crossed from the left for Davison, who missed a great chance when she was unable to finish at the far post.

Notts’ luck ran out when Aluko again raced towards the edge of the box and this time found Ji, who bundled the ball past Telford before tapping into an empty net.

And Davison atoned for her earlier miss by denying Notts an equaliser just after the hour mark when she cleared Leanne Crichton’s header off the line.

Chelsea were otherwise fairly comfortable and Eluko had an effort saved by Telford before Gilly Flaherty blazed over the Notts bar from close range.

Substitute Fiona O’Sullivan did have a late chance to equalise but her weak header drifted wide.

Chelsea Ladies:  Lindahl; Blundell, Flaherty, Fahey, C Rafferty; Chapman, Bright, Spence; Davison, Ji So-Yun (Coombs 90), Aluko (Borges 81).
Subs not used: Hourihan, Coombs, Brett, Banusic.

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