Chelsea Women beaten in FA Cup by Everton

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Chelsea Women’s FA Cup hopes ended at the quarter-final stage as the Women’s Super League champions suffered a shock defeat against Everton despite taking the lead.

Everton came from a goal down to win thanks to goals from Lucy Graham but Valerie Gauvin, but they hardly touched the ball in the first five minutes, a period that ended with an Erin Cuthbert strike giving Chelsea the lead from Pernille Harder’s cross.


Cuthbert was first to react, turning and firing the ball into the bottom corner.

Minutes later keeper Sandy MacIver saved well from Ji So-yun’s shot on the angle and Lucy Graham cleared off the line from a close-range Harder effort. Chelsea had six shots on goal in the first 10 minutes and were rampant.

But Everton fought their way back into the game and got their reward when Ingrid Moe-Wold crossed for captain Graham to direct her diving header into the back of the net.

Then, just before half-time Hayley Raso ran on to a ball over the top. She rounded Chelsea keeper Ann-Katrin Berger but had her goalbound effort cleared off the line by a sprawling Jess Carter.

After the break Fran Kirby found herself one-on-one with MacIver but the Everton stopper did well and deflected her low shot out for a corner.

But it was the home side who made it a brace of diving headers on the hour. This time it was substitute Gauvin bravely diving to head in a Raso’s inch perfect cross and that was enough to send the Merseysiders to the semi-finals.

To follow the action and sign up for The FA Player’s live Barclays FA Women’s Super League coverage visit womenscompetitions.thefa.com