Kirby’s goal gives Chelsea WSL victory at Birmingham
Fran Kirby’s early goal gave Chelsea a 1-0 win away to Birmingham City in the Women’s Super League.
Kirby headed home after just eight minutes and while the hosts battled admirably they were unable to restore parity as their disappointing start to the season continued.
The reigning champions were dominant from the start and went ahead within just ten minutes, Kirby heading in from Erin Cuthbert’s free-kick.
Birmingham settled into the game after that early blow, however. They saw little of the ball but kept their shape when out of possession and restricted Chelsea to few chances.
Having put nine past Bristol City before the international break, Chelsea were given a much sterner test this afternoon.
It wasn’t until five minutes before half time that Chelsea threatened again. A cross from the left was headed out towards the edge of the box where the waiting Guro Reiten struck the bar with a thumping half-volley.
The second half followed the same pattern, with the visitors in control but being held at bay by a determined and well-organised Birmingham team.
Sophie Ingle’s shot from distance flew past the post and Kirby stung Hannah Hampton’s palms as the hosts continued to stand firm.
In response, Emma Hayes made an ambitious triple substitution, bringing on Ji So-Yun, Sam Kerr and Niamh Charles.
The tempo increased following the changes and Beth England soon had the ball in the net only for it to be ruled out for offside.
Chelsea came close to adding a second goal after Hampton fumbled a shot, but Harriet Scott got back to scramble the ball off the line under pressure from England.
Birmingham could even have grabbed a late equaliser against the run of play as Scott worked the angle for a cross, but Claudia Walker’s header drifted just wide.
Hampton was forced into a couple more saves from England who was unable to get on the scoresheet and in the end, Chelsea had to settle with a single goal.
Kirby said: “We always knew it was going to be a difficult game. We’ve watched them and they defend really well, especially inside their box.
“We had to try to come up with something different. Obviously scoring from a set piece is always nice because we work on them a lot. They were really defensively solid and we struggled to break them down, but ultimately we’re happy to get the win, get the clean sheet and the three points.
“We always want to be creating chances and scoring more goals, but the most important thing is getting the three points.
“If we score one goal and get the three points, it’s still a positive and we need to see it as a positive. We got the clean sheet and the three points, which is the most important thing at the end of the day. Ultimately we’re happy with the three points regardless of whether it’s 1-0, 5-0 or 9-0. We have to get the three points and that’s what we did.
“I haven’t scored many headers in my career. I thought I’d just try and be a bit of a nuisance in the box, maybe get there for a second phase after someone wins it but luckily for me the ball just kind of landed on my head and I was able to put it in the goal.
“I’m really happy with that. It’s nice to change up your scoring sometimes and I’ll add that to my tally of headed goals.”
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