{"id":294707,"date":"2023-10-02T21:26:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T21:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=294707"},"modified":"2023-10-02T21:26:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T21:26:07","slug":"the-notebook-chelsea-prove-they-dont-need-sam-kerr-to-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/the-notebook-chelsea-prove-they-dont-need-sam-kerr-to-win\/","title":{"rendered":"THE NOTEBOOK: Chelsea prove they don&apos;t need Sam Kerr to win"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>THE NOTEBOOK: There&#8217;s no Kirby-ing Fran\u2019s enthusiasm, Chelsea prove they don&#8217;t need Sam Kerr to win and VARcical scenes in the WSL as Emma Hayes&#8217; side defeat Tottenham 2-1<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Women&#8217;s Super League kicked off again for the new season this weekend\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Chelsea beat Spurs 2-1 at Stamford Bridge with Mia Fishel opening the scoring<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Lauren James scored the second half but Martha Thomas got one back late on\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Chelsea and Tottenham kicked off their WSL season at Stamford Bridge with Emma Hayes\u2019s Blues finally breaking their first game of the season curse that has seen them fail to win on the opening day in the last four years.<\/p>\n<p>Goals from newcomer Mia Fishel in the first half and Lauren James in the second put Chelsea 2-0 ahead, before a goal from Spurs\u2019 Martha Thomas in the 76th minute briefly threatened to rain on Chelsea\u2019s parade.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The result sees the reigning WSL champions get their new season off to a great start however they&#8217;ll take on Man City in a huge clash next weekend, while Tottenham face Bristol City on Sunday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the Blues ended up holding out in front of a raucous crowd at the Bridge in the opening round of the 2023-24 campaign and Tara Anson-Walsh was on the ground to bring you the clash from a different perspective.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/02\/17\/76078237-0-image-a-54_1696262753569.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Mia Fishel scored to help Chelsea claim a 2-1 victory against Tottenham on Sunday\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/02\/17\/76077927-0-image-a-52_1696262620650.jpg\" height=\"444\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fran Kirby&#8217;s side got their Women&#8217;s Super League season off to\u00a0 flying start, with the Chelsea No 14 coming off the bench to a standing ovation at Stamford Bridge\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/02\/17\/76078367-0-image-a-60_1696263175053.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Lauren James doubled the home side&#8217;s lead after half time before Spurs scored late on<\/p>\n<h2>No Kerr, no problem<\/h2>\n<p>Chelsea and star Sam Kerr wasn\u2019t included in today\u2019s squad but that didn\u2019t stop the home team from kick-starting their season with two goals.<\/p>\n<p>It makes you wonder just how the dangerous the Blues will be when their Australian striker, who scored 29 times in all competitions last season and helped guide Australia to a historic World Cup semi-final, returns.<\/p>\n<h2>Good day for the debutants<\/h2>\n<p>It was a good day for the new arrivals on show as they produced two of the three goals. The first came from 22-year-old Mia Fishel, a childhood Chelsea fan who joined the Blues from Mexican side Tigres this summer. A neat cross from Niamh Charles was headed in by Fishel in the 28th minute.<\/p>\n<p>Spurs newcomer Martha Thomas had some big boots to fill with Lionesses forward Bethany England out injured, but the Scot, who joined from Manchester United, looked a threat throughout the game. She sealed the deal by pouncing on a fumble by Chelsea goalkeeper Zecira Musovic to set up a nervous finish at the Bridge.<\/p>\n<h2>No Kirby-ing Fran\u2019s enthusiasm<\/h2>\n<p>Euros winner and Chelsea mainstay Fran Kirby received an excellent ovation today when she made her much-anticipated return on Sunday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The crowd erupted when it was announced that Chelsea\u2019s number 14 was coming off the bench shortly after half-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It marked her first minutes in a Blues shirt since she was forced off with a knee injury in the Continental Cup semi-final win over West Ham on February 9.<\/p>\n<h2>Ange-ball is spreading<\/h2>\n<p>New manager Tottenham boss Robert Vilahamn spoke before the match about how he and Ange Postecoglou share similar visions for their style of play.<\/p>\n<p>And while Tottenham couldn\u2019t manage to get one over London rivals Chelsea today, it\u2019s clear that they are playing a more direct style of football. Spurs went toe-to-toe with Chelsea, registering 11 shots on target compared to the hosts\u2019s 12.<\/p>\n<h2>VARcical scenes in the WSL\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>VAR has dominated the headlines this weekend for all the wrong reasons, but Chelsea boss Emma Hayes labelled the absence of it here as \u2018madness\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There were a couple of moments here where the technology could have quickly cleared up. The first came when a header from Guro Reiten was swept away by Spurs goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer right on the line.<\/p>\n<p>The goal wasn\u2019t given by referee Tom Kirk and with no goalline technology in operation, the no-goal decision stood. Thankfully for Hayes and Chelsea, moments later Lauren James did double their lead.<\/p>\n<p>Hayes said: \u2018I said to the fourth official \u201cI bet you\u2019re grateful that [James goal] went in\u201d because the whole stadium could see that [Reiten\u2019s header] had crossed the line. I don\u2019t think there should be any excuses, we\u2019ve got the technology, I don\u2019t know why we aren\u2019t using it.\u2019<\/p>\n<h2>Fitting tribute to Cusack<\/h2>\n<p>Tributes were paid to Maddy Cusack this weekend with every WSL match taking a minute\u2019s silence to pay their respects to the Sheffield United player who tragically passed away in September.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/02\/19\/76077933-12585309-Emma_Hayes_side_got_back_to_winning_ways_after_claiming_the_titl-a-23_1696269960058.jpg\" height=\"424\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Emma Hayes&#8217; side got back to winning ways after claiming the title last season<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/02\/19\/76078361-12585309-Around_the_WSL_teams_paid_tribute_to_Maddy_Cusack_who_sadly_pass-a-22_1696269960029.jpg\" height=\"424\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Around the WSL, teams paid tribute to Maddy Cusack, who sadly passed away recently\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>5-a-sides<\/h2>\n<p><span>Arsenal set record attendance\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>1. Arsenal\u2019s match against Liverpool set a new WSL attendance record with 54,115 at the Emirates yesterday, although the bumper crowd couldn\u2019t help the home team avoid defeat. The previous record holders were also Arsenal with 47,367 in attendance at last season\u2019s north London derby.<\/p>\n<p>Garcia&#8217;s slip up\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>2. Manchester United goal scorer Lucia Garcia caused a stir in her post-match interview with BBC Sport when she said \u2018I\u2019m so f***ing tired\u2019 on live television. Her United teammate Millie Turner reposted the video on X (formerly Twitter) after the match, showing her appreciation for the slip-up.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/02\/17\/76078651-0-image-a-59_1696263091745.jpg\" height=\"457\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Martha Thomas (right) scored in the 76th minute for Tottenham to pull them back to 2-1<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/02\/17\/76077979-0-image-a-55_1696262778490.jpg\" height=\"442\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>There was no goalline technology available at Stamford Bridge for the match, with\u00a0Guro Reiten&#8217;s goal being swept away by Spurs goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer right on the line<\/p>\n<p>WSL pays tribute to Maddy Cusack\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>3. Tributes were paid to Maddy Cusack this weekend with every WSL match taking a minute\u2019s silence to pay their respect to the 27-year-old Sheffield United player who tragically died in September.<\/p>\n<p>Will there be more red cards this season?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>4. Two red cards were handed out yesterday, with Aston Villa\u2019s Kirsty Hanson and Manchester City\u2019s Leila Ouahabi both being sent off. This is quite a step up from last season where one red card was handed out every 16 games on average.<\/p>\n<p>Williams has a knack for scoring late\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>5. Rachel Williams sealed the deal for Manchester United in the 92nd minute in yesterday\u2019s match at Villa Park, making her the first WSL player to have scored five consecutive goals in the last ten minutes of a match.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12585309\/THE-NOTEBOOK-Fran-Kirby-Chelsea-dont-need-Sam-Kerr-VARcical-scenes-WSL-Emma-Hayes-defeating-Tottenham.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE NOTEBOOK: There&#8217;s no Kirby-ing Fran\u2019s enthusiasm, Chelsea prove they don&#8217;t need Sam Kerr to win and VARcical scenes in <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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