Squad and Goals

 

Normally a copy of the programme cover goes here. Guess who forgot to pick one up? Fortunately I've been able to source one via eBay, but not in time for this post.

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Wednesday 17 May 2023 at Victoria Road (Dagenham & Redbridge FC)
Result	West Ham United Women 0 Chelsea Women 4
Competition	Women’s Super League
Hopstats	Not a new ground for me. This is my second visit to this stadium, the first being in October 2006 for a Conference (Step 1) fixture between Dag & Red and Northwich Victoria.
Context
Chelsea, having won the Women’s FA Cup at the weekend, now have three league games, and if they win them all they will be champions irrespective of results elsewhere. West Ham are lower-mid table and although they are not mathematically safe from relegation, it would take a remarkable series of results from the lower teams to send them down. Not gonna happen, as they say.
In One Sentence
A dominant performance from Chelsea, with a side much-changed from the weekend, which demonstrated the strength in depth of their squad.
So What?
Chelsea go two points clear of Manchester United at the top and now have a superior GD by four. Chelsea could probably now draw against Arsenal and still win the title on goal difference with a win at Reading on the last day of the season. Reading, though, could still be fighting against relegation themselves. The Arsenal fixture is key because Arsenal will want to hold on to third place from Manchester City in fourth. City and United play each other next so some permutations will be eliminated this weekend. Defeat for Chelsea against Arsenal will re-open the title chance for United provided they beat both City and Liverpool. West Ham’s games to come are away at Leicester and home to Spurs. There will be a test later.
Pre-match Entertainment
A walk from train to Tube through London from Farringdon to Whitechapel via Clerkenwell and Shoreditch.
Match Report
Chelsea’s team changes didn’t extend to the forwards where both Sam Kerr and Pernille Harder started. Jess Carter started in the middle of a back three but soon switched with Kadeisha Buchanan and took the right side. They took the lead early through Niamh Charles from close range after Kerr’s shot was saved, but Harder deserves a mention too for her threaded pass during the buildup. West Ham gradually got back into the game but without any great attacking threat, whereas Chelsea could have had a second on at least two occasions. Mackenzie Arnold saved well from Harder after a move that started with a direct run by Kerr from halfway. At the other end, one timely headed clearance from Buchanan was needed. At half-time, you felt as a neutral that Chelsea might need another goal and it would be risky to sit back. The second did indeed arrive very soon after the restart. The irrepressible Harder scored it from a splendid pass by Sophie Ingle after several waves of Chelsea attacks. The result felt no longer in doubt. Chelsea eventually added a third. Ingle headed in from close range after Arnold had tipped a header onto the bar following a corner. West Ham’s best chance was cleared off the line by Carter after sub Amalie Thestrup had rounded the keeper. Lauren James and Erin Cuthbert came off the bench, and James set up Cuthbert with an outstanding bit of balance and control, and she should have scored. However, Cuthbert did get the final goal of the night, in stoppage time, with a powerful shot to round off a convincing overall performance.
A Few Pix
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
Usually accompanied by a pre-match prediction on Twitter just before kickoff. Working towards being able to compute a respectable statistical significance test. I’m currently reading all about Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests which seem to be appropriate. The full keeper top performance table from my last 276 matches is here, on this separate page, and I’ll do the test when we reach 300 pieces of evidence. Today, Orange beats Grey and keeps a clean sheet, enough to send Orange one place higher in the colour league. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? No % of correct predictions so far 46% (60 from 131)
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter! A third-tier women’s promotion playoff between Nottingham Forest and Watford at Milton Keynes on Saturday will be followed by the double FA Finals (Vase & Trophy) day at Wembley on Sunday.

 

Leicester Blown Away by Blues

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Wednesday 10 May 2023 at Kingsmeadow
Result	Chelsea 6 Leicester City 0
Competition	Women’s Super League
Hopstats	Third visit to Kingsmeadow. I was here last week too but the first time was to see AFC Wimbledon v Chelmsford City in a Step 2 fixture in 2009.
Context
Chelsea are hoping to win all four remaining league fixtures in order to defend their title. Leicester City are one place and two points above the relegation position, having eased their position with a couple of wins in April.
In One Sentence
A very polished and effective performance with some well-worked goals and a couple of spectacular ones.
So What?
Chelsea are now one point behind Manchester United with a game in hand, and have actually closed the goal difference gap by scoring 13 goals without reply in their last two games. Leicester City are not yet safe from relegation but they will be pleased that the bottom side Reading will eventually have their final game against Chelsea. Leicester have a two-point cushion with two games to go. In the meantime, Chelsea line up against Manchester United for the Women’s FA Cup at a sold-out Wembley on Sunday.
Match Report
Chelsea took an early lead when Pernille Harder broke free on the right and set up Guro Reiten for a neatly steered finish just inside the left-hand post. Erin Cuthbert got the second, her alertness allowing her to win the ball in midfield and surge round the keeper Janina Leitzig before rolling the ball into the net. Leicester briefly threatened a fightback but then Harder got the next two goals before half-time. The first was a far-post tap-in after Leitzig could only palm away a goalbound effort from Lauren James. The second was a solo effort which seemed to evade the diving Leitzig. Sam Kerr had started the game on the bench and with a 4-0 half-time score it looked like this would be a restful evening for her ahead of the Cup Final. The only argument against this would be the chance to close the gap on Manchester United in terms of goal difference. A quadruple substitution followed the fifth goal. Lauren James hit the shot of the night into the toppest of top corners, and if that’s not a word, well it should be. The pace of the game slowed a bit, not helped by intermittent downpours, and it was not till stoppage time that sub Jelena Cankovic scored the sixth with another rising shot just under the crossbar. This was a very impressive performance by Chelsea Women, who therefore remain on track for a potential league and cup double. You’d have to be brave to bet against it.
A Few Pix
The blur in the centre of the final pic is the ball on its way to the top corner courtesy of Lauren James for the fifth goal of the evening. Possibly one of the worst photos, technically, I have ever included in the blog.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
Usually accompanied by a pre-match prediction on Twitter just before kickoff. Working towards being able to compute a respectable statistical significance test by the end of the season. The full keeper top performance table from my last 273 matches is here, on this separate page. Today, Green beats Yellow, as expected, with the bonus of a clean sheet. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 45% (58 from 128) Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. The odd decimal places were caused either by undeniable half-and-half tops or lower league sub keepers in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech (and supported by anonymous scientists of some description) that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. It is supposedly because of an innate primeval human reaction to the colour and the colour “spreads” more in the vision of a striker at the key moment of decision. Genius or garbage? The evidence is gathering here, and is leaning towards the latter.
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter! Lots happening in the next few weeks. A double-header weekend at Wembley lined up with the National League Playoff (Chesterfield v Notts County) and the Women’s FA Cup Final (Chelsea v Manchester United) and another WSL fixture (West Ham v Chelsea) a week today, followed by the Non League Finals day at Wembley (FA Vase & FA Trophy). I may try to take in a couple of the EFL playoffs at the end of the month too if tickets go to general sale, and there is a lower league women’s playoff final at Milton Keynes on May 20th.