Chelsea beat London rivals Tottenham 0-1 last night in a tough fought battle to go top of the WSL table ahead of the final day on Saturday.
Blue’s forward Maika Hamano scored the only goal of the game to ensure that Chelsea now sit level on points with Manchester City but with a crucial two goal advantage on goal difference.
Chelsea had several chances to take the lead early on with Catarina Macario acting as a constant threat for the Lilywhites – Tottenham’s Ashleigh Neville and Amy James-Turner in particular had tough jobs on the right hand side as they had both Guro Reiten and Macario to keep at bay.
After Hamano sent a diving header loose over the cross bar and being denied two penalty shouts, the Blues’ frustration really started to grow.
Emma Hayes’ side were eventually rewarded for their effort however in the 37th minute when Hamano fired Chelsea in front from the back post following an excellent cross from Reiten.
In what was a busy first half for the Tottenham defence, matters only got worse as Amanda Nilden was forced off on a stretcher after being caught on the ankle by goalscorer Hamano.
The full-back was replaced by Australian international Charli Grant, and Spurs manager Robert Viliham has since confirmed Nilden’s injury to be an unfortunate sprained ankle.
At the start of the second half, Spurs nearly saw themselves level but defender Neville couldn’t get her effort on target as it looped over the bar following a corner.
Both sides had several more chances throughout the last 45, but it was Chelsea who ground out a result to remain on track for their fifth successive WSL title.
The Blues will now travel to Old Trafford on Saturday to face Manchester United while their rivals Manchester City make the trip to Aston Villa
It’s certain to be a tense final day as both games kick-off at 3pm (BST), with Chelsea two ahead on goal difference both teams must demand perfection.
Manchester United v Chelsea can be streamed live on Sky Sports while Aston Villa v Manchester City will be broadcast live on BBC Two.
Featured image courtesy of Martin Belam via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. License details found here.