West Ham 0-7 Chelsea: Player ratings as Blues blitz into Continental Cup final
By Ali Rampling
Chelsea booked their place in the Continental Cup final for a fourth successive season after four Sam Kerr goals saw the Blues to an emphatic 7-0 victory over West Ham on Thursday evening.
Kerr netted a treble inside 46 minutes and Fran Kirby was also on the scoresheet in a blistering first half Chelsea display. Kerr added a fourth in the second half, and Lauren James and Guro Reiten also got in on the act as the Blues set up a meeting with rivals Arsenal in March's final.
West Ham had turned in a resilient defensive performance to earn hard-fought point against Arsenal last time out, but looked tired from their mammoth effort four days earlier and were frequently architects of their own downfall at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
The Hammers allowed the unmarked Kerr to drift between two players and stab home Reiten's teasing free kick as Chelsea took the lead after just three minutes.
The Blues doubled their advantage seven minutes later, James providing the inch perfect through ball and Kirby providing the cool finish.
West Ham shot themselves in the foot again as Chelsea added a third. The hosts surrendered possession on the edge of their own box and Kerr was on hand to capitalise, leathering the ball into the top corner.
Mackenzie Arnold kept out Erin Cuthbert with her feet after the Scotland midfielder had been smartly played in by Kirby, before Kerr completed her hat-trick on the strike of half time. The Australian striker latched onto Hawa Cissoko's poor back pass and found the bottom corner with a low finish.
The Blues showed no signs of letting up and added a fifth 10 minutes into the second half, James gliding inside and powering past Arnold.
Kerr netted her fourth of the evening on the hour as she rose unmarked to head home Eve Perisset's cross, before Reiten saw a deflected effort sneak in for Chelsea's seventh as the Blues emphatically secured their place in the final against Arsenal on 5 March.
West Ham player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Mackenzie Arnold - 5/10 - Made a decent stop to keep out Cuthbert with her feet in the first half. Question marks over her goalkeeping for Chelsea's fifth, getting a glove to James's effort but unable to keep it out.
RB: Risa Shimizu - 4/10 - Had a mix up with Snerle in the build up to Chelsea's third, playing a slightly dangerous pass inside to her teammate on the edge of her own box. Struggled against Chelsea's fightening forward line.
CB: Grace Fisk - 4/10 - Lost out on the half way line to James in the build up to Chelsea's second and struggled to keep track of Kerr throughout.
CB: Hawa Cissoko - 3/10 - Lost the run of Kirby in the build up to Chelsea's second, before playing a poor back pass that Kerr capitalised on for Chelsea's fourth. Having been so good against Arsenal four days earlier, was put out of her misery and hooked at half time.
LB: Kirsty Smith - 4/10 - As most left-backs have this season, Smith struggled to contain to lively James, never getting close to the Chelsea forward.
CM: Abbey-Leigh Stringer - 3/10 - Conceded the free kick in the build up to Chelsea's opener, and was one of two players who appeared to then leave Kerr unmarked. Replaced at half time.
CM: Honoka Hayashi - 4/10 - West Ham were completely overrun in midfield in the first half, and Hayashi was replaced at half time after struggling to deal with Chelsea's energetic midfield three.
CM: Dagný Brynjarsdóttir - 5/10 - Largely kept quiet and unable to have her usual impact on proceedings.
RW: Mel Filis - 5/10 - Between her and Stringer, appeared to leave Kerr unmarked in the build up to Chelsea's first. Had a couple of promising bursts forward, but was replaced at half time.
ST: Viviane Asseyi - 5/10 - Largely left to feed off scraps, but ran her heart out and made the most of the limited service she had.
LW: Emma Snerle - 5/10 - Allowed the ball to dangerously roll across her body in the build up to Chelsea's third, conceding possession on the edge of her own box. Rarely on the ball high up in the final third.
Substitutes
SUB: Kate Longhurst (46' for Stringer) - 5/10
SUB: Shannon Cook (46' for Hayashi) - 5/10
SUB: Lucy Parker (46' for Cissoko) - N/A - Forced off with injury after just 10 minutes.
SUB: Amalie Thestrup (46' for Filis) - 5/10
SUB: Anouk Denton (56' for Parker - 5/10
Chelsea player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Ann-Katrin Berger - 6/10 - Largely a spectator as her side spent much of the game camped in the West Ham half.
RB: Eve Perisset - 7/10 - Set up Kerr for Chelsea's sixth with a pinpoint cross from the byline. Rarely tested defensively.
CB: Millie Bright - 6/10 - Rarely tested defensively as Chelsea dominated.
CB: Magdalena Eriksson - 6/10 - Made a near post intervention early in the first half but otherwise didn't have a great deal to do at the back.
LB: Niamh Charles - 7/10 - Linked up well with Reiten, got up and down frequently, didn't have much to do defensively either.
CM: Sophie Ingle - 8/10 - Switched play effectively on a number of occasions and was really instrumental as Chelsea dominated in midfield.
CM: Erin Cuthbert - 9/10 - Nicked in deep in the West Ham half to steal possession and set up her side's third. Was just absolutely everywhere, winning back the ball for her side on countless occasions, crunching into tackles and triggering attacks.
AM: Fran Kirby - 8/10 - Netted her side's second, timing her run perfectly and finishing coolly. Looked a constant threat in and around the box, threading Cuthbert through later in the half. Forced off after 43 minutes after pulling up with an injury.
RW: Lauren James - 9/10 - Set Kirby up for Chelsea's second with a perfectly weighted through ball. Netted a fifth for her side, cutting inside and powering home. Effortlessly glided around the pitch all evening, and West Ham couldn't get near her.
ST: Sam Kerr - 10/10 - Stabbed home the opener, emphatically arrowed home the second and was as cool as you like with the third. Headed home a fourth in the second half.
LW: Guro Reiten - 8/10 - Provided the set piece delivery from which Chelsea opened the scoring and netted her side's seventh with a deflected effort. A livewire throughout.
Substitutes
SUB: Jelana Cankovic (45' for Kirby) - 6/10
SUB: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (61' for James) - 6/10
SUB: Maren Mjelde (61' for Perisset) - 6/10
SUB: Melanie Leupolz (66' for Ingle) - 6/10
SUB: Alsu Abdullinha (66' for Reiten) - 6/10