CHELSEA WOMEN 5

YEOVIL TOWN LADIES 0

YEOVIL Town Ladies were forced to play the whole of the second half with 10 players against a strong Chelsea side and slipped to a 5-0 defeat at the Women’s Super League champions.

Nicola Cousins was sent off just before the break for a late challenge, and goals from Millie Bright, Ji So-Yun, Erin Cuthbert, Ramona Bachmann and Bethany England ensured the Blues took the three points.

Yeovil started well and after seven minutes the Glovers could have taken the lead when Annie Heatherson latched onto a loose ball. The forward couldn’t quite chip the ball over Carly Telford and the chance went begging.

After 20 minutes, the deadlock was broken when Bright hammered the ball home after Yeovil failed to clear their lines from a corner.

Just seven minutes later and Chelsea doubled their advantage. Ji So-Yun scored a wonderful individual goal after skipping past the visitors in midfield and she made no mistake with her finish.

Five minutes before the break and it was disaster for the Glovers as they were reduced to 10 players. Cousins was shown a straight red for her challenge on Cuthbert, conceding a free kick just outside the box in the process.

The red card really affected the away side and they conceded two goals in two minutes as Cuthbert fired home, before Bachmann turned inside the box and put the home side in cruise control.

With a huge mountain to climb, Yeovil worked tirelessly throughout the second half.

Charlotte Buxton, Emily Syme and Leah Burridge were all given valuable minutes and it wasn’t until 12 minutes from time that England managed to score Chelsea’s fifth with a left-footed strike from close range.

Megan Walsh had another outstanding game in goal and manager Lee Burch was pleased with his side’s resilience in the second half, in the toughest of circumstances against a side of top players, including England legend Karen Carney.

It was one-way traffic but the Yeovil defence put in countless challenges and put their bodies on the line to ensure they came away with pride.

Yeovil’s defeat keeps them in tenth place after Everton were beaten 4-0 by Arsenal.

Burch’s charges next face giants Manchester City on Sunday (3pm).

Chelsea: Telford, Blundell, Bright (Cooper 71), Ingle, Carney, Ji, Eriksson, Andersson, Cuthbert, Bachmann (England 67), Spence (Bailey 60). Subs not used: Durack, Asante, Carter

Yeovil: Walsh, Goddard (Buxton 63), Cousins, Short, Alexander, Fergusson, Horwood, Gaylor (Syme 79), Mason, Evans (Burridge 74), Heatherson. Subs not used: Albuery, Donovan, Howard, Bloomfield.