Birmingham City Ladies boss David Parker hailed an “absolutely magnificent” performance from his players after Rachel Williams’ late header earned the Midlands side a 1-0 win at Chelsea.
Williams’ 78th minute header ensured new Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who marked her first match in charge of the London side with a win at Doncaster, failed to emerge victorious on her home debut.
Parker, whose side are now level on points with Everton Ladies, was effusive in his praise of his team.
“I thought that was an absolutely magnificent performance,” said Parker.
“The absolute character, the work rate – everything that this club is about was represented today. Full credit to the girls, it was a great night to be part of this football club.”
From the opening exchanges it was clear that the evening’s encounter featured two vastly contrasting styles.
Chelsea, now under the stewardship of former Arsenal assistant coach Hayes, displayed the intricate passing style of their manager’s former employers, while Birmingham exhibited a more direct approach, constantly seeking to exploit the explosive pace of the livewire front pairing of Eniola Aluko and Jodie Taylor.
Despite Chelsea’s relative dominance, it was Birmingham, against the run of play, who produced the first meaningful effort of the match.
Chelsea were awarded a free-kick in dangerous territory but it was easily cleared by the visitors and a searching ball from deep found Aluko, who carried the ball and fed Taylor, whose low shot was easily held by Carly Telford.
However, it wasn’t long until Chelsea troubled the Birmingham backline, and Kate Longhurst will have been left ruing her indecision after spurning a glorious opportunity midway through the first half.
The Chelsea forward dispossessed the dithering Emily Westwood inside the Birmingham half and raced towards the box, but fired straight into the arms of Marie Hourihan with the goal at her mercy.
Despite the cagey nature of the affair, both sides produced clear-cut chances to break the deadlock, but hesitant finishing, coupled with the excellent anticipation of both Telford and Hourihan, ensured the score remained goalless at the interval.
Birmingham boss David Parker reshuffled his side at half-time, sending on defender Christian Torkildsen on in place of England international Karen Carney, and moving Westwood up front and Aluko to the wing.
And his tactical switch almost paid dividends within 60 seconds.
Following a scruffy goalmouth scramble, the ball fell to Chelsea Weston, who steered her shot towards goal before the backpedalling Claire Rafferty cleared the ball off the line.
The visitors vocally remonstrated to the officials, adamantly insisting the ball had crossed the line, but the referee waved play on.
Buoyed by that near-breakthrough, the visitors upped the ante as the game went on, and with just 12 minutes left on the clock, they took the lead in the most fortuitous of circumstances.
Aluko, liberated by her roaming second-half role, arced a sublime cross from the right flank into the path of the unmarked Williams. The Birmingham midfielder’s booming header crashed off the crossbar and rolled off Telford’s back into the back of the net, much to the despair of the Chelsea stopper.
Birmingham held on to secure the win, claiming three much-needed points in the battle to clinch a Champions League place.
Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Hayes, who oversaw her first game in charge at Wheatsheaf Park, believes it will take time to see the fruits of her labour at the club.
She said: “Our aims are all about our own performance levels. For us it’s about playing with a playing style that we will build on and developing the fundamentals within that – which is crucial, and that takes time.”
FAWSL.com, Sportsister
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