Defender Jess Carter played her first 90 minutes of 2019/20 on Sunday as Chelsea Women marked our second victory in the Continental Tyres Cup.
The Blues came away from Hayes Lane, the home of Crystal Palace Women, with a comfortable 3-0 win against a hardworking Championship side. The result means we have maximum points in the competition so far with three more group stage matches to take place.
Emma Hayes rotated her squad and only four players remained from our 2-1 triumph against Arsenal in the Women’s Super League the week before, and Carter was one of the seven players who got a starting spot against Palace.
The 21-year-old, who made her first appearance of the season and played a full 90 minutes stationed at left-back, took plenty of positives from the game.
‘It felt good to get a run around, it’s been a while, so it was great to get some minutes in the tank,’ she said.
‘I think these games are important. You take these games just as seriously as you do the others no matter the level of the team.
‘For Crystal Palace this was one of their hardest games of the season, they were up for it and wanted to win it just as much we did.
‘All these games are important and it gives players opportunity to get a game in because nothing compares to playing 90 minutes,’ she continued.
Attention now switches to this weekend’s trip to West Ham United, which is our fifth WSL match of the campaign.
‘It’s good for the team to get three points, we performed well and now we move onto the next,’ Carter said.
‘I think we’re a new Chelsea, we’re here, we want to win every game, every trophy that we can.
‘Last season was a disappointing season for us, so we need to forget last season and make this one a hundred times better so we’re successful.
‘They [West Ham] are a tough team, they’re really organised which makes them hard to beat.
‘They have some quick, creative players in there so it’s always a tough game against West Ham, but we’ll train hard this week and prepare to make sure we get the three points and a clean sheet.’
The Blues return to our KT1 home on Sunday 17 November when we welcome Manchester United for the first time ever.