With an average age of 23 years and 198 days, Chelsea's starting XI fielded against London City was the youngest in the Women's Super League this season.

The line-up may have been a touch unfamiliar, but it mattered not when Johanna Rytting Kaneryd put us ahead after just over a quarter of an hour with a cool finish.

Much of the second half was spent defending against some intense pressure from the newly-promoted WSL side, and they breached our defences with a header from Isobel Goodwin with eight minutes of normal time to play.

Although we rallied towards the tail end of the contest, we could not regain the lead and came away with a hard-earned point.

Shots exchanged

Sonia Bompastor made four changes to the team which beat Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday evening, bringing in Kadeisha Buchanan, Erin Cuthbert, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Chloe Sarwie for Sandy Baltimore, Lucy Bronze, Lauren James and Keira Walsh.

After scoring her first for the Blues on Wednesday evening, Potter had the confidence to shoot from the edge of the area within the first minute of action at The Den, but her attempt went over the bar.

The second of our chances came shortly after the 10-minute mark when Alyssa Thompson slipped in Aggie Beever-Jones inside the penalty area, but Elene Lete saved the shot from the England international with her legs.

London City immediately countered, and their attack was looking dangerous until Sarwie, making her first start for Chelsea, made a perfectly timed sliding tackle to retrieve the ball at the corner of the penalty area.

Deadlock broken

Chelsea's dominance was rewarded when Cuthbert won the ball back in the midfield before playing it backwards to Buchanan. The Canadian international then launched the ball forward for Beever-Jones, who picked out Rytting Kaneryd's run with an intuitive flick-on.

With the ball at her feet, the winger found herself one-on-one with Lete and slotted the ball beyond her with confidence.

The Blues continued to dominate possession, yet the home side did have a chance to even the scores when they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area. Ultimately, Grace Geyoro's effort was comfortably saved by Hannah Hampton.

Experience needed

It had been a dominant first-half display from Chelsea, as we fired 10 shots on goal as opposed to just one from London City. And the second period began, goalscorer Rytting Kaneryd was switched for Baltimore, and Bompastor's side kept possession well, even if the pace of the game had dropped slightly.

The home side then sparked into life when Jana Fernandez launched a shot towards Hampton, but it was always rising and sailed over the crossbar.

Then came a worrying moment for Blues supporters as Beever-Jones received treatment on the touchline for an apparent injury and hobbled off the pitch in discomfort. On came the experience of Bronze, Naomi Girma and Keira Walsh for Potter, Sarwie and Beever-Jones as Bompastor looked to seal the three points.

The equaliser

As Chelsea continued to lead by a one-goal margin, it seemed like London City were growing in confidence. Hampton could only parry a powerful header from substitute Delphine Cascarino, and Veerle Buurman made a crucial block to charge down another strike from Fernandez.

By this point, the home side had fired seven shots towards Hampton in the second half alone, and a series of corners was to follow. One shot was blocked at the crucial moment, before Cuthbert made a crucial last-ditch clearance off the goal line as our opponents piled on the pressure.

And they did eventually get their reward through Goodwin, when she headed into an empty net once Hampton had tipped away the initial shot from Lucia Corrales.

Tense finish

Goodwin threatened once more with a further shot on target, and when the referee's assistant indicated six minutes of stoppage time, we attempted to advance the ball up the pitch but often struggled to get beyond the middle third.

We pushed ahead regardless, and substitute Lauren James floated an inviting ball into the penalty area, but Lete came to claim without too much trouble.

And when Thompson got round the back of the defence, she pulled the ball back into the box, but that too was cleared away by the determined London City defence. James then shot a speculative effort towards goal, yet alas, it was not enough to threaten the goalkeeper.

This was a classic game of two halves, with Chelsea having bossed the first period and the home side dominating the second. We now move on to face Arsenal in the first leg of the Women's Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday evening.

What it means...

We drop to third in the WSL table, one point behind Manchester United in second.

What comes next...

We travel to the Emirates on Tuesday for the first leg of our Women's Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal.

The teams

Chelsea: Hampton, Nusken (James 78), Buurman, Buchanan (Bronze 63), Sarwie (Girma 63), Cuthbert (c), Potter, Kaptein, Thompson, Rytting Kaneryd (Baltimore h-t), Beever-Jones (Walsh 63)
Unused subs: Spencer, Peng, Storey, Shooter
Scorers: Rytting Kaneryd 22
Booked: Walsh 84, Thompson 87

London City: Lete, Fernandez, Pattinson, Asllani (c), Van de Donk (Corrales h-t), Linari, Godfrey (Cascarino 56), Parris (Goodwin 56), Sangare, Marcetto (Roddar 56), Geyoro
Unused subs: Orman, Goldie, Perez, Partido, Franssi
Scorers: Goodwin 82
Booked: Marcetto 29, Parris 49

Referee: Emily Heaslip