The Blues led inside three minutes through a Sunderland own goal, and Carla Gardiner doubled the advantage three minutes later. Chelsea N’Drin added a third before half-time, and Stevie Sinclair completed the scoring on 71 minutes.

Leanne Champ’s side controlled possession and combined well to break down Sunderland and create good goalscoring chances. Positive attacking play was matched by solid defensive work, and the Blues kept a clean sheet.

Early double puts Blues in control

Chelsea led after three minutes. Gabi Storey found captain Belle Sullivan from a free-kick, and she played Rebekah Pierce in behind the Sunderland full-back. Pierce won back possession in the box and drove a cross towards goal, which deflected off a defender and spun under the goalkeeper.

The lead was doubled three minutes later. Gardiner combined with Sinclair and Jahmya Putman across the top of the box before beating two defenders and firing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

The third goal came on 39 minutes. Tess Finn and Sophie Leach worked the ball through midfield to Gardiner, who released Putman down the right. Putman’s ball across found Gardiner, whose first-time shot hit the post, and N’Drin reacted quickly to fire in the rebound.

Sinclair completes the scoring

Champ made three changes at half-time, with Ella Booth, Keira Johnson and Aysia Matabaro replacing Zoe Ciccardini, Sullivan and Putman. Annie Boichat and Maria Mayers came on for Finn and N’Drin on the hour.

The fourth goal came on 71 minutes. Youngsters Booth and Mayers combined with Leach, who played back to centre-back Boichat. Her long pass over the Sunderland left-back found Matabaro advancing down the right.

Matabaro went one-on-one with the full-back and drove inside before slipping the ball through for Johnson, who had made a run behind the defence. Johnson found Sinclair in the six-yard box, and she finished first-time back across goal.

What it means

Chelsea are unbeaten after our opening two Division 1 fixtures, scoring nine goals and conceding only one.

What’s next?

The Blues return to PGA Cup action on Wednesday 11 November, when we host Ipswich Town in the first round at Cobham. Chelsea reached this stage with a 7-1 win over West Ham United in the preliminary round, and beat Ipswich 8-0 at Kingsmeadow when the sides met in the PGA South League in September.

Team

Chelsea: Victoria Rudz, Sophie Leach, Gabi Storey, Zoe Ciccardini (Ella Booth h-t), Belle Sullivan (c) (Keira Johnson HT), Tess Finn (Annie Boichat 60), Stevie Sinclair, Chelsea N’Drin (Maria Mayers 60), Rebekah Pierce, Carla Gardiner, Jahmya Putman (Aysia Matabaro h-t)
Scorers: OG 3, Gardiner 6, N’Drin 39, Sinclair 71
Manager: Leanne Champ