Sam Kerr brace steers Chelsea to FA Cup glory

Author Photo
Sam Kerr

Sam Kerr scored two goals in Chelsea's dominant 3-0 win against London rivals Arsenal in the Women's FA Cup. 

The Australian striker showed why she is one of football's most exciting talents, with her two second-half goals guiding the Blues to glory. 

Kerr found the back of the net in the 57th minute via a tight-angled shot, before putting the result beyond doubt twenty minutes later with an audacious long-range chip over the Gunners' goalkeeper. 

Sam Kerr

Her brace won her the player of the match award and capped off a stellar night for Chelsea and women's football in England.

The match marked the 100th anniversary since the English FA banned professional women’s football in 1921.

The ban lasted almost 50 years and was only removed in January 1970.

Chelsea opened the scoring in the third minute through Fran Kirby, whose clinical strike gave her side the early advantage.

The Blues were then relatively wasteful in front of goal with 16 shots - eight of them on target - made during the ninety minutes.

Despite missing a number of chances herself in the first half, Kerr eventually gave her side a 2-0 advantage in the 57th minute, followed by her chipped goal in the 77th minute.

On the other end of the field, Arsenal's star forward Vivianne Miedema was tightly marked by the Chelsea defenders and failed to make an impact on the game.

The Gunners had 64% of the possession during the match but ultimately struggled to find any clear-cut chances. 

Speaking to the BBC post-match, Kerr was overjoyed with her team's performance.

"I think we deserved it," Kerr said.

"I think we played really well, as we have done in the past few weeks.

"We kind of went in as underdogs so we had a point to prove and we are buzzing."

Author(s)
Joshua Mayne Photo

Joshua Mayne is a content producer for The Sporting News Australia.