Hannah Blundell praised the belief and resilience of her teammates after Everton Women ended Chelsea’s run of seven straight league wins and remained undefeated on the road in at the home of the West Londoners in WSL for the last two seasons after coming from behind to secure at draw at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts were ahead on 28 minutes via the in-form Melvine Malard, but the battling Blues refused to let their heads drop and found themselves level five later when Yuka Momiki’s dangerous inswinger
was diverted into her own net by former Toffee Lucy Bronze.
Following last week’s stalemate with Manchester United at Goodison Park, an unchanged XI more than held their own to earn a well-deserved point on the road, something Blundell, who fully deserved her Player of the Match award, felt was aided by the mindset within this ‘fantastic group’.
“I think, internally, we have that belief, we always will do,” she said.
“The togetherness we have within this group is fantastic, and it is a fantastic group to be a part of.
“We could have easily put our heads down [after Chelsea scored], but I thought we showed great character, great belief, great resilience, and we got the goal back quite quickly.”
Given their current run of form and desire to recapture the WSL crown, it was no surprise to see Sonia Bompastor’s team take the game to their visitors; Ellie Carpenter bursting down the right and letting fly from narrow angle was an early sign of intent. Rion Ishikawa determination to track her run and block her effort, however, showed similar intent that the Toffees would be no pushovers.
Moments later and Malard ghosted to the back-post only to horribly misjudge the trajectory of the ball and subsequently send her header off target.
But the French forward made no mistake on 28 minutes, converting Bronze headed cross from Katie McCabe’s clipped ball into the area.
The lead proved to be a short one though, as Bronze was once again a pivotal figure. Momiki’s delicious cross from the left struck the boot of the 35-year-old, which diverted the ball past Hannah Hampton and nestled in the bottom left corner.
Determined to right her wrong, Bronze remained in the thick of the action and rattled the crossbar five minutes later, completing an eventful ten minutes for the highly decorated England star.
Emboldened by being level at the break, Everton were the first to threaten after the restart through Maz Pacheco.
Hikaru Kitagawa progressed well down the flank before sending a lofted cross in to the area that the 28-year-old did well to latch on to it, but could only glance agonisingly wide.
Sensing an opportunity for more than just a draw, Ornella Vignola tried her luck Vignola when the Spaniard cut in from the left deep in to the second half, as the Blues continued to cope well with Chelsea’s attacking might.
The forward did well to make space and get her shot away, but her strike whistled just wide of the far-post, with Hampton rooted to the spot.
It was testament to how well his team was handling the game that Scott Phelan only made his first change with six minutes remaining; the tireless Momiki making way for Noemie Mouchon.
Aurora Galli then replaced the impressive Rosa van Gool with 90 minutes on the clock, following two bookings in two minutes for the Blues, with the excellent Blundell and Ruby Mace being the recipient of the yellows.
And after four minutes of injury time, the referee concluded a clash that showcased another resilient display from a Toffees side, who are showing how willing they are to mix steely resilience with footballing endeavour.
Next up for Everton Women is a Subway Players Cup clash at home to Durham.
With nine points from three games in the competition, the Blues will look to make it four wins from four in the on Wednesday night, which kicks off at 7pm GMT (2pm ET, 11am PT).
Tickets for the clash are available here.
