Chelsea skipper Katie Chapman reckons her side’s character will prove a decisive factor as the Blues look to maintain their Women’s Super League title challenge this season, writes Simon Fitzjohn.
The Londoners kept their unbeaten streak going with a thrilling 3-2 win over Arsenal at a blustery Kingsmeadow on Sunday, leaving the gap to leaders Manchester City at two points.
And Chapman insists that a battling win counts for far more in terms of the bigger picture than some of their early-season blowouts.
She said: “Sometimes you have to scrap out a performance to get a result.
“We proved that and a win obviously always gives you a boost.
“That resilience breeds confidence and we can take that on to the next game. We work hard as a team and everyone believes in each other.”
In a see-saw game against the Gunners, played in front of a season-best 2,570 crowd, Chelsea twice took the lead through Maren Mjelde and Ji So-Yun, only to be pegged back each time.
But new signing Jonna Andersson made the decisive contribution late on, the Swede firing in a low cross that Arsenal keeper Sari van Veenendaal could only spill into her own net.
Chapman added: “We were ready for the game, but Arsenal came here thinking we were the team to beat and they always seem to pick up their game when they play against us.
“We got the three points and that is what matters – there were some scrappy goals but we worked the hardest and that got us over the line.”
Fellow WSL heavyweights Manchester City visit Kingsmeadow this Sunday for a Continental Cup semi-final clash (kick-off 2pm).
And the Blues captain is confident her side will not be fazed by the stop-start nature of the campaign, with only one further game set for this month (against Everton on January 28).
Chapman said: “It is a bit strange, but we got used to it in the Spring Series last year.
“It is not exactly what we thought it would be, but it is the schedule and we just get on with it.”
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