League heartache spurred Chelsea on to FA Cup glory

“We have had massive support from the club and now it can only get better”.

Manager Emma Hayes dedicated Chelsea’s SSE Women’s FA Cup win to the Blues’ backroom staff.

CHELSEA LIFTED THE Women’s FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history with a 1-0 win over Notts County this afternoon.

Chelsea Ladies have not yet been able to emulate the success of their male counterparts in recent times, but England global Eniola Aluko is hopeful the Women’s FA Cup triumph can provide a springboard for more glory. “I couldn’t be more over the moon about finally winning something at this club”, says Claire”.

But it mattered not to Hayes, who congratulated her players for their landmark win.

“I don’t know if we would have gone on if we had won the league last season and been in the same position”.

“We may have had a blip in our league campaign in recent games but I think that was because the FA Cup was on their mind, and understandably so”.

“You see the likes of a Ji So-Yun and her moments of quality or an explosive run from Eni Aluko or Gemma Davison, and instantly you’re going to be attracted to that and on the downside there wasn’t a lot of goals but I’m not in the business of entertainment, I’m in the business of winning”.

“I asked them to read it on the bus on the way to Wembley”, she added.

“After this we can kick on”, she said.

“I thought it was telling in the game, the players felt they’d been there before and that may have made a difference”. The league was really tight last year and it might go down to the wire again but we have got one goal on our minds.

“But you have to get the first one”.

Hayes said: “We work hard as coaches for days like today”.

“I’m just grateful to God that we’ve done it”.

Hayes saw her team agonisingly miss out on the Women’s Super League title on the final day of last year’s campaign, though a runner-up finish gave them a place in the coming season’s Champions League.