| Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal The FA Women's Cup Semi-Final 7.45pm, Thursday 3 May 2012 Griffin Park, Brentford FC Winning club will receive £2000 from The FA prize fund A Player of the Match performance by Chelsea goalkeeper Sarah Quantrill helped the Blues reach their first ever FA Women's Cup Final, courtesy of a hard-fought 2-0 win over eleven-time winners Arsenal. Helen Bleazard's 22nd-minute wonder strike put Matt Beard's side ahead and Dunia Susi's header with five minutes remaining ultimately sealed the win, but Chelsea were equally indebted to their young goalkeeper who was deputising for the injured skipper Carly Telford. Quantrill made a string of outstanding saves to deny the Gunners, beginning her fine sequence by tipping a Kim Little effort onto the bar and completing her star performance by denying Alex Scott in added time. She particularly frustrated Rachel Yankey in the second half with a number of fine stops, many of them deflected, causing her to demonstrate her reflexes. Despite their late arrival at Griffin Park which caused the kick-off to be delayed by 15 minutes, the Blues started brightly in an attempt to catch the Cup holders cold, but it was Arsenal who registered the first shot at goal as Scott fired wide from 20 yards. Just a couple of minutes later Scott's England team-mate Susi raced down the right for Chelsea before slipping Kate Longhurst into the Arsenal box and only a fine stop from Emma Byrne prevented the Gunners from falling behind. The next ... |
