Chelsea Ladies are finally over the heartbreak of last season thanks to Saturday’s FA Cup triumph, according to England international Eniola Aluko.
Ji So-Yun’s goal meant the Blues beat Notts County 1-0 in the first women’s final to be played at Wembley and gave Chelsea their first piece of silverware.
Last October, Chelsea were pipped to the Super League title by Liverpool on the final day of the season, but Aluko is now putting all that in past.
‘We came so close to silverware last season, losing in two semi-finals and then missing out on the WSL 1 title on the final day,” she said.
“It was a tough place to be and it took a while for us to get over that but we have a great group of staff who believe in the players.
“I’m really proud to wear the Chelsea badge and to finally win silverware for this club.
“It’s been nine years waiting for players like Claire Rafferty, Drew Spence and Laura Coombs so it’s really been a long journey to get to this point.
“We knew in the dressing room that we were strong enough to win this competition.
“We’ve beaten Man City, Arsenal and now Notts County to win this trophy so nobody can say we don’t deserve it.”
Aluko and team-mates Rafferty and Katie Chapman were all part of the England squad that finished third at the World Cup this summer, but they have been in indifferent form for their club since their return to domestic action.
Having been undefeated before the break, two defeats in three games since has left them in third, a point behind leaders Sunderland and second-placed Arsenal.
But with the Continental Tyres Cup still to play for as well, Chelsea remain firmly in the hunt for a triple haul of trophies.
“Winning silverware has been our target since the start of the season and hopefully this will kick-start our season again now,” added Aluko.
“We probably haven’t been at our best since coming back from the World Cup but we still have three trophies to play for and this will give us all huge confidence going into the final leg of the season.”
They return to league action this Sunday at home to second-bottom Birmingham City.
Feature image courtesy of BBC, with thanks
