Sonia Bompastor has “no regrets” despite seeing WSL leaders Chelsea switch off and throw away two points in a dramatic draw with West Ham.
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Blues raced into 2-0 lead early onMade shock changes at half-timeUltimately had to settle for a pointFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The Blues appeared to be well on course for victory when entering stoppage-time against the Hammers. However, having conceded late in the first-half, history repeated itself as Shekiera Martinez’s second goal of the game restored parity in the 91st minute.
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Chelsea had led 2-0 inside the opening 21 minutes, as Maika Hamano and Aggie Beever-Jones got them off to the best possible start, but they were unable to keep their concentration following a testing run of fixtures that saw them face Manchester City on four occasions, across three competitions, in the space of just 12 days.
WHAT SONIA BOMPASTOR SAID
Head coach Bompastor told Chelsea’s after seeing points dropped in a derby date with London rivals West Ham: “Obviously, it's frustrating. I think if you analyse the game – even though I didn't watch the game back yet – I think we created a lot of opportunities. In the first half, especially in the first 30 minutes, we could have scored maybe three or four goals.
“I think if we were able to do that, especially in the first 30 minutes, the game was over. But again, I think I already said that in some previous games, when you are not able to be clinical enough, you just give some hope to the opposition, especially in the last 15 minutes of the first half. We dropped the intensity a little bit and conceded the goal because we were not switched on enough from a throw-in. And the second half was not good enough in terms of performance from our side.”
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Bompastor surprised many when replacing Millie Bright and Erin Cuthbert at half-time, but insists those calls were necessary with player welfare in mind. The French tactician added: “I don't have any regrets. My job is to make sure we just try to win every game, but in the back of my mind, also after this really intense block, I tired to protect some players because it's important also to think about their health. I think if you look at Millie, she played every single minute in every single game in this block. I think probably today was also a danger for her to stay on the pitch. She was just exhausted.
“This game was a quick turnaround. I think sometimes people don't realise, but when you play the game we played on the Thursday with a quick turnaround and the emotions the players lived on the pitch, I think in terms of mental and physical aspects. They left a lot of energy on the pitch, and it's a quick turnaround. So today, I just felt it was the right thing to protect a little bit my players because we still have a lot of games to be played until the end of the season.”