The website dedicated to women's football across the country, at ALL levels of the game

@en

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Back to home page

Chelsea maintain grip on trophy  

Chelsea 2 (James 19, Beevor-Jones 76) Manchester United 0

Chelsea maintained their grip on the Subway Women's League Cup with a convincing 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final at Ashton Gate.

In front of a record attendance of 21,619 for a Women's League Cup final, Lauren James opened the scoring in the 19th minute, capitalizing on a defensive error by Dominique Janssen to fire a clinical finish past goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Manchester United posed threats throughout, particularly through Elisabeth Terland, who struck the bar in the first half and forced saves from Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. Ellen Wangerheim also went close just before half time, prodding wide from a dangerous position.

Chelsea defended resiliently amid challenging conditions of swirling wind and rain early on, while looking dangerous on the counter. Erin Cuthbert had a chance to extend the lead but was denied by a strong recovery challenge from Maya Le Tissier.

After the interval, with clearer skies emerging, Chelsea introduced substitute Aggie Beever-Jones in place of Alyssa Thompson. The second half saw United start brightly, with Hampton tipping over a drive from Lisa Naalsund.

Chelsea made further changes, including replacing Kadeisha Buchanan with Nathalie Bjorn, who shortly afterwards hobbled off on her return from injury.

The decisive moment arrived in the 76th minute when Johanna Rytting Kaneryd's deep cross led to a header contest, with Beever-Jones reacting quickest to poke the ball into the bottom corner for 2-0.

James nearly added a third late on, forcing a save from Tullis-Joyce, as Chelsea comfortably navigated added time to secure the trophy once again.

Chelsea: Hampton, Bronze, Buchanan (sub Bjorn 62mins (sub Kaptein 67mins)), Buurman, Baltimore, Cuthbert, Walsh, Nüsken, Rytting Kaneryd, James (sub Potter 90mins), Thompson (sub Beever-Jones 45mins). Subs not used: Peng, Spencer, Sarwie.  

Manchester United: Tullis-Joyce, Riviere (sub Rolfo 59mins), Le Tissier, Janssen, Lundkvist, Zigiotti (sub Awujo 86mins), Park, Malard, Terland, Naalsund, Wangerheim (sub Schuller 59mins). Subs not used: Rendell, Middleton-Patel, George, Turner, Anderson, Drury.