West Ham Women lost 3-0 to Chelsea at Victoria Road as late goals from Keira Walsh and Maika Hamano ended any prospect of a comeback.
Melvine Malard put the visitors ahead before half-time. Rita Guarino’s side remained one goal behind until the closing stages, but could not turn that narrow deficit into a result.
The defeat follows Wednesday’s 3-1 cup victory over Southampton, leaving West Ham with another setback on their return to Women’s Super League action.
Guarino restored Viviane Asseyi to the starting side and retained Oona Siren after her midweek double. Katie Zelem captained the team, with Kelly Gago and Seraina Piubel also starting.
Chelsea pull clear with two late goals
Chelsea established the advantage through Malard and went into the interval ahead.
West Ham still had a route back into the contest on the scoreboard for much of the second half. However, the visitors eventually extended their lead and finished with a three-goal margin.
Walsh struck in the 80th minute before Hamano added the third seven minutes later, as recorded in the Guardian’s live coverage.
For Guarino, the immediate challenge is turning the encouragement of the Southampton result into league points. West Ham scored three times in that cup tie but finished this derby without a goal.
The Hammers had brought Asseyi back into their attack, yet her return could not prevent another difficult afternoon against Chelsea.
