Chelsea seal Women’s FA Cup final place as Sam Kerr header sinks Aston Villa

There is an inevitability to the narrative in any game in which Sam Kerr plays. On Tuesday she capitalised on an error to put Australia ahead in a 2-0 win against England and just five days later she was at the far post to nod in the goal, against the run of play, that would ensure Chelsea’s passage to the FA Cup final against Manchester United on 14 May.

Kerr had promised she would be OK for this fixture, after she sat out Australia’s 1-0 defeat to Scotland and limped off late against England. She was right and, while she was kept quiet for much of the 90 minutes against Villa at the Bescot Stadium, she once again showed that giving her just one sniff will prove costly almost every time.

Emma Hayes made five changes to the side that earned victory over Villa before the international break. Some were enforced, with centre-back duo Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan both still injured. That meant Chelsea started with an untested backline, with Maren Mjelde partnering Magda Eriksson in the middle and Ève Périsset and Jess Carter at full-back.

For Aston Villa’s manager Carla Ward there was just one change from that league defeat to Chelsea, with right-back Sarah Mayling fully fit, replacing Laura Blindkilde.

Ward had said her side “learned quite a lot” from the league meeting. “We didn’t look after the ball well enough,” she said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re absolutely at it and be different with the ball.”

It was different this time round. Ward’s message was that the team were “90 minutes from Wembley” and it showed. The Villains matched the FA Cup holders, with 49% possession to 51% in the first half and Kerr kept quiet.

It would be Lauren James who would prove the most potent outlet for Chelsea, twice sending the ball