Sam Kerr fires in four as Chelsea cruise into final

Republic of Ireland boss Vera Pauw needs no reminders of how good Sam Kerr is, but the Australian striker underlined her prowess with four goals for Chelsea as the Women's Super League leaders thrashed West Ham 7-0 to reach the Continental Tyres League Cup final on Thursday night.

Ireland will take on Australia in their opening FIFA Women's World Cup match in Sydney on 20 July, with the nullification of Kerr crucial to them getting anything out of a massive encounter.

The lethal attacker is almost unstoppable on her day, and she produced a brilliant display for a rampant Chelsea.

The Irons had held Arsenal to a goalless draw in their WSL match on Sunday, but were left stunned as Chelsea raced into a 3-0 lead inside the opening 22 minutes at the Chigwell Construction Stadium in Dagenham.

Kerr converted a free-kick at the far post to set the Blues on their way after just four minutes.

Before the home side could regroup, they fell further behind as Lauren James broke down the right and fed Fran Kirby, who raced into the penalty area and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.

Kerr fired in her second of the night after Erin Cuthbert pounced on a stray pass across the West Ham backline to feed the Australian forward, who took a touch before rifling the ball into the top corner.

Just before the break, Kirby went off after pulling up when running for a long pass but Chelsea kept the foot down.

In first-half stoppage time there was some more wayward defending from the Irons when Hawa Cissoko fell over before attempting a backpass, the ball rolled on into the penalty area and Kerr slotted past fellow Australian Mackenzie Arnold to complete her treble.

Looking to salvage something from the tie, West Ham manager Paul Konchesky made four