:00:40. > :00:46.Good evening. The men's European Championship may have drawn to a
:00:47. > :00:50.close last night, back at home, the women's Super League is going strong
:00:51. > :00:54.and there is plenty of action to get through on tonight's show. The
:00:55. > :01:02.defending champions Chelsea reclaim top spot with a victory over
:01:03. > :01:04.resolute Birmingham? Arsenal were maintaining the let aiming to
:01:05. > :01:09.maintain their own title push against a Notts County side yet to
:01:10. > :01:12.win away in the league. And Sunderland and Doncaster are looking
:01:13. > :01:18.for their first wins of the 2016 campaign, as they fought it out at
:01:19. > :01:25.the foot of WSL 1. So, lots to discuss. Joining me on the sofa, I
:01:26. > :01:31.am delighted to welcome Rachel and Sue. We begin with Birmingham,
:01:32. > :01:36.aiming to make it six clean sheets in a row as they take on Chelsea. A
:01:37. > :01:50.tough task against the most potent strikeforce in the league.
:01:51. > :02:06.Aluko, lovely goal! The new girl, Karen Carney. Up and running.
:02:07. > :02:17.Davidson! What a finish! That is a fantastic header. It really is, from
:02:18. > :02:22.Kirby. What a touch from Ji! Fabulous!
:02:23. > :02:28.The champions are able to go top of the table with a win. The form book
:02:29. > :02:34.suggests a tough test, even for the top scorers in the league.
:02:35. > :02:37.Birmingham City are seven games unbeaten in all competitions. Emma
:02:38. > :02:41.Hayes has made six changes to the Chelsea side from the shock cup
:02:42. > :03:02.defeat at London Bees. It is the same 11 that began the
:03:03. > :03:11.last league game, a goalless draw against Arsenal. A really good
:03:12. > :03:18.attendance. The sun has brought them out today.
:03:19. > :03:26.Chapman, the call from the Chelsea bench is to go forwards. They don't
:03:27. > :03:34.feel they are seeing enough of that. Rafferty with the run forward. A
:03:35. > :03:38.good ball forward. Is the third time that Rafferty, who has got a great
:03:39. > :03:47.left foot, has got herself beyond the back five of Birmingham. Scored
:03:48. > :03:55.in the first meeting between these sides in January. Chapman, with the
:03:56. > :03:58.effort. Not far away. As well as the attacking talent, they've also got
:03:59. > :04:08.somebody in Katie Chapman who can score.
:04:09. > :04:14.Gemma Davidson, aiming to go left, a quick shot sometimes takes them by
:04:15. > :04:24.surprise. Birmingham, six unbeaten in the
:04:25. > :04:33.league, the longest run since going eight games unbeaten in 2014. Great
:04:34. > :04:41.opportunity for Ayisi! In! What a lovely finish by Ayisi. Right into
:04:42. > :04:45.the corner. Birmingham City have the lead at the home of the champions.
:04:46. > :04:53.Showing exactly what you can do, what a great touch and brilliant
:04:54. > :04:57.finish into the bottom corner. Emma Hayes is not messing about, and
:04:58. > :05:04.immediate change. A very attacking one, as well. Eniola Aluko Orman,
:05:05. > :05:20.Spence is the player to make way. Aluko scores! The substitute has
:05:21. > :05:27.made a difference so quickly. Off the bench, and on the scoresheet. We
:05:28. > :05:31.were talking about pinpoint accuracy, what a ball from Ji. It
:05:32. > :05:34.just tempts burning into going for it. A top quality finish. Probably
:05:35. > :05:53.just as good as Ayisi's. Good run by Davison, chance to
:05:54. > :05:58.shoot! She moves so well with the ball, Gemma Davidson.
:05:59. > :06:05.She has only got one thing on her mind when she gets the ball at her
:06:06. > :06:09.feet. She is going to take players on and force them to file her. --
:06:10. > :06:22.foul. No-nonsense challenge from Chapman.
:06:23. > :06:33.A yellow card by the referee. A strong challenge!
:06:34. > :06:41.Ayisi tangling with Chapman. It will be a Birmingham City free kick. I'll
:06:42. > :06:47.be interested to see what the referee does here. It's a last-ditch
:06:48. > :06:51.challenge, already on a yellow card. There is the yellow card, and that
:06:52. > :06:58.means red. Sarcastic applause as well from Katie Chapman. They are
:06:59. > :07:04.very unhappy on the Chelsea bench. So many tired bodies out there. They
:07:05. > :07:14.have really given it their all. Both sets of players have.
:07:15. > :07:19.Aluko hit sitcom and Rafferty fired well.
:07:20. > :07:28.They wanted to land on Rafferty's foot, but it landed on her right
:07:29. > :07:31.foot. She usually just stands on that one. You have to pick up points
:07:32. > :07:35.against the top teams, Birmingham are one of the top three or four in
:07:36. > :07:40.the league. They have been giving away a lot to a lot of teams, so I
:07:41. > :07:43.was not expecting they would today. Pleased with the point, I think both
:07:44. > :07:51.teams will be happy with the way it worked out. We could have nicked it
:07:52. > :07:53.in the end. We slacked off on a goal kick, really frustrating. If you
:07:54. > :07:54.switch off for one moment, they have so many matchwinners, they will hurt
:07:55. > :08:03.you. Chelsea miss the opportunity to go
:08:04. > :08:08.top, but Birmingham's tactics were spot on, they refuse to let them
:08:09. > :08:12.play? Birmingham were fantastic, compared to when they played
:08:13. > :08:17.Arsenal, they played the same formation, 3-5-2, but they were very
:08:18. > :08:20.attacking yesterday. A couple of weeks ago, they sat off and didn't
:08:21. > :08:24.bring much to the game apart from defending. You can see how high
:08:25. > :08:28.Birmingham are. The midfield are matching them, playable player. They
:08:29. > :08:38.don't allow easy possession for the ball. They force them into errors,
:08:39. > :08:43.time and again. They all did very well in marking not only the back
:08:44. > :08:49.three, but the midfield. Trying to get Spence onto the ball,. They have
:08:50. > :08:54.them no space to get onto the ball. A really clever tactic for
:08:55. > :08:57.Birmingham. They know that Chelsea are magicians with the ball at their
:08:58. > :09:01.feet. Don't give them time on the ball, they can't do much with it.
:09:02. > :09:06.That tactic really worked. Ultimately, Birmingham got their
:09:07. > :09:11.prize at the end. They did. Let's talk about possession. A really
:09:12. > :09:15.interesting that Birmingham had 35%, compared to Chelsea's 65%. It seems
:09:16. > :09:21.to be a trend at the moment. Are people trying to imitate Leicester,
:09:22. > :09:24.inspired by Lester? Maybe they are. Birmingham, they know what their
:09:25. > :09:29.strengths are and they play to them. They are very well organised, they
:09:30. > :09:36.are disciplined. Very hard to break down. It is something they need to
:09:37. > :09:39.improve on, their goal-scoring. I am sure they are addressing that and it
:09:40. > :09:42.is something they will take forward into the rest of the season. Why
:09:43. > :09:46.not? You know what you're good at and play to it. The idea that this
:09:47. > :09:50.setback, defend and play on the counter? They are very direct, when
:09:51. > :09:54.they get the ball, they like to attack teams. They are starting to
:09:55. > :09:58.score goals and improve in that respect. But they are good
:09:59. > :10:01.defensively, why not play to that system? They brought in players in
:10:02. > :10:06.the off-season to complement what they had been building on, the solid
:10:07. > :10:10.backline, bringing people into improve the goal-scoring. You
:10:11. > :10:15.alluded to the 3-5-2, Emma Hayes switched things up for the second
:10:16. > :10:21.half of the season. Do you think it suits their play? 3-5-2 is making
:10:22. > :10:26.come a come back? It should do, they have so many attacking players.
:10:27. > :10:30.Yesterday, it meant Gemma Davison and Ji were supposed to play in the
:10:31. > :10:34.front two position, but they didn't end up there. Perfect cross from
:10:35. > :10:39.Claire Rafferty, should have been one of the two. Same here, a lovely
:10:40. > :10:42.ball. The edge of the box. That is where the front two should be
:10:43. > :10:47.hanging out, ready to strike the ball. They are absent. An unnatural
:10:48. > :10:57.position for both of those two. They didn't often find themselves in the
:10:58. > :11:03.right place. Eniola Aluko comes on, natural centre forward. Perfect
:11:04. > :11:09.relationship between Ji and Aluko. A wonderful finish in the side
:11:10. > :11:15.netting. A natural striker's finish. Super substitute, made an impact
:11:16. > :11:19.straightaway. The sending-off, Emma Chapman, sent a tweet afterwards,
:11:20. > :11:24.gutted, not deserved, but that's football. You have changed your mind
:11:25. > :11:29.on this, what did you make of this? At the game, I thought it was two
:11:30. > :11:33.yellow cards, initially, from where we were. We have watched it again
:11:34. > :11:38.and again. This is the first. Katie Chapman, she is going to go in and
:11:39. > :11:44.make strong challenges. She wins the ball. For me, personally, that was a
:11:45. > :11:50.harsh yellow card. I thought at first, worthy studs raised? This is
:11:51. > :11:56.the second. Is this clever? She is impeding Ayisi going through. She
:11:57. > :12:00.was the last player. When I looked at it, she was not looking at Ayisi
:12:01. > :12:06.at any point, she was looking away from the player. It was just a
:12:07. > :12:09.collision as far as I was concerned, quite harsh. She will be messed
:12:10. > :12:13.against her former club Arsenal. Last week marked the first
:12:14. > :12:17.anniversary of England's historic achievement at the World Cup. Many
:12:18. > :12:18.of the squad that finished third in Canada reunited on Sunday when
:12:19. > :12:30.Arsenal hosted Notts County. More than half of the lionesses that
:12:31. > :12:33.enjoyed success on the biggest stage of all have spent the last five
:12:34. > :12:41.months playing for Arsenal or Notts County. Both sides hoped to give WSL
:12:42. > :12:46.debuts to the most recent English acquisitions on Sunday. Jody Taylor
:12:47. > :12:53.missed out with an Achilles injury. She arrived along with the other
:12:54. > :12:59.deadline day signings. There will be hoping to book a place on the plane
:13:00. > :13:02.to the European Championships. With a year until the tournament kicks
:13:03. > :13:05.off, there is plenty of time for those on the fringes of the squad to
:13:06. > :13:15.force their way into Mark Sampson's plans. Yesterday, focus was on
:13:16. > :13:17.securing three points. Notts County arrived with revenge on
:13:18. > :13:23.their mind, after losing their FA Cup quarterfinal on penalties in
:13:24. > :13:25.April. Carter is out with knee trouble. Kelly Smith is leading the
:13:26. > :13:46.attack. This is the second four meetings
:13:47. > :13:56.between these clubs, coming up this season. Jordan Nobbs. Looking for
:13:57. > :14:03.the underdog, Danielle van de Donk! -- looking for Van de Donk. A
:14:04. > :14:07.composed finish. From the moment Danielle van de Donk outpaced Laura
:14:08. > :14:10.Bassett, Notts County were always in trouble. That is her fourth goal of
:14:11. > :14:27.the season. Jordan Nobbs, moving forward once
:14:28. > :14:31.again. And once again, Van de Donk waiting in the centre. They almost
:14:32. > :14:53.combine for a second goal. And the midfield runners really causing
:14:54. > :15:02.That was Jess Clarke. She shows what she can bring to the Notts County
:15:03. > :15:18.side. A foul.
:15:19. > :15:29.There Prevents the free kick being taken quickly. The referee quick to
:15:30. > :15:32.show the yellow card. A rush of blood there from Laura Bassett.
:15:33. > :15:47.She's continuing the conversation. There's a confrontation again on the
:15:48. > :15:50.edge of the penalty area. Once again it's Laura Bassett involved.
:15:51. > :15:54.Danielle Van de Donk and Rachel Woman's Super League being called
:15:55. > :16:01.over -- Rachel Williams being called over by the referee. Did she swing
:16:02. > :16:11.an arm there? It's a yellow card for both Williams and Van de Donk. Maybe
:16:12. > :16:28.an escape there for Laura Basset who has been booked already.
:16:29. > :16:52.Bassett's header, and an excellent save.
:16:53. > :17:07.It's Nobbs! And the deflection. She makes it 2-0. Excellent approach
:17:08. > :17:09.play from Arsenal. The lunge from Jade moor just helping the ball over
:17:10. > :17:19.Walsh. That may be game over. Williams straining to get forward,
:17:20. > :17:38.but Clarke was tumbled by Williams. -- in a very dangerous area.
:17:39. > :17:40.Williams can't get the touch. The two new comers almost combine to get
:17:41. > :18:11.Notts County back in the game. Williams over the free kick. That's
:18:12. > :18:15.a fine save from Megan Walsh. The keeper deputising. She does well to
:18:16. > :18:19.avoid further damage. We started very well in the game. We are being
:18:20. > :18:26.more aggressive, more consistent. We grow in the game. We were better. In
:18:27. > :18:32.the first half Laura Bassett was booked. Then there was another
:18:33. > :18:37.incident in the box. I didn't see the action in the box, I can't say.
:18:38. > :18:40.Especially against Notts County the game is going to be like that. It's
:18:41. > :18:44.two sets of players with a lot of desire who want to win the game and
:18:45. > :18:48.frustrations now and again. I'll back my players to the hilt. I don't
:18:49. > :18:52.think there was any major problems. The referee handled it fine. I think
:18:53. > :18:55.after the game, now, we're just disappointed that we haven't turned
:18:56. > :19:01.up and we know we can play a lot better. A good win for Arsenal, but
:19:02. > :19:07.let's talk about the possible red card for Notts County. We just heard
:19:08. > :19:10.Rick Passmoor say he'd back his players to the hilt. Was he right to
:19:11. > :19:14.having watched that back? I think you have to, as a manager, you have
:19:15. > :19:18.to back your players. When you go into the changing room maybe that's
:19:19. > :19:21.where you have a word with them. She's wrestling with Kelly Smith.
:19:22. > :19:25.Gives a foul away. That isn't the yellow card. It's the second
:19:26. > :19:29.incident. That's where the referee pulls the yellow card. Here, you can
:19:30. > :19:35.see, the referee's not looking. He's looking at the ball. He's not
:19:36. > :19:40.looking at what's happening between Laura Bassett and donk dorching
:19:41. > :19:44.donk. Williams tries to help out. They're wrestling for the ball,
:19:45. > :19:48.trying to get possible. Laura Bassett wrestled her to the ground.
:19:49. > :19:52.If Danielle Van de Donk had made a bit more of that and the referee
:19:53. > :19:57.could have seen it, that could have been a second yellow for Bassett.
:19:58. > :20:02.You could see Laura Bassett was sieging a bit and there was
:20:03. > :20:08.championedering going on between -- chunderring going on there. She's
:20:09. > :20:13.lucky. Joe Potter and Jade Moorlands Mist in the mix. -- Moore in the
:20:14. > :20:17.mix. That creates a different dynamic. Notts County are used to
:20:18. > :20:21.being direct and using their wide players, Jess Clarke, using their
:20:22. > :20:24.pace and Ellen White. They're using their midfield for the first time
:20:25. > :20:27.pretty much and going through with ball players. I don't think they
:20:28. > :20:31.were particularly effective against Arsenal yesterday. They didn't put
:20:32. > :20:35.enough pressure on the ball. Arsenal had too much time on the ball to
:20:36. > :20:39.pick their next pass and time on the ball for Arsenal equals a successful
:20:40. > :20:44.Arsenal team. You have players like Williams who on this occasion, picks
:20:45. > :20:49.a lovely ball through to Van de Donk. A tiny bit of weight off that
:20:50. > :20:53.could have caused a problem. In possession, Notts County, I feel,
:20:54. > :20:57.had too many touches. They're a bit slow on the ball. They didn't get
:20:58. > :21:03.their other two midfielders close enough to them. Here they're very,
:21:04. > :21:07.very deep as well. When James plays the ball to Potter, she faces
:21:08. > :21:11.forward and doesn't see too many options. One, two touches, Arsenal
:21:12. > :21:15.are pouncing on that. They are capitalising on one and two, three
:21:16. > :21:20.touches. They win the ball back. That was the difference yesterday.
:21:21. > :21:25.We've seen Pedro Martinez Losa rotate his squad a fair amount this
:21:26. > :21:30.season, not only tactically but in terms of personnel. Jordan Nobbs
:21:31. > :21:35.started and played in an advanced role. She was excellent. She has
:21:36. > :21:38.been out with a minor injury. I wasn't sure, used to seeing her in a
:21:39. > :21:42.central position, but she's wide on the right and constantly, she was
:21:43. > :21:46.looking for that ball in behind. She sees grass in front of her. Straight
:21:47. > :21:50.away she travels. She drives at the defence. That's a fantastic ball. I
:21:51. > :21:54.actually think Van de Donk could have done better if she'd have gone
:21:55. > :21:58.with her left foot. But here she's going forward. One, two touches,
:21:59. > :22:03.always she has head up. She's looking, would can I pass to? Here,
:22:04. > :22:07.probably not the most successful passing, but she was quality
:22:08. > :22:12.throughout. She gets the ball here in a deeper role than her usual
:22:13. > :22:15.position, straight away, head up, 50-metre pass into Van de Donk's
:22:16. > :22:19.path. It's a lovely finish. But it was the ball that made that goal.
:22:20. > :22:25.Again, she's picking the ball up. It's a one and two-touch pass. She's
:22:26. > :22:29.wanting to get involved, wanting o to get on the ball. She wants to get
:22:30. > :22:36.into the box and get onto the ball and score a goal. That was well
:22:37. > :22:39.deserved. It did take a deflection, Jade Moore slid in, but Jordan Nobbs
:22:40. > :22:47.deserved the goal. I thought she was excellent. Great performance. Two
:22:48. > :22:56.more games to catch up on now, starting with Sunderland and
:22:57. > :23:02.Doncaster who met in a per verbial six--- proverbial six pointer.
:23:03. > :23:08.Both Sunderland and Doncaster kicked off without a win this season. New
:23:09. > :23:12.belles box had reported her first win at the expense of the lady black
:23:13. > :23:19.cats in the continental cup this week. Her weapon this time, when
:23:20. > :23:25.Leandra Little earned a straight red card for a professional foul on mode
:23:26. > :23:29.Mead. -- Beth Mead. Mead converted the cross at the near post to give
:23:30. > :23:33.her side the lead just after the half hour mark.
:23:34. > :23:42.Minutes later and it was two. Roach's probing corner found Hayley
:23:43. > :23:47.Sharp unmarked at the post. She headed home to double the advantage.
:23:48. > :23:52.Beth Mead is beginning to rediscover the form that saw her finish as WSL
:23:53. > :23:58.1 top scorer last season and added a third before the break.
:23:59. > :24:04.Mead's evening came to a premature end when she suffered a neck injury
:24:05. > :24:11.early in the second half. Sunderland pushed forward and added a fourth
:24:12. > :24:12.when Brooke Chaplen collected the ball and give Sunderland a deserved
:24:13. > :24:22.win. That defeat left Doncaster and
:24:23. > :24:25.Reading as the only WSL 1 sietds yet to win a game this season. The
:24:26. > :24:37.Royals nearly got off to the perfect start against Liverpool.
:24:38. > :24:47.They have managed just one clean sheet in the league this term. The
:24:48. > :24:50.reds opened the scoring. Her first goal for the club since joining from
:24:51. > :24:56.Manchester City. Harding was involved again in Liverpool's
:24:57. > :24:58.second. Her ball found White. Coombs finished well past the former
:24:59. > :25:10.England under 23 team-mate. The visitors were nearly gifted a
:25:11. > :25:17.life line moments laider. Jade Boho-Sayo raced onto a pass only to
:25:18. > :25:21.be denied by Siobhan Chamberlain. Liverpool had only conceded one goal
:25:22. > :25:26.in the previous four games in all competitions, but they needed the
:25:27. > :25:32.help of the wood work to preserve the clean sheet.
:25:33. > :25:43.That defeat sees Reading slip to eighth in the table:
:25:44. > :25:51.I am sorry to bring it up, Doncaster and you still without a single win
:25:52. > :25:54.this season. Is there a belief that you can get out of trouble at this
:25:55. > :25:59.stage? Is it a matter of confidence? Yeah, I think you've got to believe.
:26:00. > :26:03.As a team, we manage to beat Sunderland in the continental cup.
:26:04. > :26:07.That give us a lift. Then we've gone into Sunderland the week after and
:26:08. > :26:10.unfortunately got a player sent off after 30 minutes, our captain,
:26:11. > :26:15.leader on the pitch. That was the turning point in the game. We have a
:26:16. > :26:19.lot of young players, inexperienced players, maybe not been in that
:26:20. > :26:22.situation. We have to be able to pull ourselves back from that. We've
:26:23. > :26:26.got a good group of players. I think it's something that we'll be working
:26:27. > :26:32.on for the next couple of weeks before we play Chelsea next. I know
:26:33. > :26:36.it's early days but Emma Coates has taken over. Any shift in training
:26:37. > :26:40.methods or philosophy? It's difficult for Yeam to come in --
:26:41. > :26:44.Emma to come in because the players thought a lot of Glenn. It would be
:26:45. > :26:48.difficult to step in. Straight away she brought in a psychologist, which
:26:49. > :26:53.is something that we need as a young group of players - not myself! But
:26:54. > :26:58.the rest of the team. She's highly organised. She looks at individual
:26:59. > :27:01.players and tries to improve them to help the team as a whole. She's
:27:02. > :27:05.implemented her style of play onto us straight away. She's tried to
:27:06. > :27:11.instill a belief that we can get out of it. Hopefully, we can. We just
:27:12. > :27:16.need that first win under our belts. One positive, you got minutes on the
:27:17. > :27:20.pitch as well. Which is true, yes. Liverpool undefeated in four, things
:27:21. > :27:23.seem to be coming together. Yeah they're really gaining momentum.
:27:24. > :27:26.They started off the season and were leaking goals and didn't really have
:27:27. > :27:30.that platform at the back, that strength to build on. They've got
:27:31. > :27:35.the forward players. They're scoring goals. They've shored things up at
:27:36. > :27:38.the back. They're a force to be reckoned with now and taking points
:27:39. > :27:43.off teams from both ends of the table. Thank you. Plenty of action
:27:44. > :27:49.in WSL 2 this weekend. After topping the table during the early months of
:27:50. > :27:52.the campaign, Durham have struggled to find consistency lately. They
:27:53. > :27:59.returned to winning ways on Sunday with victory over Aston Villa. This
:28:00. > :28:05.superb effort the pick of the goals in a 3-0 win.
:28:06. > :28:06.That result leaves the Wildcats still firmly in contention for
:28:07. > :28:21.promotion. That is about it from us. Thank you
:28:22. > :28:24.to Rachel and Sue as well. We are back next week to see whether
:28:25. > :28:29.Chelsea can get back to winning ways, when they take on Arsenal.
:28:30. > :28:37.We'll have highlights next Monday at 11. 15pm on BBC Two or on the red
:28:38. > :28:42.button from 8. 30pm. And that's it. Manchester City didn't kick a ball,
:28:43. > :28:44.but they remain top of the WSL 1 after Chelsea dropped points against
:28:45. > :28:49.Birmingham. Goodbye for now.