Drew Spence scored a double for Chelsea Ladies as they romped to a 4-0 victory at Bristol Academy.
The visitors looked confident after winning their opener against Notts County at the weekend, as they went 3-0 up before the break in a devastating 12-minute period for Bristol.
Eniola Aluko’s cross found Ji So-Yun on 22 minutes who slotted home for the Blues’ first, before Spence headed in an excellent Ana Borges’ delivery just 7 minutes later.
The in-form Gemma Davison then added a third before half time showing strength to hold off the Bristol defence, after a surging run down the middle, and grabbing her fourth goal in three games for her new club.
Christie Murray could have got Bristol on the scoresheet but her effort went narrowly wide for the hosts. That didn’t seem to phase Chelsea, however, who went searching for their fourth as Davison fired in to the side netting from a tight angle, and Spence hit the crossbar with a bullet header in added time.
After the interval, Bristol looked a better team and Chelsea’s opportunities to add to their goal tally were limited.
Both Aluko and Spence went close for the visitors, with the latter having her effort cleared off the line by Grace McCatty.
McCatty then found space out wide to whip in an excellent ball for Nicola Watts but the cross was just inches too high for the Bristol striker who couldn’t get anything on it from eight yards out.
As the clock ran down in to injury time at the end of the game, Spence did well to grab her second of the night and Chelsea’s fourth, producing a composed finish which squirmed under Bristol keeper Mary Earps after a mistake from McCatty.
Emma Hayes side now sit top of the WSL 1 table after their win at Bristol maintained an unbeaten run in all competitions.
Hayes said of goal-scorer Spence after the game: “Drew is playing higher up the pitch this season and she should have had a hat-trick. It has taken her a while to get her Chelsea career going, but I think the rest of the league is starting to see we have a player with unbelievable qualities.”
“I was happy with the result and the clean sheet, although Bristol made it harder for us in the second half.” She added.
“People expect us to be up there and challenging and so do I. We enjoy the pressure of being in that position.”
