Skipper Spence ‘honoured to wear the armband’ in 4-0 defeat of Eagles

Drew Spence is a skipper with a 100 per cent win record.

Okay, she’s only had one game, seeing off Crystal Palace Ladies 4-0 on Sunday in the Continental Tyres Cup match, but it’s still a record.

With Karen Carney and Millie Bright sitting the match out, Spence was handed the armband by manager Emma Hayes.

Spence said: “ I just found out I was going to be captain just before the team meeting. The gaffer pulled me in and said I was to captain the side and it was an honour to lead the girls out.

I wasn’t too sure I was going to get it. But the gaffer said I’d be been here a long while.”

Chelsea treated the match against the Eagles with a hint of pre-season mentality to it.

But the South Londoners were not in a mood to roll over.

Spence said: “They were very aggressive, they put in a good performance, they put in challenges, that’s what we were expecting, it was a big London derby. We wasn’t expecting them to sit at the edge of the box and take our attacks. We should have finished a few more chances. But we are happy with the clean sheet.”

On Tuesday night, The Blues return to WSL 1 action away to Bristol Academy having just played in Bosnia and Bromley.

Sp3ence is looking forward to the challenge.

”Having a big squad certainly helps,” when asked how the team can cope with a raft of fixtures so close together.

”Last year we had similar things, Champions League, Conti Cup and the league, so this is not new to us. We just need to to the right things, recover well and be fresh.

”Bristol will be another test for us. We will look at the footage of them, and just go on from that. Hopefully we will put in a good performance, keep our standards high and get the three points.”

Fellow striker Fran Kirby had one of those games where she did almost everything right but score. She sits on 49 goals for the Blues and, while she made three assists, she also missed a sitter.

Her demeanour suggested she was frustrated by not reaching the half-century milestone on Sunday, Spence portrays a contrary view.

“I think Fran scores goals for fun,” she said.

”And sometimes it might not come off. But she had a hat-trick of assists and I think she will be happy with that. She knows her time is coming and I don’t think she is really worried about it.”

Spence scored one of the four goals, along with a strike from Adelina Engman and a brace from Bethany England.

Engalnd returned to Chelsea after a loan spell, last year to Liverpool.

Spemce said of her team-mate: “Beth went out on loan to Liverpool last year and had a great season, scoring lots of goals, and she has brought that already into the team. She missed a few but made sure she got two in the second half. So hats off to her.

“Sometimes going away help, sometimes staying does, I think it was the right choice for her at the time. She got the game time that she needed and obviously gone away, practiced and she has really knuckled down and we are so proud of her and happy that’s she’s back.”

Skipper

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