A sweet strike from Lauren James secured Chelsea's place in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday, granting the five-time winners a narrow 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. The Blues, top of the Women's Super League, were dominant against their visitors, bottom of the same division, but that pressure did not pay off until past the hour, when James raced onto a loose ball and buried it into the far corner with aplomb.
In truth, it was no less than Chelsea deserved. Chances aplenty were created by a side still to lose in Sonia Bompastor's first season in charge, but the likes of Aggie Beever-Jones, Catarina Macario and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd were all guilty of wasting opportunities that would've put the hosts out-of-sight well before the deadlock was eventually broken.
Still, it always felt like the champions of England would find their shooting boots to get the job done - and with Palace unable to really create anything of note themselves, one goal was likely to be enough, too. That was how it played out, with James able to put Chelsea into the last four as they search for a fourth FA Cup triumph in five seasons.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Kingsmeadow...
