Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea head coach, has called for goalline technology to be introduced in the Women’s Super League next season after Sam Kerr was controversially denied a hat-trick during a 4-1 victory at Everton.
The Chelsea and Australia striker scored two clinical low finishes, either side of a long-range drive from Everton’s Yuka Momiki, to put Chelsea 2-1 up. However, replays showed that Kerr should have been awarded a third goal when her header bounced off the post and crossed the line before being cleared by Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.
Despite the controversy, Chelsea scored twice more to secure the win. Ellie Carpenter poked in for 3-1, and Erin Cuthbert drove in a low finish late on, greatly strengthening Chelsea’s hopes of Champions League qualification. On the same day, their rivals Manchester United dropped points in a 0-0 draw at Tottenham, leaving their European hopes in jeopardy.
Had the goal been given, Kerr would have become Chelsea’s leading WSL goalscorer. Instead, her strikes saw her move level with former teammate Fran Kirby on 63 WSL goals for the club.
“She levelled the most league goals with Fran Kirby, but in reality she went top because that goal was a clear goal. I think it just shows again, we need to have the technology next season in this league,” Bompastor said during her post-match press conference.
“The league is the most competitive league in the world, and we need to be at a really good level in terms of these decisions. We won the game by a three-goal difference so it didn’t create a lot of conversations, but if we had been in a situation where the goal-difference at the end of the season would have been important, then this goal is something I would have been really upset about. So that’s mainly the reason, we need the technology for things to be fair for everyone.”
United’s draw left their European hopes out of their hands, four points behind with two rounds of league games left. Chelsea would now be assured of a Champions League spot if they beat struggling Leicester City next Sunday.
Leicester, meanwhile, look increasingly destined to face a playoff to avoid relegation after they lost 5-1 away at London City Lionesses, while second-from-bottom West Ham won 1-0 at Liverpool to move seven points above Leicester, who have three games to go.
Elsewhere, Portsmouth were relegated from WSL2 to the third tier following a 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest, coupled with Ipswich’s shock 3-0 win against league leaders Birmingham City. Birmingham had known a victory would all-but mathematically guarantee promotion to the top flight, but they now face a nail-biting final-day meeting with promotion rivals Charlton, with Crystal Palace also moving level on points with Birmingham after their win at Sunderland.
