Aston Villa v Chelsea: Women’s FA Cup semi-final – live | Women’s FA Cup

Half-time reading:

Half-time: Aston Villa 0-0 Chelsea

45+2 min James runs at Staniforth, chopping inside and nipping outside – I feel dizzy watching it – then plays a square pass. The ball then goes left to Cankovic, who has time to measure a cross, it’s glanced across the box by Turner and lands in front of the onrushing Perisset …. who skies her shot! In fairness, the ball bounces pretty high, but she had to do better than that there.

45+1 min Hansen sashays away from Leupolz, who goes through with her challenge anyway, conceding a free-kick. Staniforth will stick it into the box, but Kerr wins a decent header and Chelsea counter…

45 min We’ll have two extra minutes.

45 min Chelsea need to get James more involved – she looks dangerous every time she’s on the ball, though of course as I type that she botches a relatively simple pass that, had she hit it properly, would’ve sent Reiten in on goal.

44 min Now Cuthbert finds space 30 yards out, moving into the middle from the left before dragging a shot wide.

43 min During the break, Hayes had some words with her team and rightly so. But here come Villa again – they’re growing in confidence – Staniforth first to a loose clearance that drops 25 yards out, and she crane-kicks a decent effort that has Musovic scrambling to save down by the right-hand post.

41 min Musovic is down receiving treatment – she collided with the hoardings as she and Daly fought for the ball following that shot that went wide and, I think, took a stamp to the foot. She should, though, be fine.

39 min What do we make of this yellow Chelsea away kit? It reminds me a bit of this one from 1984, though obviously isn’t as good.

And here’s some bonus Eddie Niedzwiecki.

37 min Hanson wins a free-kick, wafted into the box, where Eriksson concedes the corner. Villa are having a good few minutes, but Staniforth’s corner is just a bit too high.

35 min Suddenly Villa threaten Daly unable to introduce head to cross, then Hanson does superbly to draw in Perisset, who gets too close and is spun. So Hanson cracks over a low cross and Daly is first to the near post … but Eriksson does really well to get back at her, blocking her attempted turn into the corner.

33 min Nice from Dali, winning possession in midfield with a sliding tackle, but she then rushes her pass over the top for Hanson. No matter: Pachecco finds Hanson who darts into the box from the left-hand side and, as things open up, can only curl a rising shot well over the top. She might’ve done better there.

32 min This is a bit messy now, Cuthbert trying a ball over the top for Kerr but putting way too much on it. Chelsea might want to move the ball in the final third as they’re doing into midfield, making angles, rather than looking for killer passes and shots as soon as they get proximate to goal.

30 min The corner is cleared so back to James, I think she might be the most natural-looking footballer in the game. There are certain players who look like they’re playing in the future – Duncan Edwards was one, Ronaldo Fenomeno another – and I feel that way about James, who looks next generation in terms of her movement, feet and athleticism.

29 min Pachecco wins a corner for Villa just as I was about to rhapsodise James, so we’ll come back to her in a second.

28 min Staniforth plays Dali into trouble just outside the Villa box, so Dali tries to drop a shoulder and use her body to get out. She can’t, though, James in quickly to pick up possession before immediately lashing a low drive just wide of the post.

26 min Reiten escapes down the left and in the middle, Kerr makes a a really good near-post dart that loses Turner. The ball in is decent too, but under pressure Kerr has to go at it first-time, unable to get enough purchase with the outside of her right boot so Hampton saves at the near post.

25 min Villa will be pretty pleased with how this is going. They’ll have wanted to get at Chelsea early, which hasn’t happened, but they have limited the chances they’ve given up and look capable to finding something in behind. Other hand, Chelsea are playing like a team that knows a goal is coming.

24 min James gets a run at Turner, slowing her up then going on the outside. But Turner comes back well, blocking her shot well enough so that Hampton saves easily enough.

23 min They cannot, Staniforth’s cross headed away by Cuthbert.

22 min Patten marches forward with the ball and spreads to Lehmann, whose cross is blocked behind by Carter. Can Villa make anything of it?

20 min Nice from Chelsea, working the ball across the width off the pitch as they probe for space, then James’ cross is headed clear as Cankovic goes down … aha, she run into Staniforth, who very much let her, bashing oesophagus on elbow. It’s a bit sore, but she’ll be fine, while Staniforth does well to escape punishment because that was naughty.

18 min Yup, I think the pattern is now set: Chelsea dominating, Villa defending, and as I type that, Kerr looks to be in behind. But a decent sliding tackle from Patten sends the ball into Kerr and behind. Chelsea, though, come again…

16 min Kerr holds up and wins a corner, which Reiten pulls back to James, running towards the near post – think Tottenham, mid-90s, Anderton to Sheringham – but the ball bobbles a bit, so James can only shoot wide.

15 min Again, Villa look to send Lehman in behind Eriksson, who steps up. The flag is raised, but I’m not sure that was offside, and as we said earlier, Villa know they’ve a chance given the players missing from Chelsea’s defence.

13 min Mayling is late on Reiten, who sends a pass away then wears a kick that dumps her on the ground. This time, Chelsea go shot and square to Cuthbert, whose touch is poor – she clatters Pacheco retrieving it – and Perisswet then plays into James, who moves across the face of the box from left to centre before unfurling a curler that whizzes wide.

13 min I wonder if Chelseas are taking control of this game now, moving the ball about at the back trying to bait Villa, in then attacking the spaces they’re left.

11 min Perisset drills to the penalty spot area and Eriksson is up, unopposed, but her header thuds straight into Hampton’s gloves.

10 min Daly is playing very deep at the moment. She said pre-match that Ward wants her to go where centre-forwards generally don’t, but in co-comms, Farah Williams thinks she needs to be running in behind, not playing passes trying to usher in others. I guess we’ll see – I see both sides – but in the meantime, James wins a corner for Chelsea down the right…

8 min Nobbs pulls right and wins a throw, but then Dali’s cross is blocked and Chelsea clear. Villa aren’t waiting to be asked here – they’re trying to make the most of this opportunity, hunting a goal though they’re leaving themselves a little exposed at the back.

7 min I should, though, note that Kerr has already threatened in behind on a few occasions. I guess that’s part and parcel of playing Chelsea – you can’t stop that – but perhaps Villa might put a player in front of and behind her, given she’s playing up front on her bill,

5 min Excellent from Patten, who sends a long ball over the top for Lehmann, in behind Carter. But Carter does really well to come back at her, a challenge not only thwarting the attack but winning her side a goalkick. Still, though, Villa have started well.

4 min Daly heads away well at the front post, but Lehman can’t find a decent pass as Villa attempt a counter. They’re looking to get the ball forward quickly, and here’s Pachecco moving away from James down the left, before a swift kick stop her in her tracks.

3 min And there’s Reiten running off Kerr who wins a flick-on; Turner does well to slide in at cost of a corner, Perisset to take.

2 min I think Chelsea are playing 4-1-4-1, and as I type that, Nobbs slides a ball in behind for Daly, splitting the centre-backs, but the flag goes up.

1 min Almost immediately, Villa look long, seeking Hanson down the left – that might be a plan, though this time nothing comes of it.

1 min …and away we go!

The teams take the knee…

There’s a decent atmosphere in the ground – lots of flags and a 500-strong Chelsea contingent. It’s on!

Here come our teams!

Carla Ward says many people didn’t think Villa would get to this stage, and she considers Chelsea the best side in the country. She reckons her team didn’t look after the ball well enough when they last met, and having Mayling back gives them better balance as well as facilitating Staniforth’s return to midfield

Elsewhere, Arsenal men have taken an early lead at West Ham.

Daly’s dog, Sausage, has her own spot in the changing room, and the girls get vexed if she’s not brought in. Tremendous stuff.

Emma Hayes tells BBC she’s had two good training sessions since the players returned from the international break and is expecting Villa to be more aggressive and direct. She reckons Mayling will be hitting early crosses, and asked about the changes she’s made since the last game, says she can’t remember who was in that one, but is really happy with the one she’s got today. Imagine her being your boss – what a woman.

We watch tape of Kerr, and what I love about her is her total dedication to scoring goals. She didn’t know Leah Williamson would make an error in midweek – indeed, she’ll have known it was extremely unlikely – but she still ran in behind in case, then when one came, she had the composure to finish with a lovely touch.

Sam Kerr, fresh from her midweek rinsing of England, tells BBC she didn’t want to come off in that game, she’d just jarred her knee a bit. She thinks Villa will be disappointed in how they played when the teams met the week before last – they’re expecting a much better performance – and though the treble is on the table, Chelsea are focused on the Cup.

And what a fine piece of opportunism that is, given the unseasonably minging weather. I’m afraid this shot doesn’t do it justice, but what can we do.

Breaking news: Alex Scott, fronting BBC’s coverage, is wearing a terrific coat.

As for Chelsea, though they’ll expect their superior talent to tell, Emma Hayes will presumably have a plan. I imagine she’ll want her full-backs and wingers making the pitch as wide as possible, stretching the Villa back four across it so there’s space for Kerr in the centre with Reiten making third-player runs off her.

So where is the game? My guess is that Villa will look for their midfield three to outnumber Leupolz and Cankovic, given Reiten will primarily be seeking to create. They’ll then look to get Daly running at Eriksson and Mjelde, whether by attacking them directly or targeting the space behind and between them,

As for Chelsea, they’re now missing both their first-choice centre-backs, with Kadeisha Buchannan joining Millie Bright on the injured list; her spot goes to Maren Mjelde. Otherwise, Jessie Fleming and Sophie Ingle are replaced in midfield by Jelena Cankovic and Melanie Leupolz, so Lauren James takes the former’s spot off the right of the attack, while Erin Cuthbert comes in on the left, moving Guro Reiten inside; Johanna Rytting Kaneryd drops to the bench. Oh, and the brilliant Pernille Harder is on the bench after a hamstring injury sustained in November. That’s great news.

Villa make one change to the side that suffered that 3-0 home defeat, with Laura Blindkilde dropping to the bench. Her spot at the base of midfield goes to Lucy Staniforth, who moves up from right-back, that position filled by Sarah Mayling.

I’m going to write these down, then we can chat about what they mean…

Let’s have some teams!

Preamble