Erin Cuthbert plans on keeping her goalscoring boots on following her brace in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the weekend.
Cuthbert’s strikes either side of the interval proved enough for Chelsea, who endured a nervy finish at Meadow Park following Viviane Miedema’s 80th-minute goal for the hosts. The win on Saturday took Emma Hayes’ side to within a point of Joe Montemurro’s side, who dropped to second place following Manchester City’s victory on Sunday.
It was a remarkable triumph for Chelsea, whose prospects of retaining the title have become suddenly genuine. This is largely thanks to Cuthbert who inspired Hayes’ side to an 11th straight win across all competitions. The Scottish international beat Arsenal centreback Louise Quinn, almost a foot taller than her, in the air to head Chelsea’s opener before firing a superb volley in what proved to be the difference between the two sides.
The 20-year-old, who has taken her tally to seven strikes this campaign, then attributed her return to goalscoring ways to manager Hayes.
“I never score headers,” said the Scottish international striker. “I did one in training, actually, on Saturday and it didn’t go in, the keeper made a good save. Emma said to me, ‘It’s going to come on Sunday, trust me.’ And do you know what? Emma never fails to deliver. I really appreciate the confidence and trust she has in me.
“I practice a lot in training. I’ve not been scoring a lot of late, it’s a lot of pressure on a striker or forward player to score goals. I’ve been trying to assist, but I’ve been missing that part of my game – scoring – so it was nice to get two goals.
“I’ve got to keep working hard. For me everything I show and do on the pitch is actually done on the training pitch. I’m replicating things I’ve done there. And I’m learning a lot off Emma defensively and tactically. So I’ve just got to keep my feet on the ground, and stay injury free.”
