Ladies Claim Chelsea Triumph

Liverpool Ladies secured their first WSL win of the season as they recorded a 1-0 victory away to Chelsea.

Chloe Jones was the matchwinner, illustrating just why the club signed her from Leicester, as she bagged the only goal of the game.

The Reds were boosted ahead of kick off with the news that Nicky Twohig would return from suspension to replace Beth Bailey at the heart of the defence, whilst the only other change from Wednesday's draw with Doncaster saw Cheryl Foster replace Ruesha Littlejohn.

And it was Twohig that came closest to opening the scoring, as she met a Jones corner forcefully, only to see her header cleared off the line by Danni Buet.

However, Chelsea's goal was soon to be breached, as Jones swung a corner into the near post, with the ball seemingly evading everyone to nestle in the net.

There were some suggestions that it may have deflected off the back of Chelsea midfielder, Buet, but Jones was not to be denied her first goal in Liverpool colours and took the adulation of her teammates.

Buet tried to make amends as she gained some space down the right-hand side, but blazed her shot over the bar, as the Blues struggled to get a foothold in the game.

A last ditch challenge from Lara Fay was required to deny Kelly Jones after 27 minutes, before she snatched at a loose ball from the resulting corner and saw her strike narrowly fly over the crossbar.

It took Chelsea 33 minutes to force Dani Gibbons into action, as Ashlee Hincks's 25-yard shot forced the Liverpool stopper into a fine save down low.

Buet then shot wide, as Chelsea upped the pressure going into the half-time break, with Gibbons required again to deny Helen Lander to ensure Liverpool retained their lead.

The Reds regained the upper hand as the second half got underway, with Twohig unfortunate not to double the advantage, as she latched onto another fine delivery from Jones, only to find her close range effort rebound off Blues 'keeper, Carly Telford.

The game then entered a scrappy stage, with Chelsea becoming frustrated by their inability to create chances against the team that had conceded the most goals in the division.

Cheryl Foster should have doubled the advantage on 69 minutes, as a fantastic centre from Jones found her in acres of space, only to divert the ball wide of the post.

Liverpool was in the ascendency, as Kate Brusell forced Telford into a close range save, before Jones hit the post, with the Blues' 'keeper beaten.

A minute later, and Liverpool were thankful to Gibbons for keeping their advantage, as Hincks raced clear on goal. The Reds' stopper stayed big however, deflecting the ball away with her legs.

Liverpool came back again, with Jones denied by Telford and Brusell seeing her long range cracker whistle past the post.

As the rain started pouring down, so did the Chelsea pressure, as they upped the tempo in the final 10 minutes in search of an equalizer.

Hincks couldn't quite wrap her foot around a loose ball, toe-poking wide of the post, before Gemma Bonner missed the target with a header from a Buet free-kick after Brusell had gone into the book for a wild challenge.

Sophie Perry found Twohig in the way once again, whilst Chelsea nearly snatched an undeserved equalizer at the death through Laura Coombs, but Gibbons was on hand to protect her clean sheet and ensure Liverpool claimed their first three-point haul of the season.