After winning the domestic Quadruple in the 2020/21 season, we had a chance to lift the first silverware of the current campaign after reaching the final of this competition for the third year in a row.

We had needed late heroics to beat Arsenal in the 2020 final, while last year’s decider was a rout of Bristol City, but this was a much closer contest between two sides who have won the vast majority of silverware on offer over the past seven years.

The first half was particularly tense, as both teams looked to feel their way into the match, but the Blues came to life after Lauren Hemp rattled the post from close range and we deservedly went in front when Ellie Roebuck dropped a cross at the feet of Sam Kerr, who finished smartly.

However, after going in at the break 1-0 to the good, within 15 minutes of the restart our lead had not only been wiped out, but City had surged ahead. Caroline Weir got them back on level terms with a firm strike from the edge of the box and then Ellen White bundled one in after Ann-Katrin Berger had kept out a shot from the dangerous Hemp.

Although Emma Hayes made several changes in a bid to get us back into the game, we weren’t able to create any noteworthy opportunities and instead found ourselves with a two-goal deficit to overcome after Weir brilliantly volleyed City into a 3-1 lead.

It simply wasn’t our night in south-west London, as we suffered a rare defeat in this competition; not since February 2019 had we failed to win a Conti Cup game, but our bid to become only the second team to win it three seasons in a row came up short.

Although the disappointment was keenly felt by both players and fans alike at Plough Lane, attention now quickly turns to the Women’s Super League and FA Cup, as we look to retain both of those trophies in the final months of the season.

The quest for the former continues on Thursday night, when we travel to West Ham United looking to close the gap on leaders Arsenal.

There was a big surprise when the team news was announced an hour before kick-off as Fran Kirby was missing from the Blues’ matchday squad due to illness, a year on from running the show in the final of this competition against Bristol City. Jessie Fleming was also out due to Covid-19 alongside the previously announced absences of Erin Cuthbert and Melanie Leupolz.

Kirby was one of two players to drop out of the side that beat Leicester City so convincingly in the FA Cup a week earlier, as Lauren James was named among the substitutes. Jess Carter and Guro Reiten were the two players to come into the starting XI.

That meant Berger kept goal behind a back four of Carter, Millie Bright – who was named as captain, although regular skipper Magda Eriksson was back in a matchday squad for the first time in 2022 – Aniek Nouwen and Jonna Andersson. In midfield, Niamh Charles and Guro Reiten flanked Sophie Ingle and Ji So-Yun, while Kerr and Pernille Harder led the line.

This game took place exactly three months after our last final, when we convincingly saw off Arsenal to win the FA Cup, and while that game at Wembley saw us race out of the blocks with an early goal, it was a rather more sedate start at Plough Lane for our fourth meeting with Manchester City of the 2021/22 season.

The intent was there, from Kerr and Harder in particular, to pressurise City’s defence high up the pitch and we had them on the backfoot in the early exchanges. However, there was one moment of concern when Berger took a heavy touch to control a pass back, and it needed some smart work from her defenders to get her out of trouble.

Aside from the odd threatening cross, both from open play and set-pieces, neither side was able to seize the initiative during the opening 25 minutes – but the Blues were about to receive a huge let off, as Lauren Hemp missed a sitter. The England international had managed to get goal side of Charles to meet an inviting ball across goal, but she hammered her shot against the post from a few yards out with Berger stranded.

A defensive lapse at the other end almost let Chelsea in soon after, with Alex Greenwood’s square pass across the box intercepted by Kerr and Ji’s quick feet inside the box allowed her to get off a shot that wasn’t too far wide of the far post.

City didn’t heed that warning, as a few months later another error at the back presented us with the opening goal. Roebuck tried to claim a cross between Demi Stokes and Kerr, but she only succeeded in palming the ball straight to the Australian, who turned on the spot and drilled a left-footed shot into the far corner. She immediately ran towards the bench in celebration and hugged the injured Cuthbert.

We could have extended our lead before the break when a lightning-quick counter from a City corner gave Harder a sight at goal, only for the Dane to be dragged out of position before she could get the shot away. From the resulting corner Charles attempted to recreate her famous chest and volley from last season’s Conti Cup quarter-final against the same opponents, only this time her strike flew just over the bar.

After a slow start, it was an entertaining end to the first half of this enthralling cup final and, on the balance of play, the Blues were certainly good value for the one-goal lead.

Unfortunately, our advantage was wiped out inside the first five minutes of the second half. We were down to 10 players following an injury to Charles and Gareth Taylor’s side took full advantage to strike back through Weir’s powerful shot from the edge of the box.

Chelsea could have been back in front less than 10 minutes later when Charles forced a fine save from Roebuck after meeting a loose ball on the edge of the box with a fierce strike, but instead we found ourselves behind for the first time on the night when City went straight up the other end and Berger could only palm Hemp’s shot into the path of White for a tap in.

It had been quite the turnaround at Plough Lane and one that was hard to fully explain – there had been very little change to the ebb and flow of the game, but two opportunistic finishes from our opponents had left us needing to find at least one goal in the final 30 minutes if we were to keep hold of a trophy that’s been ours since 2020.

A week on from making her first start for the Blues, James was the first substitute Hayes turned to in a bid to get ourselves back into the contest, with Reiten the player to make way. But our task was about to get even tougher within a minute of her arrival, as we failed to clear a corner and Weir was on hand to hit a side-foot volley that flew into the top corner.

Few would have predicted this scoreline ahead of the game, let alone at half-time when we held a deserved one-goal lead, but City had been clinical and now they were able to reap the rewards of that, as they dominated possession and prevented us from creating anything of note at the other end.

They almost added a fourth when Berger saved bravely under pressure following another dangerous set-piece and Hayes’ response to that was to send on another forward, as Bethany England replaced Charles. Drew Spence also came on in place of Ji.

We continued to try to find a way back into the contest but City, to their credit, slammed the door well and truly shut as they closed out the victory to ensure the trophy would not be coming back to Kingsmeadow for a third straight year.

We’d beaten them in each of our previous three meetings this season, but the first final between the two sides went the way of our big rivals and all we could do was chalk it down to being one of those nights.

There are still two more trophies to play for this season and the hope is that the disappointment felt tonight is bottled up and used as inspiration during the closing months of what can still be another memorable campaign for Hayes and her side.

The games continue to come thick and fast, with the Blues in action again on Thursday night with a trip to West Ham United in the WSL. Then we’re back at Kingsmeadow on Sunday 13 March to face Aston Villa for a 1pm kick-off in the league. Tickets for that game are still available – click here to buy yours now!

Chelsea (4-4-2) Berger; Carter, Bright (c), Nouwen, Andersson (Abdullina 90); Charles (England 79), Ingle, Ji (Spence 79), Reiten (James 68); Kerr, HarderUnused subs Musovic, Eriksson, MjeldeScorer Kerr 34

Man City (4-3-3) Roebuck; Bronze, Kennedy, Greenwood, Stokes; Weir, Walsh, Stanway; Hemp White (c) (Shaw 88), Raso (Blakstad 81)Unused subs Keating, Coombs, Beckie, Angeldahl, ParkScorers Weir 49, 69, White 58Booked Bronze 38

Referee Lisa Benn

Attendance 8,004