Chelsea Women travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women’s Super League on Sunday afternoon and made the journey home to west London with a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions under our belts.

We were frustrated by Brighton’s sturdy defending during the first half, but opened the scoring less than a minute into the second thanks to Lauren James’ brilliant half-volley. Fran Kirby soon headed us two up before James completed her brace and set us on our way to a 3-0 win.

Emma Hayes was left pleased with the performance and the three points, explaining it just needed her players to up the intensity a little bit after half-time.

‘I felt we were in control in the first half but we just lacked a bit of urgency,’ she said. ‘I think for us, we created a couple of good chances, hit the bar with Guro, Fran had a good chance. So we did enough to be in the lead. We had it under control but without going up a gear.

‘That’s what I spoke to the team about at half-time; respect the WSL and respect that you don’t want to leave it going long and late into these games.

‘I wasn’t expecting a response 53 seconds in but that was what it needed – that little bit of clinical play in the final third – and we were excellent in the second half. We looked like we’ve got a lot of confidence. For me the Man United game was significant for us.

‘I think we’re looking solid and I think the team enjoyed the way we played today. I really enjoyed today. It was controlled, it looked like things we work on all of the time. It was a confident performance and I like the confidence within the team today. That’s certainly something I’m going to bottle and remind them of when we get back to work on Monday.’

Hayes believes James’ form in front of goal, with five in her last two WSL appearances, is down to natural talent but also the work of her team-mates…

‘If you look at her first goal today, certainly nobody’s teaching her that! What Lauren James has, not one of us can teach her that gift. She’s decisive and she proved it again today in the box at the right moment.

‘I have to say that the team puts Lauren in that position and that the team playing the way it does, inclusive of her, is the most important thing. If we control games in the way that we are with our possession and we get into good areas and get her into good positions then it increases our chances of scoring and if we score goals we can win games.

‘On the flip side, I think we’re getting more solid defensively. I can see it coming, I can see a return to Chelsea behaviours this side of Christmas, maybe since the West Ham game, and Lauren in the position she’s in has been integral in how we do that, leading from the front.’

The Blues manager felt it was important to give Mayra Ramirez her debut off the bench, the day after she completed her transfer from Levante…

‘I found out she was registered in time to play at about six o’clock last night. I had said to her that if she did get cleared she would be in the squad and I was hopeful to get her minutes.

‘I’m not here to waste time, I’m here to win, and I have to bed her in to the squad as quickly as possible. We don’t have a pre-season for that so giving her 30 minutes today was important and for those of us that speak Spanish we have to help with that process.

‘She’s so strong. If you put the ball up to her it sticks. If defenders get tight to her she’ll roll them, they think they’ve got her and then she’s got a bit of pace to go beyond them. She’s got qualities that I think are needed for the team right now.’

There was also praise for the performances of Guro Reiten and Fran Kirby…

‘I saw the way Guro took her shot early on and hit the bar. That’s what’s been missing. I really liked her performance and I thought she showed a lot more confidence and aggression in her forward play.

‘But she’s an amazing player, I don’t worry about Guro. Some of them just need a bit of a run and momentum. It’s the same with Melanie [Leupolz], it’s the same with Erin [Cuthbert].

‘I thought Fran had a super game. I thought it was her best game of the season today, so I’m happy for her to get a goal and, most importantly, a good performance.’