Sam Kerr opened the scoring on 36 minutes when she powered home a wonderfully weighted cross from Niamh Charles. The Australian had looked lively on her return to the starting line-up and her efforts were dually rewarded when she gave the Blues a slender lead going into half-time.

The Blues sealed the points in injury time, with Scottish midfielder Cuthbert coming off the bench to wrap up the win at Kingsmeadow.

It was a well-fought affair with chances to extend our lead going begging in the second half. West Ham looked threatening on the counter attack and we were forced to do some defending at times, but a goal in each half was enough to see us move top of the table at the end of the night.

Kerr-fect

Emma Hayes made four changes to the Blues side who began the 1-1 draw with Manchester City last weekend. Maren Mjelde returned to the defence for the visit of West Ham while Melanie Leupolz, Fran Kirby and Kerr all earned their first starts of the season on a pleasant evening back at Kingsmeadow.

An even start to the game saw both sides looking to cause problems on the attack, and the best chance fell our way inside 10 minutes. Lauren James worked some space inside the box before picking out Kerr who glanced her header wide from close-range. Kerr had a second bite of the cherry moments later, but was denied by the offside flag which swiftly muted the celebrations.

With ten minutes until the break, our patience was rewarded. Charles registered her third assist of the campaign, flying down the left side before lifting the ball perfectly towards Kerr who powered her header beyond visiting goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold to get the Blues off the mark.

We could have doubled our tally before the interval when Kirby threaded a delicious pass through for James, who took the ball comfortably in her stride before watching her driven effort saved by the feet of Arnold. It was the last meaningful action of the half as we entered the break with a narrow advantage.

Two-goal cushion

It was a promising start to the half from the Hammers who looked to get on the front foot in search of an equaliser. An acrobatic effort from a corner forced Zecira Musovic into action and the Swede was alert to push the ball over the crossbar. Kerr’s first half header was the only thing separating the teams with the game hanging in the balance.

A double change before the hour mark saw Kirby and Sophie Ingle make way for Sjoeke Nusken and Erin Cuthbert who surpassed 200 appearances for the Blues with this outing. A second goal almost arrived when Ashley Lawrence picked out James with an incisive pass into the box however, the latter dragged her effort wide of the mark.

We were starting to move through the gears and Nusken was the next to go close with a fiercely struck volley which whistled past the post. Jessie Fleming and Aggie Beever-Jones replaced James and Kerr for the final ten minutes of proceedings as the Blues looked to push for a second goal that would surely seal the points.

As the minutes ticked down towards full-time, there was room for another Chelsea goal. Cuthbert, on as substitute, played a delightful one-two with fellow sub Fleming before lashing home into the bottom corner from close range to secure our second home victory of the season in front of a strong crowd.

What it means

Three points in the only game of the day in the WSL sees the Blues move to the top of the table by a single point ahead of the remainder of the fixtures taking place on Sunday.

What’s next?

We are back at Kingsmeadow for our next WSL fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday 22 October, with kick-off scheduled for 2.00pm.

For supporters who are unable to attend this fixture, the game will be available to watch live on the FA Player platform.

The teams

Chelsea (3-4-3): Musovic; Bright, Mjelde, Carter; Lawrence, Ingle (Cuthbert 56), Leupolz, Charles; James (Fleming 78), Kirby (Nusken 56), Kerr (Beever-Jones 78).

Unused Subs: Berger, Perisset, Rytting Kaneryd, Buchanan, Cankovic.

Scorers: Kerr (36), Cuthbert (90).

Booked: Leupolz (17)

West Ham United (3-4-3): Arnold; Smith, Cissoko (Tysiak 89), Cooke; Denton, Hayashi, Shimizu, Evans; Harries (Atkinson 65), Ueki, Asseyi.

Unused Subs: Walsh, Stringer, Filis, Ademiluyi, Flannery.

Scorers:

Booked: Cissoko (34)

Referee: Stacey Pearson