Head coach Sonia Bompastor was pleased to see her side progress to the semi-finals of the Subway Women's League Cup, but believes the Blues could have scored even more in the 5-0 win over Durham.

The Blues kicked off our League Cup with a dominating performance against Championship opposition at Kingsmeadow. Aggie Beever-Jones opened the scoring after 21 minutes, before Oriane Jean-Francois made it two just after the hour mark with a stunning strike.

A prolific four-minute spell in front of goal late on saw Bompastor's side net three more times with Erin Cuthbert, Guro Reiten and Maika Hamano, who arguably scored the pick of the bunch, all getting on the scoresheet.

The victory against Durham means we will now face West Ham, who we also defeated 5-0 in the Women's Super League last weekend, in the League Cup semi-finals which will be played on 5/6 February at home.

And despite putting five past our opponents this evening, head coach Bompastor believes her side could have been even more clinical as she reflected on our display and the number of chances created in Kingston.

She said: 'If we reflect on the performance, we were not able to score really early in the game. I think we created a lot of opportunities tonight and we were not clinical enough.

'It happens sometimes that when you create chances, you are not able to be efficient. This is probably why in the first half the game was not going the way we wanted, but my players stayed confident. We had a lot of possession of the ball and created a lot of chances.

'The only thing we were talking about at half-time was being in the box with more players and also having more intent when we go in the box.

'In the second half, we were able to score more, even if again we had a lot of opportunities. We created good opportunities and scored some great goals.'

With our cup campaign now underway and progression to the last four secured, Bompastor's side are unbeaten in each of the four competitions that we have featured in this season. The League Cup, she says, is now another objective for the Blues to achieve.

Bompastor added: 'The League Cup is really important. It's part of our ambitions. We want to make sure every trophy is a goal for us.

'I told my players this competition is special because when you're Chelsea you have the opportunity in three games to get your hands on the trophy, so we started today with a win. We made a small step to the semi-finals, and we have two more games if we want to get the trophy.'

There were many players who deserved praise for their efforts against Durham, with one being midfielder Jean-Francois who impressed over the 90 minutes and scored a delightful goal, her second of the season.

Bompastor said: 'She had a great performance. If you know a little bit more about Oriane, she struggled a little bit because she didn't play for almost two seasons with an ACL injury.

'She also had a pelvic injury, so she was in the first part of the season trying to build her fitness. She's a really smart player and understands the game and that position as a pivot.

'She has a lot of quality and can be really good in possession of the ball, even if she still has room for improvement. Out of possession, she's really strong in helping the team to defend. She showed tonight that she's able to play 90 minutes, play many games in a row and score a great goal.'

Another player gaining plaudits was Maika Hamano, who netted our fifth goal with a superb looping effort over the top of the Durham goalkeeper from range down the flank.

Bompastor said: 'As a coach, I always give a lot of confidence to my players to shoot from a distance. Sometimes they just want to be in a perfect position to shoot on goal or sometimes they want to be on their best foot.

'I just told them: 'You have a lot of quality so make sure, especially in these types of games where you only have a few seconds to decide, you are instinctive' and I encourage them a lot to take their chances.

'It's important with the young players, especially with Maika, because sometimes they can lose a bit of confidence. She's a player who works really hard. She wants to improve and it's really special for us to have her and work with her because she always wants more.'

One player who was missing from the squad for the win against Durham was Lauren James, with our No.10 also missing the win against West Ham due to illness. Our head confirmed the forward could return for Sunday's London derby against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

Bompastor said: 'She should be. She was still feeling a little bit unwell - not 100 per cent to be involved in the game. She practiced this morning, an individual session was good enough for us to have hope.'