'Leading Chelsea out at Wembley will be a great moment'

Monday 04 May 2015
Eniola Aluko embraces Chelsea captain Katie Chapman
Katie Chapman cannot wait to lead Chelsea out at Wembley Stadium after the Blues booked an FA Women’s Cup Final place with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City.

Ji So-Yun’s late winner at Adams Park kept Chelsea on course for their first major trophy and they will face fellow FA WSL 1 side Notts County at Wembley on 1 August.

Chelsea 1-0 Man City

The FA Women's Cup
Semi-Final
Monday 4 May
Adams Park, Wycombe Wanderers FC

And while captain Chapman is no stranger to lifting the famous Cup – winning eight times with Millwall, Charlton, Fulham and Arsenal - the 32-year-old says running out at Wembley for the first time will be a career highlight.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s what you dream of,” said Chapman. “It’s going to be special walking out as captain at Wembley.

“As a player, I’ve been in many Cup finals but with it being at Wembley it’s really going to be a great occasion.

Chelsea had to fight hard to win their semi-final, with Manchester City having several chances to score before Ji fired home.

“Both teams obviously wanted to win in, and it showed, but it was good for us to get the goal,” said Chapman.

“It was a great performance and a very end-to-end game. A goal could have gone in at any end and fortunately it was our end.”

Manchester City captain Steph Houghton, who made her first start of the season after a knee injury, was left to reflect on what might have been.

“I’m devastated but really proud of all the girls,” she said.

“The mood in the dressing room is obviously deflated, if you look at our performance we were the better team, especially in the second half, and we limited them to that chance which they scored from.

“Credit to Chelsea, but this is going to spur us on for the rest of the season.”

To buy tickets for the FA Women’s Cup final, to be played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 1 August, click here.


At Adams Park