A record Continental Cup Final attendance of 6,743 travelled to the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest, to witness a captivating and close-fought game between two women’s football heavyweights.

In-form striker Beth England got both the goals for the Blues, her 20th and 21st in a season which has seen her cement her place as the nation’s best striker. Her first came inside 10 minutes, an early reward for Chelsea’s fast start. It was a lead they were able to hold on to for much of the match despite Arsenal controlling the game, that is until the 85th minute, when Leah Williamson got herself a rare goal, drawing Arsenal level as the final whistle beckoned. However, in the dying moments, England struck again, to condemn a dominant Arsenal side to an agonising late defeat against the run of play.

After a fairly even opening five minutes it was some careless Arsenal defending that gifted Chelsea the breakthrough on the eight-minute mark. Following a tremendous block by Viki Schnaderbeck to deny Maren Mjelde from point-blank range, Chelsea kept it alive. An over-hit cross from Jonna Andersson was headed back into the middle by Mjelde, where England was alert and waiting to bundle the ball into the back of the net amidst a sea of Arsenal defenders caught ball-watching.

A goal down and with Chelsea continuing to threaten, Arsenal looked in danger of letting the game slip through their grasp. Yet what started in a similar vein to their recent league meeting, where Chelsea scored three goals in the opening 20 minutes, ended up taking on a markedly different narrative. Arsenal, seemingly unfazed by Chelsea’s early breakthrough, bounced back, taking control of the game and creating chance after chance.

For the all Gunners possession, however, they struggled to find that all-important equaliser. Working the ball well across the pitch they consistently got into good positions but seemed to hit a roadblock in the final third, the difference between the two teams on the day. When they did manage to turn a shot goalwards they found Chelsea goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger in their way, who deserves full credit for her player of the match performance, regularly making saves of the highest calibre to keep her side in the lead.

But as the game neared its end, and with Arsenal fans surely at a loss as to how their team was still behind, the Gunners finally found the goal their dominance had for so long deserved. Leah Williamson, playing out of position at in defensive-midfield, rose highest to get her head to a perfectly weighted Katie McCabe corner, and though the initial header was blocked by Chelsea skipper Eriksson, Williamson was once again the quickest to react, powering it past a helpless Berger to level the scoring with just five minutes to go.

The momentum was firmly with Arsenal as five minutes of added time were announced but, with extra-time looming, England made sure there was time for one final twist as Arsenal switched off once again. She made a late run towards the far post to poke Maren Mjelde’s cross home, sending Blues fans into a jubilant frenzy as the final whistle sounded.

It was a devastating defeat for Arsenal in a game many would say they deserved to win, but ultimately it was first-time finalists Chelsea that took their chances to claim their inaugural Continental Cup trophy.