Sandi Baltimore’s penalty helps Chelsea Women avoid upset in WCL opener | OneFootball

Chelsea Women were held to a 1-1 draw by Dutch side FC Twente in their opening UEFA Women’s Champions League fixture at De Grolsch Veste on Wednesday evening.Chelsea started the game brightly and almost opened the scoring in the seventh minute, when Oriane Jean-Francois picked out Aggie Beever-Jones, whose header hit the post.Twente responded immediately, attacking the other end with Sophie Proost dragging her effort wide following Ellie Carpenter’s pressure. Moments later, Carpenter made a vital clearance to prevent the Dutch side from scoring.Goalkeeper Diede Lemey made two crucial saves in the 19th minute, thwarting the efforts of Chelsea’s Sjoeke Nusken and Guro Reiten.Lemey was equal to the task again, saving Beever-Jones’ effort from 25 yards before producing another save to deny Alyssa Thompson before halftime.Chelsea thought they had taken the lead in the 50th minute, when Thompson smashed Sjoeke Nusken’s low cross home, but the goal was disallowed for offside.The Women’s Super League holders nearly conceded before the hour mark, but Sandy Baltimore’s last-ditch tackle stopped Danique van Ginkel from giving the hosts the lead.Van Ginkel eventually opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, bending the ball into the far top corner.Chelsea reacted positively to falling behind and drew level in the 71st minute. Following a foul on Reiten, a penalty was awarded, which was converted by Baltimore.Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor made some changes in search of the winning goal and nearly got one through one of her substitutes, Sam Kerr, six minutes from time.The Australian received a pass inside the box and fired a shot at goal, only for her effort to be cleared off the line.Kerr’s chance was the last clear-cut opportunity Chelsea had before the final whistle as Twente defended well to earn a draw.