Erin Cuthbert slams Derby County pitch as Chelsea Women celebrate League Cup win

Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert has criticised the pitch at Derby County's Pride Park Stadium following their Subway League Cup triumph over Manchester City on Saturday.

The London club won their first piece of silverware under new head coach Sonia Bompastor, who replaced the long-serving Emma Hayes at the end of last season. They overcame their Women's Super League rivals 2-1 in the East Midlands. with Mayra Ramirez opening the scoring inside the first 10 minutes, before her goal was later cancelled out by a second half equaliser from City's Aoba Fujino.

Ramirez was then crucial in the build-up to the winning goal as her cross into the box was turned into the net by City midfielder Yui Hasegawa in the 77th minute for an own goal. Chelsea then held onto their slender lead to win their first trophy in this competition since 2021.

Unfortunately, the main talking point was not Ramirez's heroics or Chelsea's resilient defensive display - having thwarted six attempts on target from their opponents - but instead the dire state of the pitch at Pride Park. The venue was confirmed by The Women’s Professional Leagues in December last year, with CEO Nikki Doucet describing the stadium at the time as one 'fitting for a showpiece fixture'.

That couldn't have been further from the case as both teams expressed the complete opposite at full time. The state of the pitch was initially called out by Rachel Brown-Finnis on BBC One's commentary during the game, with the former goalkeeper describing it as 'sub-standard' and that there was 'a lot of sand' on it.

At full-time, Cuthbert also told BBC One: "I don't think this surface was fit for a final to be honest with you. We didn't play at our best but we just hung in there."

Bompastor also echoed that sentiment, adding: "It is a shame to have this pitch for a final, especially when you expect in England to have the best groundsmen and pitches in the world. I'm not sure if it was a men's final game it would be the same. We just need to make sure we have the best facilities and grass to play the games."

Chelsea captain Millie Bright also chimed in, saying the state of the pitch was disappointing. "It's an amazing stadium but when you come to a final you do expect a lot more quality from the pitch," she said.

"It is disappointing, it's a massive game, a massive cup final and as you can see from the state of the pitch I'm guessing it didn't look too good on TV either. It disrupts the game a little bit as well."

Chelsea will face Manchester City for the second of four games in the space of 12 days on Wednesday night when they travel to the Joie Stadium. The two clubs will meet for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, which will then be followed by a WSL meeting and the second leg.