At times like these, football understandably takes a backseat, but for Chelsea supporters, the 3-1 victory over Everton at a sold-out Walton Hall Park was the sort of timely tonic only football seems capable of producing.
Manager Emma Hayes’ booming voice was painfully absent from the Merseyside air, but it was the Chelsea fans whose exultant cheers filled the air as substitute Niamh Charles put the finishing touches on a deserved victory following Pernille Harder's brace.
Hayes admitted she would be keeping an eye on her Blues from her television after revealing she underwent an emergency hysterectomy earlier this week, and it was difficult to ignore the feeling that her players were hellbent on delivering a performance in which their absent manager and the larger fanbase could take unfettered pride.
