That Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby did not send five or six goals past Arsenal's defence on December 5, 2021, that only three somehow sufficed them, will always prove one of football's more bizarre enigmas.
The day belonged to the pair, a peak "Kerrby" performance that ran the then-league leaders riot across their Women's FA Cup final 3-0 victory in which Jonas Eidevall's side did not register a single shot on target in the first half.
It was a performance fitting for a postponed final that inadvertently landed 100 years to the day since the Football Association banned women from playing football on grounds belonging to affiliated men’s clubs on the basis that the game was “quite unsuitable for females”.
And if any players rejected the archaic notion most emphatically, it was Kerr and Kirby.
In the afterglow, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes dubbed Kirby a "national treasure" and Kerr "the best striker in the world".
The sentiments did not feel bold then, and even now, they still ring inarguably true. Less than a month ago as Hayes made her remarkable comeback in the London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, she explained in her post-match press conference that "in London we have a saying. Sam [Kerr]'s mustard. Absolute mustard as a player and a really world-class centre-forward and human."
A year ago, only Kirby's goal separated the teams at the interval, with Kerr missing a hat-trick of chances and being denied a questionable penalty after a challenge from Jen Beattie. But there would be no respite for the Gunners come second-half and once Kerr discovered her shooting boots - latching onto Kirby's through pass and directing her shot through the legs of Lotte Wubben-Moy and beyond Manuela Zinsberger - it became a matter of quantity for the reigning champions.
Chelsea continued to crank up the pressure, even with the game ostensibly in its noose, and while Kirby was forced off with a small injury, it took nothing away from a performance defined by her.
The embarrassment of riches Chelsea's ranks boast came to the fore, with Pernille Harder entering the fray in place of the injured Kirby. And after Harder made merry with Arsenal's backline, Kerr completed the victory with an audaciously dipping chip which left Zinsberger for dust.
For those symmetry enthusiasts, the 3-0 scoreline is apt. Kirby's opener arrived in the third minute, setting Chelsea on course for their third FA Cup victory and sealing a 2020-2021 domestic treble.
Hayes whispered into Kirby's ear that it was “by far the best performance I’ve ever seen you play in a Chelsea shirt” after she was substituted in the second half.
And for many Blues fans, the performance in front of a buoyant Wembley remains one of the greatest performance of the "Kerrby" era.
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