Chelsea Ladies 1 Blackburn Ladies 1

Chelsea suffered late heartbreak as high-flying Blackburn snatched a point in the dying minutes at Imber Court on Sunday.

Dunia Susi's 15th-minute strike was cancelled out by the Premier League's leading scorer, Katie Anderton, who notched her 24th goal of the campaign.

The draw consolidates Chelsea's position in the top half of the table but they will be disappointed not to have taken all three after a battling display.

Blackburn came out strongly knowing that a win would take them to the league summit and the visitors had an early sight of goal when Anderton found space, but the striker shot tamely at Siobhan Chamberlain with Levi Penny better placed.

Chelsea then began to impose themselves. Ellen White's run down the right split the Blackburn defence, but Eniola Aluko's 30-yard trademark bullet flew over the bar.

However, the Blues found the net just a minute later.

Aluko's close-range strike was well saved by Sian Payne, but Susi drove the rebound through a crowded penalty area to give Chelsea a valuable lead.

Aluko should have doubled the hosts' money two minutes later, but this time, the England striker failed to take full advantage of Susi's dangerous cross.

The North-West club reminded Chelsea of their attacking threat when Natalie Preston fired wide following Laura Cooper's poor defensive header.

Karen Burke then inexplicably miskicked from a few yards out to leave the home side ahead at the break.

Chelsea were caught napping shortly after the restart, but Anderton again fired wide with Burke screaming for the ball.

The miss almost proved costly after Aluko spotted White in the box, but the England U19's snap shot was too high.

White then latched on to Sian Larkin's smart ball over the top, but Payne just managed to palm her cross away from the onrushing Susi.

Payne was again White's nemesis when she pushed the her low shot past the post, while at the other end, Anderton was guilty of another miskick when she looked set to score.

Jess Smith almost saw Chelsea home when she outjumped the Blackburn defence late on, but saw her header fly agonisingly over the bar.

The Blues were made to pay when Penny picked up a loose ball right on 90 minutes.

Her slide-rule pass found Anderton in the box and this time she made no mistake as Chelsea appealed in vain for offside.

White had a chance to net all three points deep into stoppage time after Aluko set her up but with just Payne to beat she drove her shot high and wide.

Chelsea: Chamberlain, Larkin, Cooper, Smith, Stoney, Davies, Owen, Buet, White, Aluko, Susi. Subs not used: Perry, Morphitis, Edwards, Rafferty, Delves.