Former Blues favourite Eni Aluko set the hosts on their way with clinically taken low drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the area in the fourth minute.

With three goal-laden victories to start the season it looked like business as usual for Chelsea when Lianne Sanderson made it 2-0 after 16 minutes, running onto a defence-splitting pass and making no mistake one-on-one with Sue Wood.

It was almost three shortly after with Brooke Chaplen’s rising drive cannoning off the bar with Wood beaten but Birmingham pulled one back against the run of play in the 27^th minute, Maz Gauntlett making it three in four, shrugging off Sian Larkin to collect a perfectly weighted Heather Scheuber through-ball before thrashing it past England keeper Siobhan Chamberlain.

Wood had to be at her best to twice deny England ace Aluko but Chelsea finally found a way through two minutes into added time, fellow England hotshot laying it off for Chaplen whose angled drive beat Wood for the unfortunate Katy Ward to have the decisive touch into her own net while trying to hack clear.

The introduction of Sally Stanton, nee Lacey, into defence and Keeley Lowe, up front, at half time sparked the Birmingham fight back although initially the visitors were again on the back foot.

Five minutes in Sanderson got behind the Birmingham defence and with Stanton’s lunge failing to block her cross Aluko failed to react from point blank range with the goal gaping.

Three minutes later a Chaplen free-kick from the right saw Michelle Hickmott leap to head it away from Wood and across an unguarded goal and from the resulting corner Wood was barged while attempting to claim and Kerys Harrop saved her side by throwing herself to block Sanderson’s close range effort.

That sparked Birmingham into action and Heather Scheuber pulled one back with a low drive in the 61^st minute, a goal which owed much to Becky Hall’s brilliance, the winger bamboozling her marker on the right before finding her captain on the edge of the area.

And Hall did it again in the 73^rd minute, beating her full-back on the right before brilliantly picking out sub Keeley Lowe between backtracking central defenders for the striker to pounce in the six-yard box.

In the 81^st minute Sanderson again got behind Birmingham and laid it off for Chaplen but the former Portsmouth midfielder dragged her shot wide from 12 yards and Chaplen was again profligate four minutes from time, getting only the faintest of touches with her head to Clare Rafferty’s inviting cross to let a golden chance go begging.

Teams, Chelsea: Siobhan Chamberlain; Casey Stoney, Mary Phillip (Dunia Susi, 90min), Jess Smith, Anita Asante, Sian Larkin, Brooke Chaplen, Danni Buet, Eni Aluko, Lianne Sanderson, Clare Rafferty (Katie Owen, 86). Subs not used: Sophie Perry, Lizzie Edwards, Emma Delves.

Booked: Stoney (64min). Sent off: Manager Steve Jones (90+4).

Birmingham: Sue Wood; Michelle Hickmott, Natasha Lynch, Kerys Harrop, Katy Ward (Sally Stanton HT); Milly Durrant (Keeley Lowe HT [Penny Andrea,90]) Crissy Torkildsen, Heather Scheuber, Becky Hall, Amy McCann, Maz Gauntlett. Sub not used: Jenni Foster.

Booked: Torkildsen, 69, dissent; Harrop, 71, dissent.