Chelsea conceded a goal in stoppage time as they let a two-goal lead slip away to draw 2-2 with West Ham in the Women’s Super League at Kingsmeadow.

Sonia Bompastor’s team looked to be moving to within two wins of guaranteeing a sixth consecutive title until Shekiera Martinez rose to head Kirsty Smith’s cross beyond Hannah Hampton to rescue a thoroughly-deserved point.

Riding the wave of their Champions League comeback victory over Manchester City on Thursday, the home side picked up where they had left off with a dominant first-half display that looked to have West Ham beaten when Maika Hamano and Aggie Beever-Jones scored to make it 2-0 inside 21 minutes.

Thereafter, the visitors dug in to find a spirited resistance and gave the champions an immensely difficult ride.

Martinez rifled the ball past Hampton late in the half to rattle Chelsea, then came a second half in which Bompastor’s side never got going before being eventually denied amidst late drama.

Chelsea had gone ahead after 16 minutes. Ashley Lawrence got on the end of Catarina Macario’s deep cross and knocked a pass back into the centre from the right side of the box, finding the unmarked Hamano who turned on the ball and shot low towards the corner. Kinga Szemik got a touch but it was insufficient to prevent the ball creeping over the line.

West Ham had barely settled before it was 2-0 and it was Macario that was the architect for Chelsea. It was her vision and execution that teed up Beever-Jones with a superb threaded pass, leaving her team-mate the simple job of firing into Szemik’s bottom corner.

Shelina Zadorsky then kept the visitors just about in the contest with a wonderful, last-ditch challenge to deflect Macario’s close-range effort over the crossbar just as Chelsea’s most impressive player in the first half looked set to score her 10th goal of the season.

Minutes later, West Ham survived again when Erin Cuthbert’s curling effort from range smacked the bar and bounced away to safety.

Chelsea ought to have been out of sight, and so it was hugely against the run of play when West Ham pulled a goal back with their first serious attack. Riko Ueki lifted the ball forward into the box and into the path of the on-running Martinez who let the ball bounce and then thundered it low beyond Hampton for 2-1.

Smith drilled low towards the near post early in the second half as the visitors sought what had not long earlier looked an unlikely equaliser, Hampton getting down to get two hands behind the ball and save.

Lauren James came off the bench and, after breaking into the box down the left, fired an effort straight at Szemik as Chelsea sought the goal to finally put down West Ham’s spirited fight.

Chelsea looked to have done enough, then Smith crossed the ball towards the six-yard box and Martinez rose to head the equaliser and stun home fans.