West Ham United women's team captain Mackenzie Arnold was proud of the performance that her teammates produced in a hotly-contested Adobe Women's FA Cup fourth-round tie against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Hammers led away at Kingsmeadow for nearly an hour after Viviane Asseyi did well to bring down a long pass from Arnold and then fired expertly beyond Zećira Mušović with only 18 minutes gone.
From there, Arnold produced a string of strong saves to keep the FA Cup holders out, including a fantastic stop down to her left to deny Ève Périsset's swerving free-kick.
Those in front of her were in top form too, but they wee eventually undone by a swivel and finish from United States forward Mia Fishel with 20 minutes to play, which would ultimately force the game into extra-time.
Rehanne Skinner's Irons continued to push Chelsea all the way, but the Barclays Women's Super League champions found a way to win the tie, with Erin Cuthbert heading in from close range give the hosts the lead for the first time, before substitute Aggie Beever-Jones found the net with a looping effort to seal victory for Emma Hayes' side.
Australia international goalkeeper Arnold, who was making her first appearance since mid-November after recovering from injury, said that she was pleased with the performance despite the loss, and that it was nice to be back out on the pitch in a West Ham shirt...
It's a bit of a bitter pill to swallow, I suppose.
Being 1-0 up against the champions for nearly 60 minutes is definitely an achievement, and is definitely a step up from what we've done in the past.
Obviously, we didn't get anything out of the game, so we're disappointed in that sense, but I'm super proud of the girls.
The performance is a step in the right direction.
This is always a really hard place to come, playing Chelsea at [their] home, but we've definitely taken a step forward. I think we've still got a little bit to go, but I think we showed again what we're capable of.
We've been able to instill some confidence in the team and also get used to how our new players play on the pitch.
It felt really good to be out there.
It has felt like a little while, but I felt right back at home out there. I've played with 'She' [Shelina Zadorsky] before, so it was nice to get back into a familiar rhythm with her again.
I felt comfortable, I felt confident and hopefully [can] keep on moving forward.
I feel like the three new players have been part of our group for years.
It's a little bit different for me because I've known all three of them for a little while, but they've been really great.
Honestly, they've fit in seamlessly so far. We're still trying to fine-tune how everyone plays together, but we're really happy to have them here with us.
I'm really proud of the players for their work-rate today.
As I said previously, to be ahead against Chelsea for 50-plus minutes is something that I can't ever remember us doing before.
There are definitely a lot of positives to take away into the upcoming matches.
