Maz Pacheco has said that every point counts for West Ham United Women in their fight to secure safety in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
The Hammers face off against Pacheco’s old side Reading this weekend in their final fixture before the international break.
“Reading are a team I obviously know really well, and I have some great memories from playing there," Pacheco began. “They’re a team that’s really together, they like to press the opposition high up the field. We know what we’re going to be up against and have been preparing this week to make sure that we’re equipped and ready for the game.
“They’ve been able to establish themselves within the WSL and that doesn’t surprise me. I know that they have a great coaching staff and are a well-run club. They’re really well supported by the men’s side of things, which I think is there to see this year with their games being played at the Madejski Stadium.”
The Royals currently occupy seventh position in the WSL table, winning four, losing six and drawing eight of their 18 matches so far this season. The Hammers are looking for their third league win of the campaign and first under Olli Harder.
“We’re just waiting for the tide to turn,” Pacheco said. “The girls have performed well in the last couple of matches so it’s only a matter of time before we get some points on the board.
“We know that if we execute the game plan correctly then we’ve got every chance of walking off the pitch with three valuable points.
“It’ll be a tough test for us, but we need to start picking up points and climbing the table.”
The 22-year-old defender joined Reading from Doncaster Rovers in 2018 and spent two years with the Berkshire outfit before joining the Hammers in the summer of 2020.
Laura Vetterlien is suspended for the match having been sent-off last weekend against Manchester United, so a place in the starting XI is up for grabs. Pacheco may not have featured in that XIin recent weeks, but she is behind her teammates whether she is on the field or not.
“For me personally, it’s been tough not to be playing every week, but I’m behind whoever is on the field 100%. The most important thing at the moment is the team and making sure that we get ourselves out of the position we currently find ourselves in.
“We can’t be too down because it will only hurt us, we have a positive changing room at the moment. Yes, it’s disappointing to lose matches and we don’t want to be where we are right now, but we need to keep spirits high and continue to believe that we will get the points so that we can move up the table and stay in the division.
“Every point counts and could make the difference come the end of the season, we’re in a relegation battle at the end of the day so it’s on us as a team to go out and do our best to come away with something on Saturday,” she said.
You can watch Reading Women vs West Ham United Women on Saturday live on the FA Player.
