Dagný Brynjarsdóttir hopes to celebrate a belated happy New Year with her West Ham United teammates when they return to action this weekend.
The captain will play for the 50th time in Claret and Blue when the fifth-place Hammers host Manchester City in their first Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) fixture of 2023 at Victoria Road on Sunday evening.
The Irons start the second part of the 2022/23 season with a mouth-watering match against a City team who sit one place and four points above them in the WSL table, with the 6.45pm kick-off being broadcast live by Sky Sports.
With a bumper crowd expected, Brynjarsdóttir would love to mark the occasion with a win and by hitting the net in a win over Manchester City for the second season in succession, having scored her first goal for the Club in a 2-0 away victory at Gareth Taylor’s side in October 2021.
“I think we're in a good position,” said the Iceland international midfielder, who netted five goals in ten WSL appearances before Christmas. “Obviously, there were some games in the first half of the season where we're disappointed that we didn't take all three points, but that was just down to us not playing good enough.
“But we collected 15 points before Christmas and now I think it's just about collecting more points after Christmas because we want to go into every game and collect all three points.
“Manchester City will be a big test for us. They have quite a new team from last season. We had some players injured before Christmas, but they're back in now and we hopefully have new signings coming in as well, so I think it's exciting.
“It probably won't be a pretty game as it’s the first game after Christmas but we will do everything to get all three points, especially as we’re playing at home.”
Another win over Manchester City, who finished third in the WSL last season, won the title in 2016 and have won the Women’s FA Cup on three occasions since then, would be further illustration of the progress West Ham have made since lifelong Hammer Brynjarsdóttir arrived from Icelandic club Selfoss at the end of January 2021.
The Irons won just once in the 31-year-old’s first nine WSL appearances for the Club to narrowly avoid relegation, but have not looked back since, finishing in a record-high sixth position last season and making an encouraging start to the current campaign.
When once they may have rued a clash with one of the country’s top teams, now the No10 says they are relishing it.
“I think, just having the mindset playing for West Ham now, you go into games against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs thinking ‘we’re going to win’,” she confirmed. “Not every club can think like that, so I think that's a big difference.
“I remember when I came in, my first game was against Chelsea at home [in March 2021, and ended in a 2-0 defeat] and I remember some of my teammates were saying like ‘Oh, well, how is this one going to go? We’re probably going to lose’, so just the mindset has changed and that obviously comes with everything being better at the Club, like bringing better players in, so I think the environment has changed a lot since I came in.”
With 107 caps and 37 goals, and having represented Iceland at three UEFA Women’s Euro finals, Brynjarsdóttir is one of her country’s all-time greats.
With a population of just 376,000, the Nordic island nation punches above its proverbial weight on the football pitch, with both the men’s and women’s national teams reaching major tournaments in recent years.
And while the comparison is not exact, with West Ham seeking to break into the WSL’s top four for the first time, Brynjarsdóttir can see similarities in the way her country and her Club seek to upset the established order in their respective competitions.
“I felt like when I came in and played for West Ham in my first season, we were obviously in a relegation battle, so we were the small team that was the underdog in almost in every game, but I think that has changed this year,” she observed.
“I mean, I feel like we are maybe the underdogs against Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, but I expect us to win against the rest of the teams. Obviously, they’re going to be tough games and we have to bring our best game to win, but I still think at the moment that we're not underdogs compared to other teams.”
You can be there to watch Brynjarsdóttir and her West Ham United teammates take on Manchester City in the Barclays Women’s Super League this Sunday 15 January at 6.45pm, with tickets starting from £13 for Adults, £11 for Over-65s and Under-21s and just £5 for Under-18s.
Secure your seat here online, or by calling 0333 030 1966 now!
