Hawa Cissoko just loves playing in the Claret & Blue of West Ham United.
The defender has always said that she loves playing alongside her teammates – and on Sunday she celebrated a big milestone alongside them.
The France international captained the side to a 2-0 victory over National League North Premier Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the fifth round of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup – a game in which Cissoko made her 50th appearance for the Club.
It’s a milestone that the defender has been waiting for to come around and admits that injuries and suspensions have prevented her from reaching it sooner.
Now though, after two-and-a-half-years at the Club, the defender is delighted to finally reach it.
“I was just so excited to reach this milestone,” she told whufc.com.
“This is my third season here, and I think I should have achieved this earlier – but because of the injuries and the red cards that I’ve had I’ve not been able to.
“I was getting a little bit impatient to be honest, but now that the moment is finally here, I’m excited and very happy for this achievement."
Wolves didn’t make it easy for the Hammers at New Bucks Head, home of National League North side, AFC Telford. Coached by Dan McNamara, who is also a Corporal in the Royal Air Force during his day-to-day life away from football, his side epitomised the military value of being well-drilled.
For what they lacked at the top end of the pitch, his team deployed a low block that kept Cissoko and company at bay for 70 minutes, that was until Dagny Brynjarsdottir found half a yard to fire the ball beyond Shan Turner.
Cissoko admits that the third-tier side performed better than she had expected going into the match in Shropshire.
“To be fair to them, they are better than what I expected them to be and they really played well.
“They were very good defensively; they were compact and managed to restrict us in certain areas – credit to them because I thought they put in a really good showing today and I enjoyed the contest.
“I was a little bit worried about it going to extra time as the second half wore on, which was a bit stressful – but we found a way not to stress and found a way to make sure that we came away with the win and advance into the next round.”
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The women’s team have had a hectic schedule over the last few weeks, with five matches in the last 14 days across three different competitions.
Four of those matches have been played away from their home at Dagenham’s Chigwell Construction Stadium and has seen them cover an impressive 1380 miles during that time.
And with that in mind, you can understand why Cissoko and her teammates were keen to get the job done before extra time was required.
“Before the game, we said as a group that there can’t be any excuses for us not getting through to the next round, even if we have travelled a lot during this period.
“We know that it’s going to be tough, but it’s part of football – so we just got on the pitch and got the job done, and I’m pleased we did that today.
“We’re looking forward to being back at home now, especially to see the fans that we know are there supporting us week in week out.
“Even here today, we’ve had a good number of fans that have travelled to see us, which is amazing. I’m just looking forward to being back at home and giving the best for them,” she concluded.
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