The words of Hawa Cissoko were profound at the full-time whistle on Sunday.
The 26-year-old defender had just played her part in helping West Ham United women’s team to come from behind to draw with Liverpool in the dying embers of the game.
Riko Ueki would be the player that would eventually scramble the ball over the line in the fifth minute of second half injury time, but Cissoko suggested that the point was earned by all those in Claret & Blue.
After a sluggish first half at Chigwell Construction Stadium against the Reds, Rehanne Skinner’s side found themselves behind early in the second half when Austrian midfielder Marie Höbinger swept in the opener on 52 minutes.
After the hour mark, Cissoko and her teammates seemed to get more and more into their groove, and once the clocked ticked past the 70th minute, it was the Irons who looked the most likely to score next.
The goal did eventually arrive, with Ueki bundling the ball over the line after Liverpool failed to clear a cross away from danger. There could have even been a winner in the last attack of the game, but substitute Izzy Atkinson’s shot was well kept out by Red’s goalkeeper Rachael Laws at the end.
Cissoko was pleased with the characteristics shown by the team and believes that they are finding out new things about themselves as a group with each passing match.
This team always finds a way to get back into the game
We didn't get the result we wanted in the Chelsea game, because we always want to win and play well whatever team we are playing, but we still found some positives and areas for improvement.
I think we can tell that every game we are making improvements. We have a target and every game we go step by step to get where we want to be.
Games like these show us that we have the right resilience as a team
We really looked like we were going to score in the last 20 minutes of the game but sometimes that's the type of game we need to show us that we can come back from being a goal down.
Even if the first half wasn't the one we wanted, we kept the right mindset and knew that we could do it. Even after we scored, there were two minutes to go, and we were thinking that we can still win, and we need to keep on pushing. Even in the final minutes we didn't just want to draw the game, we really wanted to win it.
When we say that everyone in the squad is important, we mean it
It is not only about the starting XI, but everyone is involved. And even the ones that haven't played, they are still a key part. Especially when you're on the pitch and you hear someone from the bench cheering you and pushing you on. It's about everyone in the team, and we saw that today as the players that came on really made a difference.
The whole team showed hard work, resilience, and character in abundance today to make sure that we came back into the game.
I have to say that our first five games have been positive
As I said, we don't want to lose even if it's against teams like Chelsea or Manchester City, we always want to win. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the positives in those losing games, but whoever we are playing we always want to win.
There are still positives to take from the more difficult games because, as a team, we can see our improvements.
After this kind of game, you just want to be together as a team and keep working
The thing is, when we have games like this, I feel like it's a bit unfortunate that we have to have the international break. The break does allow players some rest and time to work on things in training - we're going to come back even better. For some people the break allows them to see friends and things like that.
It gives a chance for rest and recovery, especially mental recovery. I just hope that everyone is going to come back sweet and fresh, ready for our next run of games.
After the international break, the women's team welcome Bristol City to Chigwell Construction Stadium! Click on the graphic below to purchase your tickets now!
