Kate Longhurst was delighted that West Ham United were able to secure victory over Reading to make an already special occasion for her even sweeter.
The lifelong Hammers fan made her 100th competitive appearance for the Club that she supports, becoming only the second-ever female footballer to do so for West Ham after captain Gilly Flaherty.
And Longhurst confirmed that the win was the most important thing to her on the day, as the team rose up to sixth in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table.
“I was only bothered about the three points today, that is the most important thing,” Longhurst told West Ham TV.
“Of course, it’s a real privilege to play 100 times for this Club, the Club that I love. But for me, the focus of the game was making sure that we got the three points and making sure we put in a performance that got us them. We did that today.
“When you look at milestones, I think it’s something that you look back on when you finish playing. I mean, I’m happy every single time that we win, so it makes the occasion much better. I’m sure that if we’d drawn or lost here today then I would have been disappointed!
“It’s the perfect day really, apart from conceding at the end, which I know that we’re disappointed with.”
The Hammers were dominant throughout the game in Berkshire, moving the ball around superbly, especially in the first half.
It took until the start of the second half, however, for them to find the back of the net, with Emma Snerle bagging her first goal in Claret & Blue.
Longhurst was pleased with the football that her team were able to produce at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Sunday.
“Arguably that’s some of the best football that we’ve played this season, and we really should have had more goals.
"We knew at half-time what we had to do. We kept going and it was nice to get that goal really early in the second half because I think it settled us down a little bit.
“I thought that the attacking play from the players out on the pitch was fantastic.”
In the absence of Flaherty, who picked up a slight knock in the lead-up to the fixture, Longhurst was named captain for the afternoon – leading her beloved team out onto the pitch.
“Gilly is our captain, and she’s someone that I look up to and someone that I really respect. I didn’t want to do the armband disservice, and for me, I always try to be a leader out on the pitch anyway, regardless of actually wearing the armband.
“We need eleven leaders out there on the pitch, and I think we had that today, plus those that come off the bench to help us seal the win.
“It’s nice to wear the armband, to represent the Club like that, but as I said, three points was the biggest thing.”
This result means that the Hammers have picked up four points against the Royals in their two league games this season, plus a 1-0 win in the FA Cup back at the end of February.
And Longhurst believes it puts the team in a good place heading into the final two matches of the season against Manchester United and Arsenal.
“It’s a very good win because we were on the same number of points as Reading going into the game, and now we’re that little bit further away and can attack the final two games this season with real confidence.
"There’s no reason why we can’t go to Manchester United, take the performance that we produced today, and see what happens up there.”
