West Ham United women's team 0-5 Liverpool
Adobe Women’s FA Cup, Chigwell Construction Stadium, Wednesday 29 January 2025, 7.45pm GMT
West Ham United women’s team were dealt a fourth-round exit from the Adobe Women’s FA Cup at the hands of Liverpool and had Amber Tysiak sent off on a difficult night at Chigwell Construction Stadium.
A Camila Sáez own-goal and Leanne Kiernan’s strike inside the opening 18 minutes set the visitors on their way before Tysiak was shown a red card seven minutes before the break.
The Reds remained in control after the interval and added three more to their tally in the second half, with Grace Fisk scoring Liverpool’s third three minutes after the interval.
Lucy Parry added a fourth on 66 minutes and Sam Kerr increased the advantage for Matt Beard's side four minutes later to complete the scoring.
The opening ten minutes of the game was an exciting, end-to-end encounter.
Liverpool were dominant from the off, and it took just three minutes before they had the lead in fortuitous circumstances. Gemma Evans' corner was flicked on by Yana Daniëls at the near post, and the ball wickedly deflected off Sáez and swerved past a wrong-footed Megan Walsh.
But West Ham responded to falling behind, and Viviane Asseyi had the ball in the Liverpool net on eight minutes to momentarily lift the roof off Chigwell Construction Stadium after she latched onto Tysiak’s inch-perfect cross - but sadly the striker was a fraction offside.
The Hammers continued to press and went close to a quickfire equaliser. Manuela Paví fired straight at Rachael Laws, Li Mengwen curled into the goalkeeper’s gloves and Oona Siren’s sweeping goalbound effort was blocked by Jenna Clark.
After ten minutes on the back foot, it was Liverpool who sprung a counter-attack and doubled their lead against the run of play on 18 minutes.
Olivia Smith charged out of her own box to clear a corner, past three West Ham players, and her arrowed crossfield diagonal found Kiernan, who rounded Walsh and tapped home into an unguarded net.
West Ham's frustration grew further as the game's turning point came seven minutes before the end of an evenly contested first half, when Tysiak was sent off. She brought down Taylor Hinds on the left flank, and referee Kirsty Dowle brought out the red card.
As the clock ticked down towards half-time, West Ham continued to probe, despite that set-back, and were almost rewarded with a goal once again when Anouk Denton burst down the left, but her cross narrowly evaded Shekiera Martinez.
At the other end, only another stunning save from Walsh seconds before the break to keep out Kiernan prevented further damage.
It looked like the game would be a case of attack against defence, and any hopes of mounting a comeback were all but ended three minutes after the interval when Marie Höbinger whipped in a set-piece from the right and Fisk guided the ball past Walsh with her thigh.
Liverpool had mustered three shots on target – and scored three goals.
It was harsh on the Hammers, as Rehanne Skinner sent on Seraina Piubel and Kirsty Smith in an attempt to alter the course of the game, but Liverpool continued to threaten, as Walsh denied Clark and the Reds a fourth.
Liverpool had their fourth of the evening on 66 minutes, however, as substitute Parry fired a low strike into the bottom corner beyond Walsh from 12 yards out.
And the visitors’ fifth came four minutes later as Kerr added her name to the scoresheet when she headed home a corner from underneath the crossbar.
Júlia Bartel was then denied by another superb Walsh save from close-range, before Evans’ attempted clearance clattered off her own post as we were denied a late consolation, but it was far too little, far too late as the Reds left east London worthy winners.
West Ham United: M.Walsh, Mengwen, Sáez, Tysiak, Denton (Smith 56), Siren (Brynjarsdóttir 66), Gorry ©, Asseyi (Piubel 56), Paví (Zadorsky 43), Ueki (Harries 66), Martinez
Subs not used: Szemik (GK), S.Walsh, Houssein, Bergman Lundin
Sent-off: Tysiak 38
Liverpool: Laws, Daniëls, Fisk, Clark, Evans, Hinds © (Parry 46), Kerr, Höbinger (Shaw 65), Holland (Bartel 56), Smith (Román Haug 46), Kiernan (Kapocs 56)
Subs not used: Micah (GK), Enderby, Bonner
Goals: Sáez 3 (og), Kiernan 18, Fisk 48, Parry 66, Kerr 70
Referee: Kirsty Dowle
Attendance: 859
Skinner: We’re disappointed with the outcome
Rehanne Skinner admitted her side cannot dwell on the disappointment of their Adobe Women’s FA Cup exit to Liverpool.
The Hammers bowed out of the competition with a 5-0 defeat at Chigwell Construction Stadium, having had Amber Tysiak sent off seven minutes before half-time with the visitors 2-0 to the good.
The manager stated the team will be fired up to go and get three points on Sunday when the two sides meet again in Liverpool.
We’re massively disappointed.
We’re massively disappointed with the outcome of the game in the end. We started really well, and there were loads of positives in it. I thought we looked confident on the ball and we got opportunities in the final third. But even at 2-0, I thought we had chances, and the players looked composed.
Red cards change games.
Unfortunately, red cards change games, and this is by no stretch of the imagination about Amber [Tysiak] - it’s a yellow card, not a red card. And that changes the game completely. It’s escalated because of the way so many things were let go, and fouls on our players consistently led up to that point. It’s not an excuse. If you’re watching the game, you can understand where we’re coming from.
The players were working as hard as they possibly could. We’re disappointed with the way the game’s occurred for the fans and we totally get everyone will be disappointed.
We want to put it right on Sunday.
We’ve got to now think about where we go into the game on Sunday because this scoreline is not what we’re about. We want to make sure we go forward in the league.
The league is a huge priority for us, and we’re in a fantastic position at the weekend if we take three points. We have to be able to take our attention from that and not dwell on the disappointment of tonight.
We totally accept frustrations from our part, from the fans, and we have to take that on the chin. The fans have been superb all season, and they know that’s not what we’re about. We’ll go in, put in a fantastic performance at the weekend, and do everything to get the three points and put tonight right.
Gorry: There's fuel in the fire for Sunday
Despite ultimate disappointment at Chigwell Construction Stadium on Wednesday, West Ham United women’s team captain Katrina Gorry was proud of the resilience and never-say-die attitude displayed by her side throughout their 5-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool.
The encounter’s key moment came in the 38th minute with the dismissal of Amber Tysiak, which left the Hammers to play for almost an hour with ten players.
“It is really tough. I think I'd love to watch Vivi [Asseyi’s] goal again, if it was offside or not, but I think that just changes the whole game for us,” said Gorry.
“It was always going to be a bit of a physical game. It's probably not a red card [for Amber Tysiak].
“I thought the players still chased the ball down in the 90th minute, so I think that says a lot about our group, our culture, and what we've created in the team.”
Having conceded twice early on and then seeing Tysiak dismissed, West Ham stood firm in the face of Liverpool pressure before three second half strikes condemned the Irons to a heavy loss.
And Gorry felt there were some positives to take from her side’s battling spirit and is intent on bouncing back when the two sides meet again at St Helens Stadium on Sunday.
“There's a lot of salt in the wounds and fuel in the fire to go on Sunday,” Gorry confirmed.
“We have so much player depth now, which is a credit to the Club, but we've been working so hard, so I guess for us it's disappointing to see the scoreline like that.
“Everyone put in the work. Everyone was doing whatever they could to help the team, and it's definitely tough to look at the scoreline. I’m proud of the girls for keeping at it.
“We've got to park what happened tonight and get ourselves recovered and ready to go again. That's the best thing about football and the best thing about the fact that we play them again on Sunday.
“We will be seeking a bit of revenge and to come out stronger, to be better, and to put a few on the back of the net.”
