Crystal Palace 1-7 West Ham United women's team
Barclays Women's Super League, VBS Community Stadium, Sunday 27 April, 12.30pm BST
Shekiera Martinez scored four goals in West Ham United women’s team’s 7-1 rout over Crystal Palace in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday.
The VBS Community Stadium was Martinez’s playground as she helped Rehanne Skinner’s side to a three-goal lead at the break with three cultured finishes.
The first was a planted header from Verena Hanshaw’s cross before she scored twice in three minutes with cultured finishes past Shae Yanez, to take her tally to eight goals in eleven WSL matches.
In the second half, Martinez continued where she left off and finished calmly beyond the home shot-stopper to notch her and West Ham’s fourth of the afternoon, before Viviane Asseyi lifted a stunning 25-yard lob over Yanez to make it five.
Palace did pull a goal back through a Katie Stengel penalty, but it was merely a consolation as substitute Emma Harries netted a late brace to ensure the women’s team emphatically extended their unbeaten run to five matches - and secured their biggest-ever victory in the WSL.
The Hammers flew out of the traps brightly and nearly found an opener inside the first ten minutes when crosses from Asseyi, Katrina Gorry and Hanshaw all evaded their teammates in the penalty area.
But it was not long before Skinner’s side did get their noses in front as Hanshaw again found herself in space down the left to deliver a pin-point cross onto the head of Martinez, who finished with aplomb on 18 minutes.
The hosts knew that they had to get three points to keep their bid for survival alive and nearly fashioned an equaliser, but Kinga Szemik was alert to beat away Stengel’s header before the Palace striker stabbed the rebound wide of the left-hand post.
Leif Smerud’s outfit continued to flood forward in numbers and Ashleigh Weerden spurned two opportunities, the first a curling effort from outside the box before she air-kicked Lily Woodham’s delivery from the left.
Palace were more than made to pay for their missed opportunities as Martinez bagged a first-half hat-trick with a further two goals in the space of three minutes.
Her second of the afternoon followed a brilliant flick from Asseyi and a darting run from Gorry. The Australia international fed Martinez on the right, who cut in onto her left inside the box before curling the ball home into the top-left corner.
The Germany U23 international was far from done as moments after, she had the match ball secured as she latched onto Oona Siren’s defence-splitting through ball to round goalkeeper Yanez before tapping home into an empty net.
The Hammers started the second half where they left off and barred down on the Palace goal. Riko Ueki fired just over the crossbar before Seraina Piubel’s shot deflected into the grateful grasp of the home side’s goalkeeper.
It was only a matter of time until Skinner’s team got their fourth and it duly came just after the hour mark, and guess who got it? Martinez was played through one on one with Yanez, and she finished with pure composure to become the first player to score four goals in a game in West Ham United women’s team history.
The Irons were not done there, though, as Asseyi got in on the act with arguably the goal of the afternoon. The No20 let fly from 25 yards out with a stunning lofted effort that nestled into the back of the net over a stranded Yanez.
The home side were given the opportunity to reduce the arrears with ten minutes remaining, when Ueki was adjudged to have committed a foul in the penalty area. Palace skipper Stengel stepped up and sent Szemik the wrong way, to deny the Poland international a third clean sheet in four matches.
But the Irons were soon back amongst the goals as substitute Harries finished spectacularly into the top-left corner with an audacious clipped finish from inside the box - her first WSL goal for West Ham.
The No12 soon had her second league goal for the Irons in second-half stoppage time, as she latched onto Princess Ademiluyi’s square ball to tap home the Hammers’ seventh of the afternoon.
The Irons were ruthless and relentless, and fully deserved of their sixth victory of the campaign.
Crystal Palace: Yanez, Cato (Veje 46), Weerden, Nolan, Öling (Riley 78), Potter (Arthur 46), Larisey (Larkin 46), Gejl, Woodham (Green 46), Nouwen, Stengel ©
Subs not used: Majasaari (GK), Sharpe, Hughes, Blanchard
Goal: Stengel 80
Booked: Nouwen
West Ham United: Szemik, Denton (Smith 63), Zadorsky, Tysiak (Sáez), Hanshaw, Siren, Gorry © (Brynjarsdóttir 46), Martinez (Ademiluyi 71), Asseyi, Piubel (Harries 71), Ueki
Subs not used: M.Walsh (GK), Nyström, Bergman Lundin, S. Walsh
Goals: Martinez 18, 42, 45, 62, Asseyi 70, Harries 86, 90+4
Booked: Denton
Referee: Kirsty Dowle
Attendance: TBC
