Manchester City 2-0 West Ham United women's team
Barclays Women's Super League, Joie Stadium, Sunday 6 October 2024, 1pm BST
West Ham United women’s team fell to a 2-0 defeat away at Manchester City in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday.
A resolute performance from the Irons was not enough to contain Gareth Taylor’s City, who found the net in either half courtesy of Lauren Hemp and Mary Fowler.
West Ham began like a team that was full of confidence, bossing possession and controlling the early tempo, and the visitors thought they had made the perfect start inside two minutes as Viviane Asseyi, who scored twice against Portsmouth in the Women’s League Cup on Wednesday, poked the ball into the net. But, the Hammers’ joy was short-lived as referee Elizabeth Simms disallowed the goal for an offside in the build-up.
City were soon in the ascendancy, and Rehanne Skinner’s side couldn't say they weren’t warned. After the hosts flashed their offensive threat when Leila Ouahabi’s cut-back from the byline for Fowler forced a smart save from Kinga Szemik, they got their reward after ten minutes. Fowler dug the ball out of her feet with three defenders around her and clipped it into Hemp, who was given the space and time to finish beyond Szemik.
However, West Ham responded positively to their early setback and should have levelled to cap off a frenetic quarter of an hour. Katrina Gorry went on a marauding run down the right, from where she stood up a cross on the penalty spot. It found its way to Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, whose header was off target.
City turned the screw even more, and the Irons were soon camped permanently in their own box.
Kerstin Casparij released Chloe Kelly on the right-hand side, but the winger's searching ball across the box was well dealt with by the West Ham rearguard, before a well-worked corner routine saw Ouahabi collect the ball on the edge of West Ham’s box. The Spaniard’s goalbound effort was headed over by Anouk Denton.
Hemp almost doubled City’s lead just after the half-hour mark. Yui Hasegawa embarked on a driving run towards the final third and found Hemp, who climbed high at the back post but couldn't keep her header down.
As the half went into the final stages, we managed a rare foray up the other end that saw the impressive Denton beat her marker for pace down the right and whip a delightful ball into the box, which had Riko Ueki stretching, but she couldn’t quite get there to prod it past Ayaka Yamashita.
City came out firing after the restart, as the hosts dominated the opening stages of the second half, and came close to doubling their lead through the influential Hemp, who spurned a hat-trick of opportunities.
First, the England international slipped past Brynjarsdóttir on the right and unleashed a powerful effort, only to be denied by a stunning full-stretch save from Szemik, and then the ball dropped kindly for Hemp in acres of space eight yards from goal, but her effort was blazed over the bar.
Poland international goalkeeper Szemik was proving almost unbeatable, and she came to the Hammers’ rescue once again on 58 minutes. Hemp rose highest to meet a cross from the right just a few yards out, but was somehow denied as the Irons' No1 was alert and clawed it off the line.
Half-time substitute Seraina Piubel offered some respite for the visitors at the other end as her speculative effort was saved by Yamashita, but, in truth, it only seemed a matter of time before a second City goal came.
And the inevitable happened, 19 minutes from time, through Fowler.
Substitute Khadija Shaw capitalised on a loose pass out from the back from Szemik and chipped to the back post where Fowler was already hanging in mid-air, suspended above her marker, and she was able to nod the ball back across goal to double the Citizens' lead.
City almost added a third late on when Ouahabi's effort from the edge of the penalty area cannoned off the crossbar, before Aoba Fujino whipped in a cross towards the back post, which slipped past everyone, finding Vivianne Miedema, who couldn’t convert from three yards out.
While the game ended in defeat, the Hammers fought hard and will look to regroup ahead of their upcoming away match against Everton on Sunday 13 October.
Manchester City: Yamashita, Aleixandri (Kennedy 78), Greenwood ©, Fowler, Kelly (Shaw 69), Roord (Miedema 46), Hemp (Fujino 70), Ouahabi (Layzell 78), Casparij, Blindkilde Brown, Hasegawa
Subs not used: Keating (GK), Coombs, Thomas, Murphy
Goals: Hemp 10, Fowler 71
Booked: Kennedy
West Ham United: Szemik, Tysiak, Sáez, Zadorsky (Cooke 77), Denton, Gorry ©, Brynjarsdóttir (Paví 79), Mengwen, Harries (Piubel 46), Ueki, Asseyi (Siren 56)
Subs not used: M.Walsh (GK), Bergman Lundin, Houssein, Morrison
Booked: Cooke
Referee: Elizabeth Simms
Skinner: We gave a really good account of ourselves
West Ham United women’s team manager Rehanne Skinner praised her side’s resolute performance at Manchester City, highlighting the positives for the future.
Leading up to the match, Skinner had urged her players to demonstrate the mentality and courage to compete with City, who are aiming for the Barclays Women’s Super League title this season.
The Hammers responded positively and thought they had made the perfect start, only for a Viviane Asseyi strike to be ruled offside. Despite conceding two goals either side of half-time, the Irons fought courageously until the end.
“It was difficult, but you expect that at different parts of the game against a well-established team, but I thought we gave a really good account of ourselves defensively," Skinner said. "We set up well, worked hard across the pitch, and unfortunately the goal that was disallowed came at a difficult time, and it wasn’t offside. That would’ve put us ahead early in the game, so that was disappointing.
“We’re disappointed with the goals that we conceded, and they could have both been avoided. We created some chances in the latter stages of the game, and the players who came on had an impact on the game again, but we just need to be a little bit more clinical when we are in and around the goal.
“I think we’re still trying to work on everyone understanding everybody and how they play, as there are still a lot of new players on the pitch. There’s definitely players there that we are trying to get more familiar with the way we play, and every minute they play helps them to settle in. They are all working incredibly hard, and I think it’s about how you gel that together to make sure everyone’s on the same page with what we are doing in and out of possession.
“[Manchester] City are a very well-established team, and it’s a difficult place to come to. I think if we score the first goal and it stands, we go 1-0 up away from home against a really tough UEFA Champions League team. I thought we defended resolutely in front of goal, so it’s even more disappointing when you put in so much hard work in and around the box.
“There are things to take from it and things to learn from, and we keep moving forward to next week. We’re continuing to grow."
