Kirsty Smith is pleased to be back out on the pitch for West Ham United women’s team.
The 30-year-old full back missed the first four matches of the new season due to a shoulder injury, but she made her comeback in the closing stages of the 1-1 draw with Everton last weekend.
Smith has been eager to get back out on the pitch in Claret & Blue, having played in every Barclays Women’s Super League fixture across the previous two seasons.
Now, she’s hoping to pick up some more minutes against Arsenal before she heads off on international break with Scotland next week.
“It’s really nice to be back from injury and back in with the team again,” she told whufc.com.
“Obviously it’s tough when you’re not able to be involved in the first games of a new season because you’ve built towards that throughout pre-season.
“I’m excited to be back fit, and hopefully I can continue building up my fitness and help the team over the coming months.
“Since I’ve arrived here at West Ham, this has been the first time that I’ve missed matches," Smith continued.
“That’s frustrating for me, but it’s something that was out of my control, and I’m pleased that I only missed a couple of matches.”
The Hammers are searching for only their second ever win against the Gunners when they make the trip to east London on Sunday. That victory came last season in front of a raucous crowd of over 4,000, the largest the women’s team have had for a WSL home fixture.
They’re yet to win in the WSL this term, but have secured draws against Liverpool and Everton, whilst also performing well in stages against Manchester City and Manchester United.
Smith has been watching from the sidelines, and she’s been pleased with what she has seen from her teammates so far this season, and that the first win of the campaign won't be too
“I think we’ve made a really positive start to the season,” Smith explained. "You can see a lot of the work that we’ve been doing in pre-season being implemented on the pitch. I think for the most part we’ve defended well, scored some good goals and we’ve managed to build on what we were working on from last season.
“We’ve had a lot of new players arrive over the summer, and they’re all getting used to life here at West Ham and gelling with the squad. They’ve all had a really good impact around the place.
“All that we’re missing at the moment is that league win, but I think we can all see that our performances have been strong and that it won’t be too far away.”
