Kirsty Smith believes that West Ham United women’s team can build on the performance that they produced in their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
The Scotland international started at wing-back against the Citizens at Chigwell Construction Stadium, where second half goals from Lauren Hemp and Jill Roord were the difference in the Irons opening fixture of the new Barclays Women’s Super League season.
Smith and her teammates battled and fought throughout the contest against a side that have ambitions to fight at the top of the WSL table, and at times, the Hammers looked dangerous. Riko Ueki, who was making her debut in Claret & Blue in particular caused issue for the Citizens backline.
At the other end, Smith formed a backline that limited City to very little in the way of clear cut chances. It took two moments of class for that defence to be breached, although they were aided by Mackenzie Arnold, who denied Chloe Kelly from the spot.
Speaking at the full time whistle, Smith believes that there’s plenty to build on for West Ham as they continue to progress under new manager, Rehanne Skinner.
“I think there’s lots of positives we can take from the game,” she told whufc.com.
“We defended really well, we kept ourselves in it and made a few good chances – we’ve jot to convert those chances. It’s something we can really work on going into the next couple of games. Going forward, we have creativity, we just to perfect the final part and get the goals.
“It takes a lot to come back from [conceding after half time], but the penalty save gave us a lot of confidence to try and get back into it. Unfortunately, they managed to get another goal.
“But even towards the end, we were really positive towards the end, all that was missing was the goals.”
Whilst the Hammers conceded possession to the visitors for the majority of the contest, when they did have the ball, they were effective in transitioning the ball from back to front, causing issues for the City backline that were often exposed two verses two with forwards Viviane Asseyi and Ueki.
Manager, Skinner has already spoken about the process and the time it may take for her side to get used to the way that she wants them to play, something which Smith agrees with.
“I think we’ve got a lot of confidence going into games. We’ve had a great pre-season and I think we need to continue building on that. We’re getting a lot more of the ball with a different style of play.
“We’ve been working on that throughout pre-season, and I think that showed today in some of our play.”
It’s been a long wait for the new Barclays Women’s Super League season to get underway, and Smith was pleased to be back out there.
The defender praised the fans and called for them to continue supporting the team throughout the campaign.
“It’s been a long time [since we played a competitive game]. We’ve had a long pre-season, but it was great to be back out there. It was frustrating to lose, but it’s something to build on going into [Brighton] next week.
“You could hear them [the fans] all the way through to the last minute. It’s always appreciated that they stay with us and we want that in every game.
“The support gives you the motivation to keep going in these games, it’s great to have them cheering us on,” she concluded.
