Soraya Walsh is set to make her first senior appearance in West Ham United colours tonight as she is named in Rehanne Skinner’s women’s team’s starting line-up to face Southampton in Group C of the Women’s League Cup in Dagenham.
The 18-year-old signed her first professional contract with the Club in the summer and has featured in many of the Hammers’ matchday squads this term, but will play her first minutes in Claret and Blue this evening as the Irons look to seal their place in the knockout stages of the competition.
Midfielder Walsh is one of nine changes Skinner has made to the side that defeated Crystal Palace 5-2 at Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday, with only Kirsty Smith and Seraina Piubel remaining from the off.
Megan Walsh - who started the League Cup victories against Portsmouth and London City Lionesses - returns in between the sticks tonight, and Li Mengwen, Shannon Cooke and Camila Sáez join Smith in the Irons’ back four.
As has been the case in most games this season, Skinner is likely to deploy a midfield pair to sit in front of the defence, which is expected to be two of Halle Houssein, Marika Bergman Lundin and Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, with the spare player supporting Seraina Piubel, Emma Harries and the aforementioned Walsh going forward.
Iceland international Brynjarsdóttir will don the captain's armband.
Piubel, who netted in the Hammers’ 6-1 rout over Portsmouth in October, scored her first Barclays Women’s Super League goal on Sunday and will look to increase her tally again this evening.
The Women’s League Cup’s top-scorer Viviane Asseyi is one of eight names on Skinner’s substitutes’ bench, and the France international will also be eager to add to the four goals she has contributed in the competition this term.
Alongside Asseyi waiting in the wings are goalkeeper Kinga Szemik, defenders Anouk Denton, Daniella Way and Shelina Zadorsky, and midfielder Oona Siren. And looking to add firepower to the attack should the Hammers require it are Manuela Paví and Riko Ueki.
West Ham United: M. Walsh, Mengwen, Cooke, Sáez, Smith, Houssein, Bergman Lundin, Brynjarsdóttir ©, S. Walsh, Harries, Piubel
Subs: Szemik (GK), Way, Denton, Zadorsky, Siren, Paví, Asseyi, Ueki
Southampton: Haland, Brown ©, Mott, Bourne, Watson, Thompson, Griffiths, Peake, Nohasiarisoa, Roberts, Buckingham
Subs: Stenson (GK), Pike, Purfield, Collett, Lucas, Beard, Bolton, Udebhulu, Palmer
Referee: Amy Fearn
