Kirsty Smith starts for West Ham United women’s team for the first time this season, against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium this afternoon.
The defender replaces Li Mengwen, who is ineligible to face her parent club, in the only change to Rehanne Skinner’s starting XI from last Sunday’s victory against Leicester City. Meanwhile, Ruby Doe is named on the team sheet for the second time in the WSL this term, replacing Mengwen in the matchday squad.
Scotland international Smith, who had played in every WSL fixture across the past two seasons, missed the first four games of this campaign with a shoulder injury, and made her comeback to the pitch late on in the Hammers’ 1-1 draw at Everton last month. She then came off the bench on Sunday to help the Irons secure their first victory of the season, at home to Leicester City.
The singular change to the starting XI means Kinga Szemik remains between the sticks after she picked up her first clean sheet in Claret & Blue at the weekend. Also buoyed by Sunday’s defensive display, Anouk Denton, Shelina Zadorsky and Amber Tysiak start alongside Smith in Skinner’s back-four.
For the fifth successive WSL fixture, Captain Katrina Gorry and Finland international Oona Siren will protect the defence, as well as looking to unleash Viviane Asseyi, Seraina Piubel and Manuela Paví, who will look to cause the Brighton back line havoc this afternoon.
Asseyi and Paví will hope to replicate the link-up play shown in the goal that won last Sunday’s clash with Leicester, with the former targeting back-to-back goals after opening her WSL account last time out.
Right-back Smith was on target in the Hammers’ 2-0 victory at Brighton last term, as was striker Riko Ueki, who leads the line once again this afternoon.
Skinner has nine options on her substitutes' bench and can make a maximum of five changes. Megan Walsh is the goalkeeping option, alongside defenders Camila Sáez and Shannon Cooke.
Marika Bergman Lundin, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, Halle Houssein, Soraya Walsh, Emma Harries and Doe are the other names on the Hammers’ bench.
Keep up to date with the match by following our live blog from the Amex Stadium HERE!
Brighton & Hove Albion: Baggaley, McLauchlan, Bergsvand, Olislagers, Seike, Losada, Symonds, Pattinson, Kirby, Parris, Haley
Subs: Poulter, Loeck, Cankovic, Rayner, Vilamala, Agyemang, Bremer
West Ham United: Szemik, Denton, Tysiak, Zadorsky, Smith, Siren, Gorry ©, Piubel, Paví, Asseyi, Ueki
Subs: M. Walsh (GK), Sáez, Cooke, Bergman Lundin, Brynjarsdóttir, Houssein, S. Walsh, Harries, Doe
