Kinga Szemik was pleased to be able to take to the pitch in front of West Ham United supporters for the first time.
The 27-year-old was between the posts for just over 60 minutes of the 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday evening at HBF Park, where the Irons performed admirably against Champions League opposition.
Szemik is no stranger to coming up against Les Parisiennes, having faced them in the Première Ligue for her two previous clubs, Reims and Nantes, over the past four years.
The goalkeeper was called into action on a number of occasions, making solid saves from close range in an impressive individual performance.
Reflecting on her first runout for the Hammers, Szemik was pleased with the overall showing from the team and is looking forward to seeing more in their second Perth International Football Cup clash against Leicester City on Sunday.
“I feel like we’ve progressed from the last behind-closed-doors friendly that we played last week, and that was the objective,” she explained.
“Obviously, we lost the game, but I’m positive about the future and everything that we’re doing to prepare for the new season. That’s the main objective for us here in Western Australia, so it’s a positive that we performed well tonight.
“I think it’s all about progress at the moment - step by step we’re becoming better as a team. One of the biggest things about being here is coming up against really strong teams and testing ourselves ahead of the new season. We’re doing that, and hopefully it will help us be ready for the opening day of the campaign.”
While PSG enjoyed the greater share of possession for large periods, the Hammers defended effectively in their five-at-the-back formation. Romée Leuchter did break through early and slot beyond the Poland international, but Rehanne Skinner’s side were largely untroubled otherwise and were able to offer a threat on the counter attack.
Szemik explained that it was a tactic employed by the team to stay tight together and look for opportunities on the break.
She said: “You can only play against teams like PSG like that. We know they have a lot of quality, but we were compact and communicated with each other well, and I think we were really good at that.
“We were able to limit them to very little, and I think that’s a real credit to the team. We can take a lot from this game because we’re playing against really high level opponents. It kind of forces you to step out of your comfort zone, play faster and communicate better. There are a lot of positive things from today, and hopefully in the next game on Sunday we can be even better.”
Szemik was one of three players to make her first appearance for the Club in the match, with the other two being fellow summer signing Camila Sáez and youngster Ruby Doe.
Having had her first taste of the support from the Australian fans, she reflected on her first minutes on the pitch for her new Club in front of the West Ham faithful since joining from Reims last month.
She added: “I loved playing in front of the West Ham fans for the first time. I’m so happy that they came out to support us and it was really clear that they were here cheering for us from the very beginning.
“So thank you so much guys if you’re watching this, it’s awesome to be here and I’ve loved playing tonight.”
