Amber Tysiak is looking forward to the new Barclays Women’s Super League season getting underway on Sunday 1 October.
The Hammers begin the new campaign against Manchester City at Chigwell Construction Stadium, and it will mark 161 days since the Belgian central defender made her first appearance for West Ham United – which also came against the Citizens, back in April.
Indeed, Tysiak’s start to live in east London was severely impacted by injury, meaning she didn’t make her first appearance in Claret & Blue until the closing moments of the match at the Academy Stadium.
In total, the defender played in the final four WSL matches of last season and is looking forward to making her mark from the off this season.
And after overcoming a knock at the very beginning of pre-season, Tysiak is now raring to go ahead of the opener against Manchester City
“It feels really good that the new season is almost here,” she told whufc.com.
“Pre-season has been a long period, but I think we needed that time as a team to start building something again. We’ve had time to really build up some strong match fitness and work on the technical side of the game that Rehanne [Skinner] wants us to implement this season.
"It's also meant that some players, like myself, have had the time to get over little injuries and not feel like we are rushing to try and get back. I think that step-by-step in every game we have improved throughout pre-season and now we’re all really excited for getting underway.”
Tysiak worked her way back from a slight knock to play 60 minutes in the 3-0 victory against Bristol City, with the defender playing only her third fixture in front of the home fans.
The 23-year-old was delighted to be back out in front of the home supporters and is looking forward to them cheering her on this season.
“It’s always nice to have our fans cheering us on, but it’s even better when we can perform for them and get the victory. I really hope that there will be lots of supporters here for the first WSL game, we will need their support throughout the season.
“Our last pre-season match gave us a lot of confidence. Pre-season has had it’s ups and downs, but we’ve moved on and progressed well from each game.
“We’re learning from our mistakes, and I think the Bristol City game highlighted what we can do when we play the way that our manager wants to play.
"Now we have to make sure we prepare right when the team joins up after the international break and make sure we're ready to get going on 1 October," she concluded.
Tysiak could feature for Belgium during the international break! Find out more about which of the women's team players could be in action across the next seven days!
After our internationals return, watch West Ham United women's team in their first Barclays Women's Super League match of the season! Purchase your ticket by clicking on the graphic below!
