Shelina Zadorsky thrives on the intensity of London derbies and is looking forward to heading into battle against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Rehanne Skinner’s side will welcome their near neighbours to Chigwell Construction Stadium for their first Barclays Women’s Super League meeting in two-and-a-half weeks, and could leapfrog the Lilywhites in the standings with three points at the weekend.
The centre-back, who has featured in 15 of the Hammers’ 16 league matches this term, first joined West Ham on a six-month loan from Spurs in January 2024 before moving to east London permanently in the summer.
Having spent three-and-a-half seasons in Spurs colours, the Canada international, who lifted the Pinatar Cup with her country during the February international break, understands the rivalry between the two teams.
“When I first came to England, I was learning about the intensity of the rivalries and the derby games,” she said.
“They’re something I thrive on and I love that the fans get into it. It's always a battle and it takes full energy, full concentration because both teams are going to want to win.”
The Hammers’ most recent outing saw them bag a last-minute equaliser to secure their first-ever league point at home to Manchester City - which continued a positive run of performances from Skinner’s team after an attacking display against Arsenal and a victory against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The draw against the Citizens also broke a women’s team record, as it was the 14th point they have accumulated at home this term, eclipsing the 2021/22 season’s tally of 13.
Conversely, Sunday’s opponents are looking to bring an end to a five-match losing run in all competitions. The two teams have already met twice this term, most recently in the Subway® Women’s League Cup quarter-finals in January, when Kirsty Smith and Seraina Piubel helped the Irons to a memorable victory against Spurs.
Having not had a match for two consecutive weekends, Zadorsky and her side have been able to put the hard yards in at Chadwell Heath in preparation for Sunday’s 12noon kick-off, and the 32-year-old is relishing the opportunity to be back playing in Dagenham.
She said: “West Ham has that family feel, and people are loud and supportive whenever we play at home.
"We love playing at home and we can feel that energy. We want to bring that forward and then also work on getting more away points as well.
“We always want to play games, we're footballers and that's the best part about it, but we've also done a lot of work on the [training] pitch.
“We've got a lot of miles in the legs and I think we can come into this game excited and fresh.
“I think our recent form has been really positive and we want to take that forward. Getting a point at home against City was a huge result and I think, especially in the first half, we really dominated and did well. We need to take the positives from that and I'm so excited to play at home again.”
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