Shelina Zadorsky has enjoyed her first month with West Ham United women's team.
The 31-year-old defender produced another solid defensive performance in only her third appearance for the Club, and helped her side to a historic first Barclays Women's Super League win over Arsenal, beating the Gunners 2-1 at Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Zadorsky, who made her league debut for the Irons in last weekend’s victory over Bristol City, was resilient alongside her teammates as they came from behind to claim their second straight win and move up to ninth in the WSL table.
Alessia Russo opened the scoring for the visitors two minutes before the break, but the Hammers staged a second half turnaround. Viviane Asseyi levelled from the penalty spot five minutes after the restart, before Hawa Cissoko sealed the comeback win with a stunning strike.
Zadorsky has made a perfect start to life in east London and believes there is still more to come from Rehanne Skinner’s side.
“I’m really enjoying it, it’s been great to get these results as well”, she told West Ham TV at the full-time whistle.
“I know how hard the team and staff work, so it’s great to get that reward with the results. I’m learning a lot from the players and staff, and I just want to keep getting better for the Club.”
It was Zadorsky’s first fixture at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, having missed the clash against her parent club, Tottenham Hotspur in January, and she could not have marked it with a much better result.
“It’s pretty crazy, football is a wild game”, she said. “I’m just so proud of the group for continuing on and getting a result like that is massive for us.
“Arsenal are such a great side, and we knew that we would be in defensive positions often, but we were able to do that with the whole backline and Macca [Mackenzie Arnold] as well.
“I think there was so much communication and resilience just to put your body on the line and keep the ball out of the net. There were some big performances today and two big goals as well.
“We won’t forget this one, that’s for sure”, she enthused. "It’s such a positive vibe to build off. Not every game is going to be pretty or perfect all the time, but being able to grind out results against top sides like that is huge.
“You look at the difference between the games [Bristol City and Arsenal]. We were doing a lot of defending today but being able to build that cohesion defensively as a team is so important and it starts from the top.
"Everyone put a shift in today and was on the line to keep the ball out and I think that helps build confidence in the team as well. Next week is a good chance to continue building our relationships and honing in on things we want to get better at,” Zadorsky concluded.
