Shelina Zadorsky could not hide her pride after West Ham United women’s team produced another remarkable performance to secure a hard-fought 0-0 draw against third-place Manchester United in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Saturday.
Centre-back Zadorsky, along with Amber Tysiak, Eva Nyström, Verena Hanshaw and Li Mengwen, was part of a defence that performed superbly to limit the Red Devils to very few clear-cut opportunities, earning a second clean sheet in three games.
The Canada international, who has been involved in all bar one of the Hammers’ 19 top-flight matches this season after joining the Club on a permanent deal in the summer of 2024, insists she was eager for victory in Dagenham but will accept a point as the Irons continue their quest of recording their best-ever season in the WSL.
Currently sat seventh having tallied 20 points so far this campaign, we can still surpass our Club record sixth-place finish with a total of 27 points in 2021/22, needing a minimum of eight points from three remaining fixtures.
And with the three bottom sides - Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Leicester City - left to play, Zadorsky is hopeful her side can continue their ongoing four-game winless run, and make history before the summer break.
“I think we knew it was going to be a physical game,” said Zadorsky. “They (Manchester United) have a good defence, so it was hard to break them down.
“We know they have creative movements and a lot of rotations, and they like to get their full-backs really high. So for us, it was about managing those wide spaces and being able to pass on players when we can be aggressive. I think we had moments where we did that really well.
“I'm really proud of everyone. I think we defended as a full team, and everyone who came on made an impact. Obviously I want us to get goals, but we've created chances, and there are lots of positives.
“We’ve shown over the last few weeks we can go toe-to-toe with the top four teams in the Barclays Women’s Super League, and that we can compete against the best players in the country and the rest of the world.
“We've come a long way, and we just want to keep getting more results. I think we've grown a lot.
“We want to finish as high as we possibly can. We want to get as many points as possible out of these last three games.
“We take each game as it comes, and I think that's worked well for us.”
