Defender Shelina Zadorsky insisted West Ham United’s goalless draw with Brighton & Hove Albion was full of signs her team have improved in all areas of the pitch throughout 2023/24.
The Hammers built on a positive display against reigning champions Chelsea in their previous clash by keeping just a second clean sheet of the season at home to the Seagulls, with the point also marking the end of a two-game losing run.
Similar to the Chelsea match, Rehanne Skinner’s charges were unable to capitalise on their chances at the top end, but Zadorsky was happy with the performance in both boxes and believes the goals will eventually come.
“I’m really proud of the performance,” the 31-year-old said. “It was back and forth, but we stayed focused, defended well and created chances too.
“I’m happy with how we all fought to keep the clean sheet, because that solid defensive base is where you need to start. I’m proud of how we pressed and communicated, and I think we showed a good level of self-confidence in the game.
“We want to put our opportunities away of course, and we need more goals from all areas of the pitch. But we have players who can do that, we just need to stay focused and I’m sure the goals will arrive.”
In the wake of the Brighton game, Zadorsky will now turn her attention to international commitments with Canada, with a SheBelieves Cup campaign first throwing up a mouth-watering semi-final against Brazil on 6 April.
Just four games of the Barclays WSL season remain, starting again away at leaders Manchester City on 21 April, and now with a seven-point cushion ahead of bottom side Bristol City, Zadorsky is hopeful she and her teammates can enjoy a strong end to the term.
She added: “Getting a point and a clean sheet before the international break is massive, and we have to take it.
“We’ll go off now and do our best for our countries, and then come back and fight to win as many points as we can in the games we’ve got left. We’ll go into every match as if it’s a cup final, and if we keep going as we are I’m confident we can keep picking up points.”
