Whilst Jess Ziu was disappointed that West Ham United women’s team didn’t come away from their Continental Tyres League Cup fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion with a victory, she was pleased to continue building up her own match fitness.
Ziu came off the bench with 30 minutes to go in the 3-1 loss to the Seagulls at Broadfield Stadium on Wednesday evening as the Republic of Ireland international continued with her comeback from an anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] injury sustained over a year ago.
The Hammers fell behind just before the break in west Sussex, with Guro Bergsvand bundling in a corner before the referee sounded for the half time whistle.
Then, Vicky Losada and Veatriki Sarri converted from the penalty spot in the second half, before Hawa Cissoko netted what would only prove to be a consolation at the end.
Ziu was pleased to get more minutes in the tank, but was frustrated that the team couldn't produce more on the night.
“To be honest, nobody wants to come on into a game when the team are 3-0 down," she told whufc.com. "We weren’t at our best tonight, but we improved towards the end and probably should have had at least one, maybe two more goals.
“We’d left it a little too late in the game, and the damage had already been done from the set pieces that we’d conceded. We’ve got to stick together to try and cut some of the issues out of our game that are starting to creep in consistently. It’s tough at the moment, but as a group we’re all fighting for each other."
Ziu made her comeback from her injury against Bristol City earlier in November and got more minutes this time around against Brighton. She was pleased to continue building up match fitness in preparation for her being ready for a full 90 minutes of action.
“Yeah, it was really nice to be out on the pitch again. It’s different to just training, and for me it’s important that it’s a gradual process. Mentally I feel ready, but I know that I have to be eased back into action.
“Match fitness is going to be crucial, and I’m hoping that I can continue building that up over the coming weeks and then push on from there.
"We all have to knuckle down now," Ziu continued. "We have a couple of days before we go again against Arsenal, and we want to produce a good performance in that game."
