Marc Skinner’s Red Devils began their comeback from last season’s disappointing league finish in style today with a 3-0 victory over West Ham. Geyse opened the scoring with just under half an hour played, and Leah Galton’s super strike from the edge of the box doubled their lead before the interval. Grace Clinton headed home their third on her league debut for the club shortly after halftime.
Despite moments of promise from Riko Ueki and Emma Harries, who put good pressure on the United back line at times, the Hammers couldn’t disrupt their revamped opponents. Rehanne Skinner’s substitutions failed to make an impact, and she still has much to work on if her side are to avoid another relegation battle.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs it happened
There was plenty of change afoot with both sides handing debuts to three new signings; there were also first league starts for Grace Clinton and Phallon Tullis-Joyce in red. Having been promised attacking football, the home fans were not disappointed. The first big chances of the game fell United’s way, with Elisabeth Terland running through on goal after only four minutes; she went to ground, claiming a push from Camila Sáez, but referee Cheryl Foster was unimpressed. New skipper Maya Le Tissier demonstrated plenty of confidence in her forward passing, picking out through balls to the front line early on – after five minutes one almost led to the opener as Leah Galton latched onto it. Her effort towards goal teetered off the crossbar and came agonisingly close to the net, with nobody quite able to turn it home. After only a few minutes, Rehanne Skinner’s side were under serious pressure.
The Hammers settled slightly in the next ten minutes, holding slightly more of the ball and embarking on some forays into the United half. Their first real chance came from some strong linkup play across the front line, with the ball eventually finding Emma Harries on the right. Her effort was blocked by Leah Galton and the resulting corner cleared away. The game grew more physical as West Ham gained confidence, with the referee’s whistle sounding frequently particularly for clashes in the midfield. After United’s early dominance, West Ham’s forwards began to gain some more confidence. Viviane Asseyi and Riko Ueki harried the United defenders on the ball, with one shaky moment between Phallon Tullis-Joyce and Jayde Riviere – but as West Ham drifted up the pitch, United took advantage. A misstep allowed Clinton to send Terland racing through towards goal, and the Hammers were lucky that defensive pressure just forced her to drag her shot wide.
The opener eventually came after 27 minutes. Again the ball was launched over the top, with United looking to unlock their attackers’ pace; Geyse and Sáez both chased it towards the byline and although the defender reached it first, she then went to ground and the Brazilian pounced. Despite Sáez’s claim of a foul, play continued and Geyse elected to lash it home past Kinga Szemik herself rather than pick out Terland. It was almost 2-0 minutes later: Geyse again skipped down the byline and Clinton latched onto her pass with the chance to open her United account at Old Trafford. However, the midfielder sent her effort well over the bar.
Embed from Getty ImagesThough West Ham weathered the worst of the storm early on, Manchester United had finally taken a deserved lead. They were keen to extend it before halftime: Lisa Naalsund leathered a speculative effort towards goal after the ball fell to her outside the area, but it didn’t trouble Szemik. Clinton’s inswinging corner moments later drifted close to the net but was deflected back out, and the following corner came even closer. Clearly emboldened by her goal, Geyse tried a cheeky overhead kick to catch the keeper off guard but it only rattled the crossbar. West Ham had little say in the last fifteen minutes of the half. Tullis-Joyce had to make a save at a corner kick, but their attacks were few and far between – and Marc Skinner’s plan for his side to improve in transitions seemed to be realised, with United rapidly surging up the pitch after regaining possession. Their pressure was rewarded on the stroke of halftime. With 47 minutes on the clock, Leah Galton carried the ball past two defenders along the edge of the area and unleashed an inch-perfect shot that cut straight through the remaining defenders and bulged the net. West Ham were grateful for the whistle shortly after – despite flashes of promise, they failed to disrupt United’s new-look attack and the home boss was the happier Skinner at halftime.
Kristie Mewis replaced Dagný Brynjarsdóttir in the only change at the interval as West Ham desperately sought a way back into the match. It wasn’t enough – United started the second half much as they’d ended the first. Grace Clinton put her earlier miss behind her with a league debut goal at the Theatre of Dreams. Left with far too much room in the box, she had ample space to head home Naalsund’s cross and make it 3-0 after 52 minutes. There was a lengthy stoppage not long after, with Emma Harries clutching her head; she was substituted in a planned move shortly after, replaced by new signing Seraina Piubel while Li Mengwen made way for Shelina Zadorsky.
Embed from Getty ImagesNone of Rehanne Skinner’s changes could do the trick, though. Piubel brought fresh energy with her work at both ends of the pitch, and Zadorsky performed as well as any defender can when already trailing so heavily, but United remained comfortable. The Red Devils were perhaps less fast and furious as the game went on, and were caught out a couple of times by their opponents’ offside trap. However, their opponents looked out of ideas. Rehanne Skinner could be seen encouraging her side to press and brought on Manuela Paví, who fared no better than her colleagues and saw little of the ball. United’s comfortable lead allowed Marc Skinner to hand debuts to Celine Bizet and Simi Awujo, replacing Geyse and Dominique Janssen, while Rachel Williams also had a run out in place of Elisabeth Terland. The game ended far more quietly and West Ham had no real route back. Katrina Gorry’s searching cross along the ground in the 80th minute would have been a treat if anyone had been there to receive it, and Anouk Denton chanced a long range effort not long after, but other than that they created little. Instead, the most interesting action of the closing stages was on the sideline. Marc Skinner clearly relished showing the fans the new depth he had so longed for, bringing on Hinata Miyazawa and Gabby George for Grace Clinton and Leah Galton. Rehanne Skinner continued to rifle through her bench for solutions, introducing Marika Bergman Lundin, but it was already too late.
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite a relatively quiet end to the game, both keepers had chances to shine. Tullis-Joyce’s best save of the match came with less than ten minutes left, diving low to her right to push the ball wide; she got to it just before Zadorsky who was arriving at the back post. Almost immediately after, Miyazawa carried the ball deep into West Ham’s half and had the choice between laying it off for Toone or Bizet. She chose the former, who was roared on by the crowd but denied by Szemik. The new Hammers stopper did well to come out and smother the ball, denying Toone her shot at goal. It was little consolation; Marc Skinner’s new season is off to a strong start with a convincing victory, while his counterpart Rehanne Skinner’s side seemed out of ideas. If they continue on this note, they could even be out of the WSL altogether.
The lineups
MUN: Tullis-Joyce; Riviere, Le Tissier, Turner, Galton; Janssen, Naalsund, Clinton; Toone, Terland, Geyse.
WHU: Szemik; Denton, Sáez, Tysiak, Cooke, Mengwen; Gorry, Brynjarsdóttir; Asseyi, Ueki, Harries.
