Rehanne Skinner’s side remain without a win in the Barclays Women’s Super League so far after suffering a tiring defeat at Manchester City’s Joie Stadium.
Despite Viviane Asseyi’s early disallowed goal and a laudable defensive performance from the visitors, Lauren Hemp’s first-half goal and a later header from Mary Fowler gave City all three points.
As it happened
The Hammers thought they’d got off to the start of their dreams in only the second minute. Katrina Gorry played a brilliant through ball to Viviane Asseyi, whose effort deflected off Alex Greenwood and dribbled past Ayaka Yamashita. The celebrations started immediately but were cut short just as quickly as the flag went up for offside – it was a warning shot that the match wouldn’t be an easy ride for City. They looked slightly less sharp than their typical selves in the first few minutes and had Asseyi left the ball for Riko Ueki, West Ham could have had an unexpected early lead.
The visitors were clearly buoyed by their early effort and attempted to break forward again a few minutes later, with Ueki and Asseyi both charging forward. However, City dealt with their attack and began to settle into possession. Youngster Laura Blindkilde Brown looked sharp in the buildup and by the ninth minute, City were growing dominant. Mary Fowler had City’s first real chance after Leila Ouahabi laid off the ball for her from the byline, but Kinga Szemik saved it well – instead it was Lauren Hemp who opened the scoring. Fowler drew in four West Ham players on the edge of the box but kept her cool to play the ball in for Lauren Hemp. The Lioness perfectly timed her run off the left hand side and took a neat touch to confuse the defenders before tucking her shot past Szemik, opening her WSL account for the season. Despite the Irons’ excellent start, they found themselves trailing within ten minutes.
Embed from Getty ImagesThey almost equalised minutes later – Dagný Brynjarsdóttir perfectly positioned herself in City’s box and Gorry picked her out with a pinpoint cross, but the Iceland midfielder couldn’t direct her header on target. Asseyi and Ueki both continued to press aggressively, not allowing the Cityzens the comfort of building slowly from their back line, and it looked as though they might steal the ball back in sight of goal multiple times. It was to West Ham’s credit that they took the game to the hosts; the risk they took, though, was leaving themselves vulnerable to a quick break.
City looked to extend their lead with more and more action on the wings. Chloe Kelly’s overlapping run past Kerstin Casparij saw the England winger put a dangerous ball into the box – but no teammate was there to meet it. City’s flying fullbacks started ti get more involved in the attack and more and more balls were flying across the penalty area. A well-worked corner ended up with Leila Ouahabi letting fly from the edge of the area, but it was deflected over the bar. City found themselves with almost all of the ball, but frustrated by energetic and solid defending; Hemp came close to a brace when she rose higher than Li Mengwen in the box and looped a header towards goal, but it was just over.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Hammers’ pressing was losing energy as the half wore on and though their defenders performed brilliantly, it looked as though halftime was needed. City had almost 80% of the possession and their overlapping runs were starting to tire their opponents. What had been an even contest early on was starting to become a war of attrition against the visitors. West Ham’s only attacks of note came just before the forty-minute mark. Anouk Denton floated in a neat cross in for Ueki. Casparij only just beat her to the ball and turned it behind for a corner, which the team couldn’t make the most of; Amber Tysiak tried to hook a difficult cross/shot toward goal minutes later but couldn’t keep her effort on target. City ended the half with 76% possession and six shots to West Ham’s one – but it was testament to the Hammers’ defending that they kept t themselves in the match in the face of a dominant display by their hosts.
It will not have been a welcome sight for Rehanne Skinner or her team to see Vivianne Miedema’s number up on the board at the beginning of the second half – with Khadija Shaw still lurking on the bench. Jill Roord made way after an encouraging first start back from her ACL injury. Skinner, meanwhile, brought on summer signing Seraina Piubel for Emma Harries. Lauren Hemp didn’t take long to scare Kinga Szemik after the restart – just two minutes into the half, she hit a thunderous strike from the edge of the box that the visiting keeper did well to tip over the bar. She had a far easier opportunity moments after, which the entire stadium must have thought was a nailed-on second goal – but somehow, after Chloe Kelly’s pass wove through to her in the box in acres of space, the goalscorer blasted it over the bar. She couldn’t believe it, and neither could the rest of the Joie Stadium crowd.
Embed from Getty ImagesMiedema had her first sniff of goal too, sending a shot goalward but wide of the post. City continued their dominance overall, but Yamashita was called into action for the first time in the half in the 51st minute. Katrina Gorry, whose through balls had looked a promising source of chances for West Ham, played an excellent looping pass to the head of Viviane Asseyi – City’s keeper had to scamper to the side to collect her effort, but it was relatively easy for her.
Laura Blindkilde Brown was next to try to double City’s lead, firing over the bar as her side’s shots rose into double figures. Hemp was getting closer and closer: from Greenwood’s corner, she met the ball amid chaos in the six-yard box and tried to nod it home, but Szemik made an incredible save to deny her and keep her team in the game. At the one-hour mark, City somehow still only had one goal from a dozen efforts. West Ham were under siege but still dreaming of an equaliser – Asseyi was replaced by Oona Siren in their second change of the afternoon. Fellow substitute Piubel had the Irons’ second shot on target, trying to catch Yamashita off guard with a powerful half-volley from range – unfortunately for her, the Japanese keeper reacted well.
City had been unable to extend their lead, with Alex Greenwood the latest player to direct a shot off target, and Gareth Taylor decided it was time for the big guns. Aoba Fujino and reigning Golden Boot winner Khadija Shaw entered the fray, with Hemp and Kelly brought back to rest: and it didn’t take long for the change to have an impact. The Jamaican stormed away from two defenders on the right of the box, drew Szemik away from her line, and perfectly placed a looping pass on Mary Fowler’s head. With the West Ham keeper nowhere to be seen, it was the simplest of finishes to finally give City their second.
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite West Ham’s tenacity, they had finally and inevitably fallen two behind. Manuela Paví, who came on for Brynjarsdóttir, tried to impact proceedings with her fresh energy – she could be seen in animated conversation with teammates during a pause in play – but it was in vain. City were now in cruise control and came very close to a third in the 75th minute. Ouahabi blasted an effort into the bar after Szemik punched the ball into the danger zone, and Miedema’s multiple efforts to convert the rebound were blocked.
A few more substitutes had a run out for the last fifteen minutes of the game. Naomi Layzell and Alanna Kennedy replaced Laia Aleixandri and Ouahabi, while Shannon Cooke came on for Shelina Zadorsky for West Ham. It was a fairly simple end to the game for City, though, who saw the win out comfortably. The only blot on their record was a yellow for Kennedy after taking down Paví as she tried to charge toward goal. The challenge won West Ham a freekick just outside the box on the stroke of 90 minutes. Camila Sáez opted to hook it round the wall and go for goal directly, but her effort lacked power and Yamashita collected easily.
Cooke drew West Ham’s only booking after a challenge on Shaw on City’s right-hand side, giving Greenwood a chance to set up a potential third for City. Szemik parried her powerful delivery away well at the near post. The Polish keeper was one of the bright points for West Ham despite a disappointing result, as was Paví whose energy off the bench was impressive. Rehanne Skinner will be frustrated not to take any points back to London, but her side caused more obstacles for City than expected and kept themselves well in the match for more than an hour. Gareth Taylor’s team, meanwhile, have their second win of the season. Their attacking depth from the bench was on full display – and it makes a frightening sight for opponents.
The lineups
MNC: Yamashita; Ouahabi, Aleixandri, Greenwood, Casparij; Roord, Hasegawa, Blindkilde Brown; Fowler, Kelly, Hemp.
WHU: Szemik, Tysiak, Ueki, Brynjarsdóttir, Harries, Zadorsky, Sáez, Denton, Asseyi, Gorry, Mengwen.
