On Sunday West Ham managed to put valuable daylight between themselves and the bottom of the Barclays Women’s Super League as they beat Everton 2-0 on an ironically overcast afternoon in East London. After waiting until November 10th to get their first home league win of the season the Hammers have now won three of their last four at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Following her side securing the latest of those victories the Halfway Line got the chance to have an exclusive post match interview with West Ham head coach Rehanne Skinner.
Skinner happy with ‘mentality’ of her team
After losing 5-0 to Chelsea at home last weekend Skinner was remarkably upbeat, the sign of a manager with confidence in her charges and the project she is building at West Ham. The week since has proven she had every right to be, West Ham are now in the Subway League Cup semi final and have opened up a six point gap to the relegation spot in the WSL. The Halfway Line asked Skinner for her assessment of the win after full time:
“Yeah, I was really happy with the way that the team played. I thought we controlled the game. I thought just [the] mentality was really good as well. Just in terms of in and out of possession I thought we were quite calm in how we controlled things [with] really positive chances created. Maybe we could have taken a few more of those, but I thought we caused problems in front of and behind their back line all game today and and look, there’s times where you have to be really diligent defending in and around the box, but we’ve become well versed at that, you know. So we’re quite composed in those settings as well. So we did a really good job all around and delighted for the players. The three points is obviously a really important one for us”
To ‘recognize and exploit space’ vital to West Ham’s game affirms Skinner
So much of football can be boiled down to style vs practicality. Too much focus on style means a team can lack shape and be defensively fragile while too much focus on practicality makes for far too rigid and predictable outcomes. For Skinner’s West Ham they are striving for the perfect balance. After last week’s defeat to Chelsea, Skinner noted that her players “did not show how good they are on the ball.”
The Halfway Line raised this with Skinner and asked for her assessment of her side’s style today noting one free-flowing Hammers move in the first half. The move began with an Anouk Denton throw in inside her own final third before Skinner’s side played through the Everton press all the way up into the opposition box before a meek effort from the otherwise effectual Shekeira Martinez. Skinner provided an in depth response:
“I mean, it’s very similar to the goal that we scored against Tottenham mid-week as well, where we’re in the same sort of area. And I think the biggest thing is you’ve got to be able to recognize and exploit space effectively and then use the assets that you have within the players. And we’re just trying to make sure that we get players to be able to play to their strengths. And so I think, for me, when, when there’s gaps available to us, we should be trying to find them early and being more decisive to be able to do that. And I think we’ve done that again today.”
Skinner continued: “You know, the spaces in front of the back line, I thought we used really, really well at times, and that enabled us to face forwards and be a little bit more direct. And at the end of the day, if we can get players running onto their back line and get into the final third, why not, you know. So, yeah, I think we utilize the midfield better, I think in the second half than maybe we did in the first half, because I felt there was gaps we could have exploited a little bit more in possession. But yeah, I mean, in terms of the players that we have in the forward line, there’s lots of depth within that as well, and I think that’s adding to our opportunities.”Â
To defend effectively ‘you need to do it as a team’Â states Hammers head coach
Skinner is a manager who is focused on the minute details in a match. Throughout proceedings you can hear her [at least from the press box] giving specific spatial instructions to her side but especially to her two centre midfielders Oona Siren and Katrina Gorry. The Halfway Line asked her why it is so important in the professional game to go into this level of detail, Skinner explained:
“If you’re going to defend effectively, you need to do it as a team. And so we want to be in positions where we’re limiting time and space for the other team and making it more predictable for ourselves. And sometimes, you know, a couple of hours makes all the difference. And we want to be compact so that we can be effective, because if we can press together, you know the example that you’re talking about there [noted in the previous paragraph], that’s because we’ve made it difficult to get into a certain area. We’ve made it predictable when we’ve regained [possession] we’ve then had loads of spaces to travel into. So it’s important because if you get isolated, you open up gaps. And that’s why it’s got to be massively [a] team performance in and out of possession. But, you know, out of possession, it’s huge to get the compactness right and to limit people’s [the opposition’s] chances.”
Skinner ‘delighted’ with new signing Martinez
A player who has settled in well for West Ham is their Summer signing Martinez who was recalled from a loan spell at Freiburg after receiving international clearance to play in the WSL. Martinez capped off an impressive performance with her first WSL goal, the Halfway Line spoke to her manager about why she is such an impressive addition to the West Ham team:
“She’s been great before Christmas in Freiburg as well. So it was just a case of, obviously getting her integrated within the squad. But the way that she plays [it] obviously suits our style, which is the reason we signed her. So it shouldn’t, you know, it wasn’t going to take loads to settle into what we’re trying to do, just an adjustment to the WSL, really.”
Skinner continued: “But I’m delighted for her, with a goal today. She works so hard in training, and she scores a lot of goals in training, and I think that’s going to be something that obviously helps us moving forward as well, and that will give her huge confidence today, which is great.”
Skinner praises Irish youngsters Ziu and Stapleton
The Halfway Line also spoke with Skinner about a couple of Irish talents contracted to West Ham. One is currently returning to the first team after her ACL injury last year while the other is impressing on loan in the North East. Skinner was able to provide updates on both. On Jess Ziu Skinner confirmed:
“Yeah, she’s doing really, really well. So she’s in Alter G, and she’s actually, you know, getting to a point where she won’t be a million miles off, starting to run on the pitch, which is fantastic news. It’s like a next big milestone, you know, but her attitude and, yeah, just determination has been absolutely superb. But I think a lot of that’s helped by medical staff, who’ve done a fantastic job, and the players. She’s never excluded [it’s] so important to keep injured players in and around the squad. And, you know, these are unbelievable people, and they’ve looked after her loads so it doesn’t feel like she’s not within the group, if that makes sense. And I think that’s absolutely vital to player’s morale when you’re coming back from injury as well. So yeah, credit to everybody that’s involved in it. I think it’s helped her to stay focused on her rehab. And she’s pushing hard, which is great.”
On Ziu’s international colleague Jessie Stapleton Skinner noted:
“She’s still in contract next year. Obviously, she’s a young player that needs games and experience, and so the loans are helping her to achieve that. So that’s important, and she’s done fantastic for Sunderland and she’s playing a lot of minutes. It’s absolutely serving its purpose, to help her to grow into what we want her to be: a WSL player with us. That’s the aim of obviously having these young players out on loan, and she’s grabbed it with both hands so it’s a credit to her, she’s working really hard and we’re monitoring her progress carefully.”
