Manchester City kept up the pace with Chelsea at the top of the WSL with a solid, if unconvincing 1-0 win over West Ham United.
Aoba Fujino’s first half strike proved to be enough to overcome the WSL’s bottom side. In truth, it was a sole high point in a game where neither side exhibited the qualities they are capable of.
The two sides could not have come into this encounter on more contrasting form. Whilst both lost their opening games of the season, Manchester City have since recovered to win five on the spin, rising to second and sitting just one point behind early pace setters Chelsea. West Ham United, by comparison, have suffered a total contradistinction of fortune, with five further defeats leaving them rooted at the bottom of the table.
The Line Ups
MCI: Yamashita, Ouahabi, Rose, Prior, Caparij, Miedema, Blindkilde Brown, Hadegawa, Fujina, Shaw, Beney
WHU: Szemik, Denton, Zadorsky, Tysiak, Endo, Gorry, Siren, Asseyi, Ueki, Morgan, Martinez
The Action
All signs pre match had pointed to a Manchester City hammering, but in the first half, West Ham more than matched their opponents, offering a performance that belied their present predicament. Ffion Morgan provided a constant threat down the right as West Ham’s counter attacks exposed Manchester City’s chaotic defending. However, as been the case all season, they failed to capitalise.
Riko Ueki’s near post effort forced a good save from Ayaka Yamashita and Viviane Asseyi hit the bar when played in by Shekiera Martinez. Martinez, who has yet to open her WSL account the season, should have done a lot better when Laura Blindkilde Brown’s blind backpass let her in through the backdoor on the cusp of halftime.
As bad as their profligacy was in attack their defensive discipline was lacking too. Manchester City’s pressing kept forcing errors out of Shelina Zadorsky and Amber Tysiak. An undercooked back pass from the Belgian defender let Bunny Shaw have a free run at goal, and the Jamaican was unfortunate not to win a penalty when she was wiped out by Kinga Szemik.
The goal itself came from another mistake. Zadorsky had her pocket picked by Vivianne Miedema in the midfield, and she was faced with little resistance as she stormed towards the penalty area. With Yu Endo drawn central to deal with the threat, Aoba Fujino was left with the freedom of Manchester, and she showed great composure to collect Miedema’s pass and slot it past Szemik.
Having put up such a good fight in the first half, West Ham faded badly after the teams swapped ends, unable to repeat the threat they had previously offered. It was Manchester City who dominated the territory, but against West Ham’s massed defence they struggled to find that comforting second goal.
Their best moment came when Hasegawa’s free kick was headed onto the bar by Gracie Prior, with West Ham eventually able to scramble the rebound away. Substitute Laura Coombs should have done better when she connected with Leila Ouhabi’s cross, and Shaw could only shoot wide when a corner landed at her feet late on. Ultimately, it mattered not, as the Citizens were able to see out the win, getting the result required, if not the performance.
Manchester City fail to convince
With Manchester City’s winning form coming into this match, there can be little surprise that the points have once again gone their way. But given the level of quality they posses in the forward areas, it was a very undercooked display from the Citizens’ attack. Miedema’s driving run through the midfield may have set up the goal, but she did little else to impact the game in the 90 minutes. Bunny Shaw, usually such a potent force in attack, was uncharacteristically wasteful in the final third. Iman Beney was an anonymous presence throughout, and it came as no surprise that she was replaced by Laura Coombs on 76 minutes. Being frustrated by the West Ham low block, particularly in the second half, always left them vulnerable to the late sucker punch, a blow a team with a greater confidence than West Ham could easily have landed.
In the end, it is results that matter, and with Chelsea winning at home to London City Lionesses, it was crucial that Manchester City matched their result here. After a first half where West Ham often had the better of them, Manchester City did well to reset and not give the Irons a sniff for the rest of the game. They remain a point behind their title rivals, but will need to offer a greater threat going forward if they hope to sustain this pace for the rest of the season.
Hammers show fight in relegation battle
It will seem bizarre in a game where West Ham have lost yet again, that it will be Rehanne Skinner who will come away from this with the greater positives. Her side showed plenty of fight in the first half, enough to suggest they can turn this disastrous start to the season around. There was a strong collective defensive effort to keep the likes of Shaw, Miedema, Fujino and Beney at bay, undermined only by individual errors, which ultimately lead to Fujino’s winner.
However, it was familiar flaws that once again let them down, failing to take their chances in the critical moments. The Irons should have gone in at half time level, and perhaps a confident and in form West Ham United would have done. Nothing epitomises their plight more than Shekiera Martinez, whose potent form at the start of the year has failed to transition to the new season. The fact that Martinez is yet to get off the mark this season will be a source of concern as the WSL moves into November.
Nonetheless, with Liverpool still yet to get off the mark this season, there is still time for West Ham United to rediscover themselves again and move up the table. If they continue to compete as well as they did here today, whilst also finding some much needed form up front, they have every chance of moving away from the dreaded trapdoor.
