The Bow Belles take a Bow

Reichandt and Simic keep a close eye on Nobbs

Having your first game in the big time away to one of the big three was always going to be a big ask. 

Arsenal Women had the X Factor. 

West Ham United Women had the y factor. They were an unknown quantity. Their pre-season had showcased the new talent brought in from around the globe but would be little indication of how they would fare against the  serial cup winners.

In front of healthy crowd  West Ham Women answered any doubts about whether they could compete at this level, and on another day could have maybe got something from the game. No sign of stage fright and no-one fluffed their lines.

Matthew Beard conducts his players

From the off both teams were content just to pass the ball around, patiently looking for openings. Surprisingly Arsenal started using the long pass ( i.e. hoof ) to try to forge an opening for their lightning fast strikers, but these were easily fielded by centre backs Flaherty and Brooke Hendrix (officially the coolest name in women’s football). 

The first real chance fell to Arsenal. Beth Mead pounced on a rare loose ball and hurtled towards goal. As a photographer sometimes you have to try and predict what will happen next to get the money shot. I predicted that Becky Spencer was going to have to make a save, so I focussed on her. Meanwhile out of shot a superhuman last ditch challenge by Gilly Flaherty prevented Mead from pulling the trigger. 

As the match wore on Arenal became more confident and after a sustained game of bagatelle in the Hammer’s box the ball eventually fell to McCabe who drove it past the keeper from close range. 

McCabe scores her first.

Arsenal doubled their lead just before the break with a great move involving a back heel, a cross …and a flying header from Beth Mead. It was a goal to behold. I had to applaud the move even though I was watching with my claret and blue specs on.

Mead heads Arsenal's second

HT 2-0 

Matthew Beard must have utilised his half time twenty minutes well. Or he might have just said ‘Go for it!’ because West Ham came flying out of the blocks with a new belief and a new attacking threat in the second half. 

Leanne Kiernan terrorised the Arsenal full back with insane Usain-like pace and presented me with my next Nostradamus dilemma. 

Van Veenendaal is beaten by Visalli

Kiernan doing her best Roadrunner impersonation sped towards my direction  (I was just left of the goal) and I ‘guessed’ that she would go on to score a magnificent solo goal. So….. I aimed the lens at the Arsenal keeper. Nothing. I’d missed the fact that she had cut an intelligent ball back to Brianna Visalli, whose instinctive early shot from the edge of the area caught keeper Van Veenendaal unawares and all she could do (and me) was to watch the ball nestle into the back of the net. 

Game on!

Another scintillating run from Kiernan left the outrushing Van Veenendaal for dead and from what seemed (and proved to be) an impossible angle shot just wide. There were momentary looks of horror on the faces of the Arsenal defenders, and plenty of oohs and ahhhs from the West Ham fans. Fine margins. If the ball had ended up the other side of the post West Ham I feel could have gone on to win and I would have been waxing lyrically about a famous victory.

Kieran narrowly misses

Alas it didn’t ….and Arsenal managed to underline their win with a fine solo goal by McCabe. 
Becky Spencer pulled off a great one handed save to deny Evans in the closing stages ….and that was that. The spoils belonged to Arsenal, but West Ham Women can take comfort in the fact that they looked comfortable playing at this level and will have learned a lot about themselves as a team.

By the time the important business of the league starts next month manager Beard will have fine tuned his troops, and it looks like it’s a good time to be a Hammer ( surely I must get one prediction right….law of averages and all that…)

Becky Spencer - Not at fault for any of the goals. Solid performance, and played with a smile.

Kate Longhurst - Played out of her normal positition at right back. Brave performance, rushes in where angels fear to tread, but is no fool....

Gilly Flaherty - Captain’s performance, always seems to have time on the ball, an abundance of nous.

Brooke Hendrix - Perfect foil for Flaherty in defence. Fast, strong and good in the air.

Claire Rafferty - Her experience benefited the defence against very strong opposition.

Brianna Visalli - Gets better and better each game. Her height belies her strength and courage. Very skilful performance capped with a goal.

Julia Simic - Workwomanlike performance, excellent distribution and strong in the tackle.

Lucienne Reichardt - Industrious performance…. a thorn in the Arsenal women’s side.

Leanne Kiernan - Brilliant second half, all of the dangerous attacking situations stemmed from her whippet like runs.

Alisha Lehmann - Stylish performance, strong in the tackle and good link up play.

Jane Ross - Held the ball up well, had a few half chances but as a centre forward needed more service.

subs

Esmee De Graaf - Unlucky not to start, added extra quality to forward play after coming on.

Vyan Sampson - Received a warm reception from the home supporters, classy defender.

Ria Percival - Had her first brief appearance for the Hammers.

Matthew Beard may have assembled his team with ‘off the peg’ players but they look like they are ‘made to measure’ for West Ham Women…

The Dawn of West Ham United Women

Photo Avit

¡Viva la Revolución!

West Ham United Women nee Ladies kicked off their pre-season friendly itinerary with a trip to The Hive to face London Bees. There was a buzz of anticipation about the place as the crowd, roughly the same number as a WHUW home game, gathered to see history being made. 

A maiden voyage of sorts  ….. on the ship of Theseus. 

Not one of the fresh faced eager players from last season’s August team photograph had survived the move from the third floor to the penthouse suite of the WSL, but this was still West Ham Ladies. It doesn’t matter who wears the claret and blue, team is everything. 

     Romantics will hark on about past glories and their inglorious past, get dewy eyed about playing over a park with one lino and skidding in dog’s muck or maybe reminisce over their recyclable football shirts (either they had a lot of players called Headley or the Headley shirt was a very popular size).

  The purists would say they would like to see a team evolve and develop by winning titles and proving themselves to be the best in their division.

  However West Ham United Women’s speedy boarding pass had negated the need for any of that and now the teetered on the edge of possibly their most historic/successful season ever in the WSL. 

 As a fan with an uncanny inability to retain players names, I had my work cut out. The starting eleven had eleven new players in it. Ten plus a trialist. The trialists are never named although apparently anyone who knows anything about women’s football would easily recognise West Ham’s trialist number 6. 

I didn’t. 

Unlike the glut of bizarre trying to be trendy promo videos by media teams who’ve just discovered Final Cut Pro X’s special effects menu that have been doing the rounds over the past few weeks the two teams sauntered onto the pitch like everyday people out for an afternoon stroll. No razzmatazz, no fanfares. Just quiet confidence. 

  I tried to imagine what new manager Matthew Beard and his generals would hope for or glean from this first run out. No injuries would be first on my list. Attitude, temperament and communication perhaps. It’s always nice to win but the result would be superfluous. There was a squad of sixteen players. If that was the full squad then their training matches would have only been 8 a side at the most. 

Starting IX   13 Anna Moorhouse              subs  1 Becky Spencer

                     3  Erin Simon                                 2 Another mystery player          

                     4  Brooke Hendrix                         10 Julia Simic

                     5  Gilly Flaherty                             14 Vyan Sampson

                    11 Claire Rafferty                           16 Rosie Kmita

                    18 Lucienne Reichhardt

                    17 Esme de Graaf

                     6  Mystery player (maybe Katie Longhurst but don’t quote me)

                     8  Leanne Kiernan

                    15 Brianna Visalli

                     9  Jane Ross

To almost quote the over used cliche, the match was a game of three halves. Three thirty minute halves to be precise. The first belonging to the Bees as they showed their Championship pedigree and inflicted the first West Ham Women’s goal conceded, a beautiful finish from Taylor OLeary, and some excellent silky skills from their No.4 (sorry ..don’t know name)

The second belonged to the Hammers as Leanne Kiernan showed that she has an eye for goal, slotting in West Ham Women’s equaliser past the Bees' keeper from close range.

The third half belonged to the heat as play slowed, which suited West Ham better and they began to find their WSL  passing range and rhythm. 

Matthew Beard

A solid performance from the West Ham defence where Hendrix was the ball winner and  Flaherty mopped up and spread the ball. Not too much created up front but signs that once they acquire a better understanding of each other the goals will come. A special mention for Brianna who caught the eye and gave an all action performance in very difficult conditions.

Player x

It was also refreshing to see manager Beard kicking every ball and feeling every tackle from the sidelines, whilst barking orders to his players in no uncertain terms with a couple of ‘Oi ref!s’ thrown in for good measure….

                                                                           

Sunday 29th July West Ham United Women vs  Behind Closed Doors United…… COYWI