photo taken from @mancitywomen on X
Manchester City won 1-0 during their game against West Ham as the hosts found the only goal of the game from Japanese international Aoba Fujino. Her shot was found off the run of Vivianne Miedema and was fired into the bottom corner from the opposite side.
The game saw players play an early kick off after an international break of which both managers touched on during their post-match press conferences. Prior to the game, West Ham were bottom of the league but showed a performance that is worthy of being higher up in the league.
Manchester City’s Andrée Jeglertz comments after the game:
What do you make of the match? A good win, still a point behind Chelsea, but got the job done. “Yeah it’s almost like that, get the job done. There are some situations where I felt that we could’ve done so much better, where we really showed that we are not 100% in, we did in the second half.”
Do you think the experience kind of came in for you? Rehanne [Skinner] mentioned that the international break, playing so quickly again so early on a Saturday was kind of difficult. Do you also have to balance that need for the players? “I think for the player’s sake, the health of the players and the wellbeing, we shouldn’t play on Saturday when the players are playing on Tuesday and are travelling.”
“Now luckily, we didn’t have anyone playing in the other end of the world, everyone was in Europe. But it is not ideal to play this soon, we should play tomorrow, I think, earliest. Both teams had the same circumstances though.”
This continues your unbeaten run at home, how does that feel and how important it is to make your home ground kind of a fortress? “It’s good for the players to feel that this is our place and our stadium, that we are comfortable here. It was our first clean sheet which was also very important for us, both for the keepers and the back line but also as a whole team.”
“We have created a lot of scoring chances and scored a lot of goals but we have also conceded a little bit too many goals.”
West Ham’s Rehanne Skinner notes after the game:
Performance felt good this afternoon, how are you assessing [the loss]? “I thought we played really well, the timeframe and turnaround of international breaks can always be a little bit tricky when we are getting everyone back together.”
“In terms of the applications of the game plan, the areas we wanted to exploit, the first half in particular, I thought we were excellent in possession, in the final third. The resilience of the group, we know that we’ve got to win games. Defending the box, I thought we were outstanding.”
Do you think this game [vs Manchester City] was one of your more consistent performances of the season? “Yeah, definitely. From start to finish, the impact of the players coming on, sticking to their jobs. I’m really proud of the players defensively, but also just the way that we threatened in advanced areas was much more positive today.”
How does the International Break affect the fitness of the players due to travel and the number of games? “Travel is a tricky one always after an international break when you are playing on a Saturday. I don’t agree with the games being on a Saturday following the international break at all. This camp, it’s mostly been in Europe. [Manuela] Paví travelled nearly 24 hours back from Ecuador [for Colombia] and arrived at 7:30pm on Thursday.”
“Then we are coming up here as well. I don’t think that’s conducive to the player’s wellbeing and welfare if I’m honest.”
Standout Player of the Match: West Ham’s Anouk Denton
Denton had a stellar performance despite being on the end of another loss for her side. Her performance on the wing saw her defending and creating chances of which the West Ham forwards were grateful for.
The defender was on loan to West Ham initially from Arsenal in 2021 before committing to USA College side Louisville Cardinals. She returned to the hammers after her year away in January 2023.
This international break, she played against Germany for the U23 squad before providing cover for the senior squad ahead of their clash against Australia. This was her first senior call up for England and due to there being few centre-back options, despite being able to play as a right and left back.