The Hammers Take Three Points from the Eagles through Gago’s Strike

West Ham United strolled to a comfortable 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) to secure their second win of the season through Kelly Gago’s first-half strike.

The Eagles attempted to fight back, thinking they had equalised before half-time when Bethany England turned in a cross from Fuka Tsunoda, only for the assistant referee to flag for offside. 

Both teams then pushed for an advantage after the break, but the Hammers held firm, securing all three points on the road. 

Previewing a WSL Derby

There were high expectations that the hosts would improve in performance and intensity following two successive draws against Birmingham City and Aston Villa. 

The Eagles responded to these changes by dropping key players Shanade Hopcroft, Ashleigh Weerden and Allyson Swaby to the bench, instead focusing on defence, with Jamie-Lee Napier and Molly Bartrip, and Abbie Larkin up front in attack. 

West Ham aimed to bounce back from mixed results so far this season, with defeats to Chelsea and Manchester United, bringing in Oona Siren, Laia Codina and Nadine Riesen in the starting XI, who played crucial roles in the Hammers recent fixtures. 

With the Irons sitting tenth in the league and the Eagles eighth, both teams hoped this fixture could turn their fortunes around. 

Gago Strikes Ahead

Palace began the half brightly, pressing well,  driving upwards up the pitch and finding pockets of space. West Ham quickly responded with several chances of their own, including an early effort from Gago that was ruled offside.

Sierra Enge, Larkin and Napier had great opportunities and got into good areas, Larkin crossing into the box and piling on the pressure. Shannon O’Brien also impressed for the Eagles, but struggled to make her opportunities count.

The Irons also came close, Ines Belloumou and Viviane Asseyi creating promising openings but failing to find the finish. Palace continued to threaten through Napier and England, although they were unable to capitalise. 

Gago went close again before eventually finding the back of the net, putting the Hammers ahead from a corner. Despite showing good mentality, Palace lacked the final touch in front of goal, Lexi Lloyd-Smith making good use of her pace but unable to turn her opportunities into goals.

The hosts thought they had levelled through England following a Tsunoda cross, but the flag stayed up, leaving West Ham with the advantage at the break.

Half time: Crystal Palace 0-1 West Ham United

Palace Seek an Equaliser

Palace responded well after the break, creating good opportunities and building momentum as they pushed for an equaliser, continuing to press and finding space. 

However, the Hammers remained dangerous on the counter, their threats allowing them to get into good areas and apply more pressure in Palace’s half.

Lloyd-Smith provided a bright spark, showing greater attacking intent and creating chances throughout the half. Napier also added pressure, coming close with a low shot that forced a smart save from Constance Picaud- Inconnu. 

Even with these bright spells, the Eagles struggled to convert their chances, but were unable to make a significant impact.  

Full time: Crystal Palace 0-1 West Ham United 

Rita Guarino Post-Match

West Ham United head coach Rita Guarino discussed her side’s squad mentality during the match, playing through difficult moments and what she expects from the team going further in the season. 

Your team managed to maintain momentum throughout the first half, making good runs and getting in good pockets of space. How did you manage to keep that mentality through difficult moments?

“You know, based on what we were building from last year, it’s tough to keep this kind of mentality. We have to be resilient through those moments and keep pushing forward- we just need to be resilient.”

Kelly Gago and Viviane Asseyi remained constant in the squad and were standout performers after impressing in the last few weeks. After seeing their performances in this match, what else are you expecting more from them this season?

“They had a good performance today. I am very happy with them- they can just move forward. I think they have a lot of quality. 

When you lose, you learn something to improve from that game and learn from the game. When you win, it is the same. So, every week we need to improve something, work on our mistakes, try to fix them in the next game, and work on our training a little bit.”

Both teams face Subway Player’s Cup action in midweek while their league matches resume on the weekend. 

The Eagles host Chelsea at home in their next league match on Sunday, 25th October (12:00 KO) while the Hammers travel to Brighton at the Amex on Saturday (17:15 KO).