Rehanne Skinner
Beaten but not bowed…that was the story of the Hammers womens’ team beaten 2-0 by champions Chelsea at Kingsmeadow yesterday evening (Saturday).
Our team manager Rehanne Skinner was in no mood to be downbeat after the defeat which showed the team making the sort of strides for which we had all hoped before the game.
Hammers beaten but unbowed
The Hammers were beaten by goals from Sam Kerr heading beyond Mackenzie Arnold just before half time, and Erin Cuthbert scoring a second with minutes remaining in the game.
However, despite the disappointment of failing to get anything from the game it left Skinner optimistic about the improvement she believes is now very much in hand.
The match flowed end to end at times with the Irons – like the mens’ first team- relying to a large extent on a counter attacking policy.
And following the game Skinner explained that it will take a little time but that we are already becoming a better and better team.
She said: “I thought we played incredibly well. The players worked really, really hard tonight, and I thought our performance was a massive improvement on what we produced against Manchester City. We gave a really good account of ourselves, and I think we can walk away feeling a little bit disappointed that we didn’t score in the first half. We had our best chances in the first half and didn’t create as much in the second.
Overall, I thought we did really well. Chelsea are a good side and when they create good chances they take them. We have to be a little bit better in moments, but I’m really pleased with the output of the players today. Being a hard working team is what we’re about. It’s something we’re going to do every single week, and that takes a lot of belief, confidence and a lot of trust. Over the course of the pre-season and the first couple of matches that we’ve had up to now, there’s been significant progress in the players.
To be honest, I couldn’t be more proud of they way that they’re applying themselves. We’re getting good performances as a result of the hard work that everybody’s putting in. When you come away from Chelsea disappointed that you’ve not got any points out of the game, that tells you a lot as to where and how we’ve evolved.”