West Ham United Ladies’ adaption to and execution of a 3-5-2 formation has been hailed by assistant coach Myles Smith, after it set the side on the way to a brilliant 6-0 victory against Brislington.
The Ladies played three defenders in the first half of Sunday’s contest in Bristol, with Rosie and Mollie Kmita operating as wing-backs, with the former scoring twice in the opening 45 minutes for the team.
Molly Peters, Amber Stobbs and Kelly Wealthall also got on the scoresheet in the second period before Kmita secured her hat-trick late on.
The change in tactics came after a disappointing 0-0 draw with Gillingham last weekend – a match in which chances on goal were limited – and Smith is thrilled with how the three-woman defence allowed his side to play with more attacking intent.
We looked at today’s opposition, identified that three at the back might give us an advantage, and executed it really well. We looked really threatening.
Myles Smith
On the formation switch, Smith told whufc.com: “It looked like it worked extremely well. As a team, we’ve put a lot of work into trying new things and I think the identity we’re starting to form now is a really good one.
“We looked at today’s opposition, identified that three at the back might give us an advantage, and executed it really well. We looked really threatening and we tried to get the ball into dangerous areas. We had a lot of opportunities in the first half and then a positive second half as well.”
Smith was also delighted with the performance Kmita offered during the contest, hailing the winger’s three goals and each of the players for their six finishes in the win.
And the coach wants to see this positive atmosphere continue into the coming week and future fixtures.
He continued: “Rosie was fantastic today, as was everybody else going forward. We’ve been looking at and working on that transition, and getting bodies forward. We didn’t offer enough of an attacking threat in our last game, but the reaction from the girls today was fantastic.
“Rosie’s got the biggest reward with the hat-trick, and she’s been working really hard in training, as has everyone. It’s been a really positive week for us.
“It’s important for us now to continue that going forward. Doing that starts today with the recovery and into training this week. We want to keep this mood into our next game in a couple of weeks and we will ensure the girls are as prepared as they can be.”