Erin Simon believes West Ham United gave Chelsea FC Women a tough game despite losing 2-0 on Sunday at Rush Green.
The Irons were beaten courtesy to a Ramona Bachmann brace, as the Switzerland international scored on 63 and 85 minutes to give the reigning FA Women's Super League champions all three points.
The defender told whufc.com: “I thought we played them straight up as a team. We gave them a difficult time. I thought we were organised defensively, and they were having difficulty breaking us down.
Chelsea got two lucky bounces and two goals, but it’s an improvement and we have a lot of positives to take from this.
Erin Simon
“They got two lucky bounces and two goals, but it’s an improvement and we have a lot of positives to take from this.”
A solid defensive performance from Simon, Gilly Flaherty, Ria Percival and Esmee De Graaf saw the Hammers hold out for most of the game, before Bachmann’s double in the second period saw Matt Beard’s side beaten.
Speaking on the team’s defensive performance Simon said: “As a team we were very organised, and we defended well. There were just moments in the game when we got broken down.
There was a bit of misfortune with a bad bounce from the other team and they get some luck. We learn, and we grow from here.”
The Irons now have a two-week international break before their away trip to Birmingham City, where they will look to return to winning ways.
Simon said: “I think we’re going to put in a big shift over the coming weeks and really focus on Birmingham. It’ll be exciting to see what we do and put in a good shift this week.”