Matt Beard believes the importance of West Ham United’s 2-0 victory over Bristol City Women cannot be understated.
The Hammers secured a deserved win over City on Sunday thanks to goals from Alisha Lehmann and Jane Ross, moving the Irons up to seventh in the FA Women’s Super League.
Beard is thrilled that his team were able to pick up the three points, having felt the pressure was on his side to get the result in this weekend’s match.
“This is a big three points,” Beard said. “We knew coming into the game that we had to win, especially with the results from the teams below us. It gives us a bit of breathing space and I’m delighted with it. It’s a big win.”
It’s a clean-sheet, it’s a 2-0 win and we’ve climbed the table. It was a big win for us.
Matt Beard
Lehmann’s deflected strike on 13 minutes put West Ham in front at Rush Green Stadium, and the Hammers were unfortunate not to go in at half-time with more goals. The Swiss international saw a curling effort cleared off the line before Julia Simic’s lob went just wide.
Bristol City looked to push back into the game in the second period, forcing goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse into an excellent save just minutes before the final whistle, before Ross tucked home after a defensive error by the away side.
The head coach continued: “I thought we were in control in the first half. We said at half-time that they’d put us under pressure, but the main thing is we held on.
“I felt Anna Moorhouse made a great save when it was 1-0, then we were a little bit fortuitous with the second goal. It was interesting to see Ross’ reaction when she got the ball!
“We had another chance from Alisha and we also had a couple of others in the first half. But it’s a clean-sheet, it’s a 2-0 win and we’ve climbed the table. It was a big win for us.”
Sunday’s win means West Ham end 2018 at Rush Green Stadium with a victory, with Beard and his side preparing for two away league matches before the close of the year.
Brighton and Hove Albion await the Hammers next weekend before a trip to Yeovil City, and the head coach is anticipating two tough tests on the road.
“They’re not going to be easy games,” Beard added. “We found that when Yeovil were here already, and Brighton are a team of players that play attractive football.
“They’re going to be two tough games, it’s not easy going away, we went to Everton and got three points and we just need to build on this
“Today was a big three points, a big performance and we can start looking up rather than down now.”