Head coach Matt Beard admitted he was frustrated with his West Ham United side’s performance after the Hammers lost on penalties to Tottenham Hotspur.
Having fought back from two goals down to level in added-time, thanks to Martha Thomas’ cool finish and Kenza Dali’s fantastic free-kick, West Ham would see the away side claim the extra point after in a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory, which means Spurs take the extra point in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup clash.
Beard could take heart from his side’s character in battling back to level but conceded that it just was not enough to take the desired result.
The head coach feels his team can perform better and must do so to avoid further defeats.
We’ve gone from the lows of being in a poor position to a good position, but even then the performance wasn’t good enough.
Matt Beard
“It was a funny old game,” Beard told West Ham TV. “We’re delighted with the character we showed at the very end, but we’re also really disappointed with the second half performance.
“My frustration is we haven’t built on a positive performance last week. We keep talking about work-ethic and the physicality of this league, and how teams will put you under pressure. In terms of that, there were times we dealt with it very well and times we put ourselves under pressure.
“Martha’s goal got us back in it and it was a great free-kick from Kenza to level the game, which are the positives for us in terms of getting back into the game. We’ve come back from two goals down. But we have to address our work rate.
“If you look at their second goal, we’ve not put tackles in and put our bodies on the line. From that perspective, we’re going to concede goals if that keeps happening. The penalties put another downer on it. We’ve gone from the lows of being in a poor position to a good position, but even then the performance wasn’t good enough.”
One major positive for the Hammers was the performance of 16-year-old Wiktoria Kiszkis, who came on for her debut in the second period and impressed in her maiden showing.
Beard was more than happy to put the teenager on for her first showing against Spurs, citing her notable efforts on the training pitches.
He continued: “Wiktoria has really impressed me during pre-season and in training. I think, physically, she can cope at this level. In the Academy and the national team, she finds it easy in her age group.
“I think she’s come on and done well. She created herself a good opportunity and she is going to be a very good player in the future.”