Tessel Middag believes West Ham United’s decision making in the attacking third of the pitch was the key reason the Hammers fell to defeat away to Chelsea.
The Blues secured a 2-0 win in the Continental League Cup on Sunday, courtesy of Beth England and Guro Reiten, but the Irons created a number of goalscoring opportunities themselves.
Martha Thomas twice went close for the away side while the likes of Adriana Leon, Alisha Lehmann and Jacynta Galabadaarachchi found space in the Chelsea area, but the Hammers could not find a goal.
Middag feels the Irons need to work on making the right decisions in those areas after a strong performance, despite the defeat.
We showed we can match up with teams like Chelsea and now it’s about getting those details right and going on to beat them.
Tessel Middag
“It just came down to decisions,” Middag told whufc.com. “When do we shoot? When do we pass? How many players should we have in the box? Do we make the right decisions? It was about our details.
“I felt, in the first two games, we lacked some understanding which is normal, because we have a few new players. But I’m very positive about our control and our distances.
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“I think, defensively, our distances were so much better than our first two matches of the season, which was a massive positive for us to take into our next game. We had control and played in their half a lot. We just couldn’t reward ourselves with at least a draw and some goals as well.
“We showed we can match up with teams like Chelsea and now it’s about getting those details right and going on to beat them.”
Head coach Matt Beard praised Middag’s efforts against Chelsea in his post-match interview, and the Netherlands international was pleased with her own personal performance.
The No23 returned from a two-year absence to play her first competitive match for West Ham two weeks ago, and Middag is looking to show even more in the near future.
She continued: “I feel good. In the first game against Arsenal it was my first official game for West Ham and my first game back. I’ve been out for such a long time so it takes a little while to get that confidence back and get match fit and understand the whole picture. But I felt really confident in this game.
“I think I was in the right positions and I’m happy with my performance. Now I just want to bring more.”
