West Ham United Women’s forward, Claudia Walker was amongst the goals in her sides 2-2 draw with Lewes in their latest pre-season outing.
The Hammers took on the FA Championship outfit in front of a sizeable crowd at the Dripping Pan, with the East Londoners bouncing back from going two goals behind to share the spoils.
Walker struck early in the second half and four minutes before the final whistle – her second strike taken with particular skill as she expertly controlled Zaneta Wyne’s cross inside the area before slotting the ball into the net.
And the striker signed from Birmingham City this summer was pleased to score a brace in East Sussex.
“I’m buzzing to get the two goals and get back into the game,” Walker told whufc.com. “Overall, I thought our performance was disappointing – the second half was a lot better and we showed what we could do but we need to make sure we start the game like that.
“We had to dig in at the start of the second half, but we managed to get on the ball and start creating chances, which we’d struggled with in the first 45.
“Scoring goals is what I’m here to do, so I’m pleased to be coming home with the brace.”
The Rookettes were strong in the opening exchanges, and Kallie Balfour scored twice – using her pace in behind the Hammers back line to expert effect.
But the Irons found their groove and Walker found the goals – and she reflected on the her strike late in the second half.
“It was a great ball in from Zaneta to be fair – exactly the sort of service I’m looking for! I’ve been working on making those runs In the box during training so it’s great that it’s already paying off in the games.”
Scoring goals is what I’m here to do, so I’m pleased to be coming home with the brace
Claudia Walker
The 25-year-old was a real menace throughout the game, making a number of runs in behind and in the channels to pull the Lewes defenders out of position to create space for midfield runners.
"I had to mix up the way I was playing,” Walker admitted. "I wanted to be a nuisance and keep the defenders guessing. There was a lot of space between their defence and midfielders in the second half so I was looking to drop into that space at times, and then also in behind the full-back. I like to be unpredictable.”
Although the Hammers would have liked to come away from the Dripping Pan with a victory, Walker accepts that these pre-season contests are more about getting more minutes into the legs rather than an end result.
“We got some more minutes in the tank today, so we need to remember that’s the main aim of pre-season at this stage.
“You’ve got to take the positives from the game – we had a ot of positive moments of play that were really good and I thought there were some good individual performances out there today,” she said.
