Mel Filis says that West Ham United Women want to continue to push hard in the cup competitions after a 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday evening saw them qualify for the knockout stages of the Continental Tyres League Cup.
The Irons arrived at Broadfield Stadium knowing that a draw would be enough to see them reach the quarter-finals, and whilst Filis and company forged a number of good chances, particularly in the second half, they couldn’t find a way to break the deadlock.
Filis, who was making her second start of the season, was pleased to see the team advance in the competition but admitted that she thought that the team had enough chances to win the contest against the Seagulls outright.
“We’re really pleased to make it through to the latter stages,” Filis told whufc.com.
“I thought the first 15 or 20 minutes of the game was a little bit unstable from us, we could have started a little bit better and quicker.
“After that, I thought we really got into our stride, and particularly in the second half we created some really good chances – we just didn’t manage to find the back of the net and put them away.
“I do feel as though we could have won the game, but we’ve done enough in the other games to make sure that we reached the quarter-finals by topping the group.”
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Filis has had to be patient for minutes this season, appearing seven times so far across the 2022/23 campaign. On an extremely cold night in West Sussex, the 19-year-old midfielder showed composure with her play, often weaving her way out of tight situations in the centre of the park to start counter attacks for her team.
Her display may give manager, Paul Konchesky something to think about as the team head into a busy run of three matches within seven days across three different competitions.
“I’m always ready for when the chances come for me to start or come off the bench – I work really hard during training to make sure that I can be," Filis explained.
“It’s nice to get 90 minutes in the tank, it’s something I’ve not been able to do for a little while, but most importantly I’m just pleased to be able to help the team reach the next stage of the competition whilst also keeping a clean sheet.
“We’ve got quite a small squad at the moment, so I think over the next week or so we will need everyone to contribute because of the amount of matches we have to play in such a short period of time.
“That might not mean everyone plays a part on the pitch but we all need to be ready in case we are needed, particularly as we want to push hard in all three of the competitions we’re in."
The Hammers now prepare for two consecutive trips to Merseyside – the first of which will see them take on Everton in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday (22 January), before heading slightly further south to Birkenhead to take on Liverpool in the Conti Cup quarter finals.
And Filis believes that the high of reaching the last eight will give the side momentum going into both fixtures.
“Reaching the quarter-finals was the minimum aim that we had and we’ve managed to achieve that, so it will give us a lot of confidence going back into the league game.
“We need to be a little bit more clinical, but we’ve done well to keep the ball out of the net tonight - that’s another positive that we can take forward into these upcoming matches,” she concluded.
After a long period on the road, West Ham United Women will be back at Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday 5 February, when they welcome Arsenal to east London.
Tickets are available for a mouthwatering London derby, and can be purchased by clicking on the graphic below!
