Charlton Athletic Women 1-2 West Ham United Women
Pre-season match, The Oakwood, Sunday 14 August 2022.
A brace from Yui Hasegawa helped West Ham United get back to winning ways in a 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic.
The Hammers went behind when Heidi Logan opened the scoring, with Hasegawa firing in an equaliser just after the break.
The Japanese international scored a wonderful free-kick eight minutes from time to pick up a victory.
This was the Irons’ fifth pre-season outing, and they were looking to bounce back after back-to-back defeats in their previous matches against Hashtag United and Lewes.
Thea Kyvåg and Viviane Asseyi made their first appearances in Claret & Blue, starting together upfront.
Kate Longhurst made a mistake after only thirty seconds that almost allowed Charlton to open the scoring, thankfully Hawa Cissoko was there to cover.
It would be the home side that would strike first. Mackenzie Arnold did well initially to deny an effort from close range, but the rebound fell to Heidi Logan, who smashed the ball into the top left-hand corner.
The Hammers responded with chances of their own – first, debutant Asseyi went close with a chipped effort that landed the wrong side of the post.
Then, Izzy Atkinson scampered away from a number of challenges, but her effort was well saved by Sian Rogers.
Asseyi was looking dangerous, and Charlton were lucky not to have conceded when the French forward broke in behind again, testing Rogers from close range, but the keeper was equal to it.
Dagný Brynjarsdóttir had to be withdrawn after 30 minutes, having gone down with an injury. She was replaced by Keira Flannery.
In the second half, the Hammers wasted very little time in getting back into the contest. Kirsty Smith delivered a wonderful cross onto the foot of Hasegawa, who slotted beyond the impressive Rogers.
The Irons went in search of the winning goal, and it looked as though Claudia Walker’s long-range strike was going to find the back of the net, only for Rogers to push the ball away.
Hasegawa eventually find what would be the winner – an outstanding free-kick that beat the wall and landed in the top corner, sealing victory.
West Ham United: Arnold (Hillyerd 75), Cissoko, Fisk, Longhurst, Smith (Hennessy 65), Atkinson, Stringer (Houssein 65), Brynjarsdottir (Flannery 33), Hasegawa, Kyvåg (Walker 46), Asseyi (Evans 46).
Attendance: 315
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