Paul Konchesky says that West Ham United Women had to work their socks off to grind out a 2-1 Barclays Women’s Super League victory at Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
The Hammers had to fend off waves of Villa attacks in the second half, having got themselves two goals in front inside 15 minutes through Dagný Brynjarsdóttir and Honoka Hayashi.
Mackenzie Arnold then stepped up to deny Alisha Lehmann from the penalty spot, before fellow former Hammer Kenza Dali fired in what would prove to only be a consolation.
Hawa Cissoko and Konchesky were both shown red cards at the end of the match for two separate altercations, as the Irons hung on to take all three points back with them to east London.
The boss reflected on his second Barclays Women’s Super League win since taking charge of the team…
We found a way to keep them out and win the game.
Our aim was to come here and get the three points and we were able to do that, which means we’re going home with smiles on our faces.
The early goal settled us down and then to go and get one straight after was fantastic. I think we could have gone on and got a couple more, but it wasn’t to be.
Going into half-time with the scoreline at 2-0 isn’t nice because you’ve not won the game, but you feel in control – and all it takes is for one goal to go against you and then the opposition are back in the game.
I thought Mackenzie Arnold was fantastic.
She was superb from the moment that we kicked off, her kicking, her decision-making and the way that she controlled the play at the back was fantastic.
It was a fantastic penalty save from her and it helped us to get the three points.
Losing Hawa will be a big blow.
She gives everything out on the pitch and she will be a big loss for us in the coming matches. But we have a squad for a reason, and we will dig deep without her.
My team worked their socks off.
I think Villa would have been the favourites before the game, because of the results and the start to the season that they’d had.
It’s also been difficult in terms of the preparations because we’ve only had a couple of days since the squad returned from the international break.
What I’ve always said is that my team will work their socks off from minute one until the end, that’s all I ask – and the rest then comes from that.
I think you saw that from them today, and the result speaks for itself.
West Ham United Women now prepare to face Reading at Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday 23 October, with tickets for Adults starting from £13 and for £5 for Juniors.
