West Ham United Women's manager Paul Konchesky is ready to build on an opening day win as the Hammers face Manchester United in their second match of the 2022/23 Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) on Sunday 25 September.
Scotland international Lisa Evans headed home the winning goal just before half-time to secure a hard-fought three points at the Chigwell Construction Stadium last weekend.
Sunday’s opponents, Manchester United, also started their campaign with a win and a clean sheet, as Maya Le Tissier struck twice on debut in a 4-0 win over Reading at Leigh Sports Village.
The Red Devils are tipped by many to challenge the WSL elite this season, but Konchesky is confident his side can make their trip to east London a tough one.
“We know [Manchester United] have got a strong team,” Konchesky said in his pre-match press conference. “Being at home, we will make it as hard as it as it can be for them - we won't give anyone an easy game. My team will play on the front foot, and we will make it hard to beat us.
“We know they are an attacking team. But there is always a weakness when you've got a very attacking team, and hopefully, we can exploit that weakness.
“We've worked hard this week on Man United, and we know what they're good at and not so good at. So, if we can exploit the weaknesses, then we are always going to be in the game.”
Manchester United arrive in Dagenham with the likes of European Championship winning trio Ella Toone, Alessia Russo and Mary Earps in their ranks and will provide a stern test for the Hammers in east London.
Having battled to a 1-1 draw last season thanks to a 90th-minute Grace Fisk header, Konchesky is adamant the Hammers have the tools to again force a positive result this weekend.
The former Hammers defender was pleased with the Irons' performance against Everton last weekend and believes his team can now build on that momentum – again in front of a vociferous and enthusiastic home crowd.
“I think, especially at home, we will go at teams,” he added. “We will be more attack-minded. We know we are going to have to defend at some point, but if we can play on the front foot and keep it away from our goal, we've got more of a chance to win football matches.
“The first game is always frantic - the adrenaline from a long preseason. And to try and start the season on a high, it was never going to be pretty. In the first 20 minutes of the game, we were very good. And we put the stuff we've been working on into practice.
“Then Everton came back into it where my players maybe got a little bit nervous because we had a few new players - five or six debuts. So, to try and bed them in from day one was always gonna be difficult. But I think getting a result, getting a clean sheet, was a massive positive for us.
“[Last weekend] the results with the bigger clubs probably didn't go how they wanted it to be. At this point, everyone can beat everyone, and I think that's going to be the [story of this] season.”
Konchesky also confirmed that he will look to use players from the Hammers Academy during this season.
“I think everyone knows what West Ham is about,” he said. “We do go and buy players. But we also try and get some best young ones that we possibly can from our local area.
“We have had a few young players in the squad this year. So, we're going to be a mixture. And that's what West Ham is about. We have to use people from our academy and hopefully, with the young ones coming through, it's going to push even more young players that want to come and play for West Ham," he concluded.
Tickets for Sunday's game are on sale now priced from just £13 for Adults and £5 for Juniors!
