West Ham United Women U21s valiantly battled back to draw 2-2 with Arsenal on Wednesday afternoon in their latest FA WSL Academy League Southern Division fixture.
After twice falling behind at Vauxhall Road, home of National League South side Hemel Hempstead Town – Stephen Opoka’s side managed to clinch a share of the spoils thanks to a double from substitute Ikraam Mohamed.
Having comfortably beaten Leicester City 4-1 in their previous Academy League fixture back in March, Women’s Academy Manager Opoka would have been hoping that his team could bring the confidence from that result into this game against Arsenal, who sat well clear at the summit of the Southern Division heading into the game.
After an evenly matched first half, it was the home side took the lead two minutes into the second half. A swift counter attack from the Gunners saw Leyla O’Brien skip beyond the backline, before squeezing the ball past Katie O’Hanlon in the Irons goal with a left-footed shot.
Just after the hour mark, the Irons levelled the game. After successfully defending an Arsenal corner, Princess Ademiluyi led a counter charge, seizing the ball from Arsenal defender Araya Dennis and breaking away.
With the angle closing, she unselfishly squared the ball across goal for Mohamed to slot home with her first touch of the match, having been introduced as a substitute moments earlier.
The Hammers looked to get on top in the game, but they would be undone on 73 minutes when a loose pass allowed the home side to scamper forward once again.
O’Brien looked to turn provider as she flashed a ball across the box, and whilst it was initially dealt with, the ball was eventually worked to Laila Harbert on the edge of the area to hit a fierce shot into the top left-hand corner of the net.
Opoka’s side continued to cause problems, and had to wait until 90 minutes to net the equaliser. After Arsenal failed to clear properly, a neat exchange of passes inside the Gunners penalty area ended with the ball falling at the feet of Mohamed, who calmly slotted home a dramatic equaliser to share the points at Vauxhall Road.
A penalty shootout then followed to determine who would take home an extra point. Soraya Walsh slotted home the winning penalty meaning it was two points gained for the Hammers.
West Ham United U21s sit in sixth in the Southern Division, having accumulated 20 points so far this season. They will welcome Chelsea to Little Heath in their next Academy League fixture on Wednesday 26 April.