Manager Matt Beard and Laura Rafferty Reflect On The Hammers’ Heavy Defeat To Man City Women
Though playing well in their first few games this season, West Ham United Women were unable to display the same tenacity and character, which in Beard’s words ‘was frustrating, and a learning curve for all us’.
A key issue highlighted by the club’s manager was primarily errors, and though they started with a game plan, it seemed to go out of the window as they East London club were 3-0 down within the first 17 minutes.
Beard on his team’s performance:
The injuries are hurting us at the moment. We didn’t have Leanne Kiernan today, Lucienne Reichardt wasn’t with us and Tessel Middag is still injured too.
“We’re struggling with a small squad and two or three that played today are also struggling with knocks, but they got through the game for us.”
With Beard’s former club, Liverpool, due to visit Rush green in the FA WSL next weekend, the head coach is eager to see a reaction from his side.“We need to bounce back. We’ve got to make sure we show some character. We’ve been good at home, so it will be a good test for us.”
Similarly, Rafferty shared the same view but did highlight the quality of City to capitalize on the chances they did have:
‘We couldn’t get hold of the game in midfield, and it took us a while to get used to their top-class movement in that area. When you’re playing a top-class team like City, if you give them chances they will put away them away.’
