Skinner: I'm pleased with the way the players tried to go about the game
Manager Rehanne Skinner was pleased with the bravery her side showed against Arsenal on Friday night at Chigwell Construction Stadium.
The Hammers went toe-to-toe with their opponents in Dagenham in the first half and went into the break level after Daphne van Domselaar’s own-goal was cancelled out by a well-placed Frida Maanum strike.
However, four second-half goals from the visitors - two after the 90th minute - sealed the three points.
Despite not getting the result she would have wanted in her side’s first home game of the fresh WSL campaign, Skinner was happy that her team continued to show attacking intent in the second half and wants them to build on that bravery in the weeks to come.
The result isn’t something we’re happy with.
I think for 65 minutes, we were in the game, we played really well and made life really difficult for them to break us down. I thought the pressing intensity was excellent in the first half and the team made life really tough [for Arsenal]. Overall the players were really, really brave, really positive. So I'm pleased with the way that they've tried to go about the game.
We've not created as many chances as we'd have liked to from the transitions that we had higher up from the press. Sometimes the final balls are still a little bit forced at times, and we can definitely improve on that. But ultimately, at 3-1, we’re trying to win the game.
So [it was] my decision to change the shape, to add more attacking players, to try and get something out of the game. Sometimes when you do that, you could run the risk of getting caught out on the flip side to it. But I'd much rather us be brave at 3-1 to try and get something out of the game than to just sit in and hope that we can keep the scoreline at 3-1.
If we start like that in other games, we're definitely going to be in a better position against some teams that have got a little bit less, in terms of the quality.
That comes on the pitch and the amount of changes that they're able to make - world-class players, for world-class players. That's just something you know you're up against with Arsenal. And that's a credit to the way they've built the squad.
But I think for us, the positives to take are the way that we executed the intensity. We just weren't able to sustain that when they started making their changes. For 65 minutes, we've made life really, really difficult for Arsenal.
It’s building on the bravery and the character that we have as a team.
Being a lot more positive in our pressing, being on the front foot. I didn't think we did that against Tottenham. We were much, much better at that tonight. That's something that we'll obviously keep working on.
There was great support from the fans, as always.
Being at home, you can hear them even more. We had a great travelling set of fans last weekend as well. We obviously want to keep playing the style of football that makes the fans want to come and watch. I think they could see the workrate, the attitude and approach from the players, which got the crowd going.