**Manchester City 1-0 West Ham United women's team**
**Barclays Women's Super League, Joie Stadium, Saturday 1 November, 12noon GMT**
Despite creating a number of good opportunities, a spirited **West Ham United** **women’s team** fell to a 1-0 defeat at Manchester City in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Saturday.
Aoba Fujino’s first-half goal proved enough to separate the two sides at the Joie Stadium, but the Hammers had our chances to get something from the game.
The closest we came was through Viviane Asseyi, who struck the crossbar with a dinked effort shortly after we fell behind, as Riko Ueki and Shekiera Martinez were also came close to earning us something in Manchester.
The first half saw the home side enjoy a lot of possession, going into half-time having had 72 per cent of the ball, but that didn’t mean the Hammers didn’t have our chances to find the back of the net.
After Bunny Shaw saw a header deflect over the bar, Ueki broke in behind the City backline with an impressive turn before she fired her effort low at Ayaka Yamashita’s near post, and the goalkeeper got down well to save the shot.
We then came forward again, this time through Ffion Morgan, who was operating as a right wing-back at the Joie Stadium. The Wales international delivered a teasing cross that Asseyi latched onto, but she volleyed her first-time strike just over the bar.
It was then midway through the first half that the Citizens broke the deadlock, which felt harsh on the Hammers after the chances we had carved out. Vivianne Miedema sweeped the ball to Fujino, who finished clinically across goal past Kinga Szemik.
Our heads didn’t drop and we had opportunities to level before the break, and the best chance came via Asseyi, who was played through by Martinez after the Germany U23 international had carried the ball the length of the pitch, however, our No20’s dink over Yamashita came back off the bar.
The architect of that chance, Martinez, was then gifted possession by the Manchester City defence. She reacted quickly, striking instinctively, but her shot was well blocked before Miedema failed to convert Iman Beney’s cross up the other end.
Beney was soon involved seven minutes into the second half, prodding Fujino’s cross wide before Gracie Prior headed off target from a corner.
After Manchester City’s No24’s chance, there was very little action in the second half, as the host continued to enjoy a lot of the ball but didn’t craft many clear-cut chances with it. That was until they won a free-kick with just over 20 minutes to play which resulted in Prior crashing a header against the bar before Miedema blocked one of her teammates’ shots off the line.
Following substitutions from both sides, City crafted another chance, this time Laura Brown skewed a shot off target, but she was not left to rue the missed opportunity, as the hosts claimed the three points come full-time.
**Manchester City:** Yamashita, Rose, Shaw, Miedema, Ouahabi, Casparij ©, Brown, Fujino, Beney (Coombs 76), Hasegawa, Prior
Subs not used: Keating (GK), Clinton, Wienroither, Knaak, Thomas, Oldroyd, Burdon, Shikhshabekova
Goal: Fujino 26
**West Ham United:** Szemik, Endo, Tysiak, Zadorsky, Endo (Brasero 87), Siren (Csiki 74), Gorry ©, Morgan (Hanshaw 79), Asseyi, Ueki, Martinez (Wandeler 74)
Subs not used: Walsh (GK), Belloumou, Paví, Nyström, Houssein
**Referee:** Ryan Atkin
**Attendance:** TBC
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