It was a great night for the ladies team as they defeated their North London rivals at the Boleyn. Rising East has special reports from Dean Ammi and Jack Cronin.
West Ham’s women replicated what the men did with a special win over their fierce neighbours Tottenham Ladies. In front of a record crowd of 1,741, a Katie Bottom penalty was enough to separate the two sides come the final whistle on Tuesday evening at Upton Park.
West Ham Ladies co-chairman Stephen Hunt was understandably happy, telling Rising East: “It feels extremely good. We have worked so hard, it was like organising a wedding and forgetting you have got a honeymoon afterwards.”
The ‘honeymoon’ kicked off a couple of minutes late after a sensational musical parade performance. Fans of all ages were in full voice from the first minute to the last – and what a way to cap off the occasion with all three points for the Ladies’ side.
Chances
Bottom’s goal came against the run of play, as Spurs dominated possession for the entirety. They were unlucky not to take the lead considering they had chances galore, especially after Lucia Marte had a goal harshly disallowed for offside in the second half having finished off a wonderful Alexandra Keown delivery.
It was a physical battle between the two teams. Spurs star Alex Keown booted the ball out of play after just five minutes of action, straight into the West Ham dugout, which led to jeers every time she touched the ball throughout the game. It appeared to have an effect on her composure: every set piece she took lacked confidence.
But despite being born and bred from the area, and experiencing year upon year of exciting Boleyn Ground action, I felt the atmosphere was like no other. It was more than just a game of football between two women’s teams in the third tier. It was an occasion; a celebration for female players appearing in front of decent crowds, and for the connection between supporters and players. It was almost sad to see the game end, as weird as that sounds. It was the signal that the party was over, but the celebrations will have gone long into the night.
Dominated
Sitting in the press box, the crowd weren’t off their feet and swearing every time a decision didn’t go their way. All one could hear was the chant of “West Ham! West Ham” ringing around the stadium, and the collective ‘12th woman’ certainly played its part as the cheers were continuous in spite of the home team being dominated by the opposition. It paid dividends though; the Hammers came out with all three points in the end and Tottenham left with nothing.
The visitors were clearly frustrated but the first yellow card wasn’t shown until Wendy Martin was booked for dissent.
As much as the opposition dominated, West Ham had their moments and they perhaps should have had a penalty much earlier on in the game when new signing Cindy Ferreira was kicked in the head. The referee however deemed it accidental.
‘Buzzing’
In the aftermath, Hunt praised the preparation, and it was certainly successful: “There was so much organisation going into tonight. So many people putting so much time in. Volunteers from every possible area. People turning up at the last minute. And then we won! Which was brilliant, that’s all we wanted.
“The girls are buzzing. No-ones making any sense which is brilliant. We’ll work it out afterwards but bring on the Olympic Stadium, we’ve got to top that!”
The win means that the Irons remain in eighth place in the league table. – Dean Ammi
Jack Cronin writes: Goalscorer Katy Bottom was elated, telling Rising East: “I couldn’t have written it better myself. Oviously I was down for penalties beforehand, and I was confident. As a team we worked our socks off tonight.”
The goal and the win capped off another memorable night in 2015-16. The Boleyn Ground has had some memorable games under the floodlights this season, and this certainly was no exception.
The Hammers started strongly with the initial threat posed by Spurs being dealt with resolutely by a solid defensive line. The visiting side enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, however West Ham’s patience in the early stages paid dividends as they began to execute some slick passing sequences.
Midway through the first half the chances were coming thick and fast for Spurs, with their No.22 rifling a volley over and beyond the crossbar.
There was a real sense of camaraderie in the home ranks, as some no-nonsense defending presented West Ham with a counter-attacking opportunity and an opening on goal; Tottenham were alarmingly exposed at the back, but the home side were unable to convert.
Rapturous
The first half presented Spurs with all manner of opportunities to forge a lead, and they went in at the break feeling the happier out of the two sides.
The crowd at the Boleyn was in a rapturous mood and it no doubt gave the Hammers ladies something a bit extra as they battled out the last 45 minutes. The chances came again for Tottenham, as pantomime villain of the night No. 6 floated a ball into the box for it to be bundled in. The players peeled off to celebrate, only for a late call judging it offside.
The game opened up midway through the second-half and West Ham’s No.9 had a superb break on goal. Momentum was now with West Ham and the feeling grew that the home side could nick a lead.
All signs pointed towards a stalemate but for a penalty awarded to West Ham in the later stages of the game – Katy Bottom converted to make it 1-0.