Man Utd thrash West Ham to stay unbeaten in WSL

5 months ago 97
Manchester United celebrateManchester United are unbeaten going into their game against neighbours Manchester City at Old Trafford next weekend, with over 36,000 tickets already sold

Manchester United continued their unbeaten start to the Women's Super League campaign as they breezed past West Ham United.

Geyse provided an immediate positive start on Sunday with a third-minute opener, nodding home a miscued Hinata Miyazawa shot to get her first league goal of the season.

Centre-back Millie Turner doubled the lead, curling home a superb strike from the edge of the area after charging through the West Ham midfield.

West Ham struggled to impose themselves in the first half after Viviane Asseyi and Honoka Hayashi were forced off with injuries and Nikita Parris dealt further damage when she tucked an Ella Toone through-ball past Mackenzie Arnold to make it 3-0.

The Irons improved somewhat after the break and enjoyed a period of momentum but Emma Harries, Amber Tysiak and Riko Ueki all had efforts saved.

And their pressure was ultimately fruitless because Lucia Garcia and Melvine Malard added late goals to seal a comfortable win for the Red Devils.

Manchester United remain undefeated after six league games, while West Ham have collected four points from the same number of matches.

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Dominant first half seals comfortable Red Devils win

In what has been a season of mixed results this was a particularly positive performance for Manchester United.

Marc Skinner's side managed 18 shots, nine of which hit the target.

And they converted their dominance into goals - something they failed to do when they required a stoppage-time equaliser to scrape a draw with Brighton last weekend.

Relentless pressing in the final third from the front three of Galton, Parris and Geyse stopped the visitors building from the back and capitalised on any defensive errors.

Parris, who was rewarded with a start after scoring a hat-trick in the midweek League Cup victory over Everton, regularly threatened down the right-hand side.

There was little work for the Red Devils defence, so their full-backs took a more aggressive role, with Hannah Blundell and Jayde Riviere - before she was taken off with an injury - making overlapping runs to carve openings on the wings.

West Ham struggled to find a way out of their own half for much of the game but home keeper Mary Earps remained alert, reacting quickly to deny Riko Ueki an early goal and managing their second-half efforts well.

The hosts went more than 30 minutes in the second half without managing a shot, but the two late goals were an accurate reflection of United's grip on the game.

Skinner's side now have three wins and three draws from their opening six WSL games going into next weekend's Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

Line-ups

Man Utd Women

Formation 4-3-3

27Earps14Riviere4Le Tissier21TurnerSubstituted forEvansat 78'minutes6Blundell7Toone10Zelem20MiyazawaSubstituted forNaalsundat 61'minutes22ParrisSubstituted forMalardat 61'minutes23da Silva FerreiraSubstituted forWilliamsat 62'minutes11GaltonSubstituted forGarcíaat 79'minutes

Substitutes

9Malard12Ladd15Evans16Naalsund17García28Williams39Middleton-Patel91Tullis-Joyce

West Ham Women

Formation 5-3-2

1Arnold18DentonBooked at 59mins3Shimizu5TysiakBooked at 21mins23CissokoBooked at 80minsSubstituted forCookeat 86'minutes2Smith7EvansSubstituted forAtkinsonat 86'minutes4Stringer19HayashiSubstituted forFilisat 20'minutes9Ueki20AsseyiSubstituted forHarriesat 34'minutes

Substitutes

11Atkinson12Harries16Ziu17Filis21Cooke24Stapleton25Walsh35Ademiluyi41Flannery

Referee:Phoebe Cross

Attendance:4,396

Live Text

Match ends, Manchester United Women 5, West Ham United Women 0.

Second Half ends, Manchester United Women 5, West Ham United Women 0.

Attempt saved. Lucía García (Manchester United Women) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Hannah Blundell with a headed pass.

Attempt saved. Ella Toone (Manchester United Women) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hannah Blundell.

Goal! Manchester United Women 5, West Ham United Women 0. Melvine Malard (Manchester United Women) left footed shot from very close range to the top left corner following a corner.

Attempt blocked. Lucía García (Manchester United Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

Corner, Manchester United Women. Conceded by Anouk Denton.

Goal! Manchester United Women 4, West Ham United Women 0. Lucía García (Manchester United Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Lisa Naalsund.

Substitution, West Ham United Women. Shannon Cooke replaces Hawa Cissoko.

Substitution, West Ham United Women. Izzy Atkinson replaces Lisa Evans.

Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Emma Harries (West Ham United Women).

Attempt missed. Katie Zelem (Manchester United Women) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Rachel Williams.

Hawa Cissoko (West Ham United Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Lisa Naalsund (Manchester United Women) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Foul by Hawa Cissoko (West Ham United Women).

Substitution, Manchester United Women. Lucía García replaces Leah Galton because of an injury.

Substitution, Manchester United Women. Gemma Evans replaces Millie Turner.

Offside, West Ham United Women. Risa Shimizu tries a through ball, but Riko Ueki is caught offside.

Offside, Manchester United Women. Jayde Riviere tries a through ball, but Melvine Malard is caught offside.

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