Rehanne Skinner, the manager of West Ham, expressed frustration with the poor officiating in the Women’s Super League after her team had a first-half equalizer disallowed due to an incorrect offside decision. This ultimately resulted in Chelsea winning the match 2-0.
Aggie Beever-Jones and Erin Cuthbert penalized an unyielding West Ham for their wastefulness in the attacking zone, propelling Chelsea to reclaim their spot on top of the WSL standings over Manchester City. It was not an easy win for Chelsea, and if Honoka Hayashi’s shot hadn’t been wrongly ruled as offside in the first 15 minutes, it could have been a more stressful game for the visitors.
Honestly, it appears that when we scored the goal, which was clearly more than one meter onside, it completely changed the situation for us going into half-time,” Skinner stated.
To be honest, I’m starting to tire of this. We’ve had opportunities today but it’s essential that we convert them. However, the way the game unfolds, we can’t continue making these errors because it ruins the entire game.
Emma Hayes brought back Mayra Ramírez and Nathalie Björn, who were considered healthy enough to be substitutes, and made three alterations to the lineup that achieved a 3-0 victory over Ajax on Tuesday evening.
Skinner encountered two differences following her team’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool last weekend.
Chelsea started March with the goal of winning six straight games, with two more left to play this month. They started strong, however, their competition, the reigning champions, were not an easy team to beat. In the first five minutes, West Ham had the opportunity to be ahead by two goals, but ended up falling behind to a team that has won 12 consecutive games in the WSL when scoring first.
Riko Ueki’s quick delivery was received by Viviane Asseyi who unfortunately missed with her header. As a result, Chelsea capitalized and passed the ball to Lauren James on the left, who in turn played it back for Beever-Jones to score.
After initially dominating, West Ham faced a humiliating defeat as Jessica Ziu’s successful cross was missed by an unmarked Kirsty Smith, resulting in a wasted opportunity for the goal.
In the 14th minute, Hayashi scored a goal by putting the ball into the net. The ball was headed towards her after a free-kick, but the referee deemed her to be offside even though Lawrence was playing her on.
Skinner expressed dissatisfaction, stating that his behavior would not be tolerated in his job. He also mentioned that this is a common issue and that apologies after the fact do not alter the end result.
The manager called for VAR, stating that many have been discussing its use. If that is what it takes to accurately determine results, then it should be utilized.
Avoid the newsletter advertisement.
after newsletter promotion
“In the end, the referees are not considered professionals in this sport, meaning they do not have the luxury of solely focusing on these games. This situation needs to be addressed and changed.”
Shortly after, the home team faced another setback when their key midfielder, Katrina Gorry, had to leave the game due to injury. Marika Bergman Lundin took her place. Despite this, West Ham continued to pose a danger. Ueki nearly scored with a shot that hit the crossbar after a long run from midfield and Hayashi assisted Asseyi’s shot that went over the goal.
The task was a big one, with the visiting team unbeaten in their past 11 WSL games against West Ham, going back to 2018, with 10 wins and one draw against their London rivals, but West Ham were not a pushover at the Chigwell Construction stadium.
After recognizing the danger posed by the Hammers, Hayes made substitutions of Cuthbert and Catarina Macário, and then brought in Ramírez and Fran Kirby within 10 minutes of the match passing the one hour mark.
In the final moments of the game, Chelsea scored a goal to increase their lead. Macário sent a corner kick, which was controlled by Cuthbert and powered into the top of the goal.
Chelsea is advancing in all four competitions and currently holds the edge over Manchester City due to goal difference. Beever-Jones stated that they do not underestimate any opponents, but also acknowledged that their performance was not up to par despite scoring two impressive goals.
“For us, meeting the Chelsea standard means winning every game and achieving strong performances. However, that was not the case today. Despite not meeting our standard, we have back-to-back games every three days and must be content with our performance as we accomplished our goal.”
Source: theguardian.com
