Manchester United Women vs West Ham United Women. Women's Super League.
Old Trafford.
Report as Lauren James and Christen Press score second-half goals to help Manchester United Women beat West Ham United Women in the Women's Super League at Old Trafford; Casey Stoney's team stay third, while the visitors remain rooted to the foot of the table
Saturday 27 March 2021 17:03, UK
Second-half goals from Lauren James and Christen Press saw Manchester United Women beat West Ham United Women 2-0 in the first Women's Super League match to take place at Old Trafford on Saturday.
James' glancing header gave the home side the lead four minutes after half-time and Press' emphatic finish then doubled United's advantage six minutes later, before Laura Vetterlein saw red for the visitors with 13 minutes to go.
As a result, Casey Stoney's team stay third, while the visitors remain rooted to the foot of the table.
Three defeats in their previous four games had hurt United's Champions League chances and anything but a victory against the league's bottom side would have been a huge blow.
Both teams took time to get going and it was not until the 25th minute that United finally broke through the West Ham defence but Press could not find Ella Toone.
Ten minutes later came United's best opening of the half as a fortunate break allowed Press and James to get in behind but excellent defending from Grace Fisk denied James a tap-in.
The striker then headed over from the resulting corner but United could have paid for sloppy play at the back in the closing minutes of the half, with Martha Thomas shooting wide and Kenza Dali seeing a deflected shot saved by Mary Earps.
It took the home side only four minutes to claim the lead after the break as Millie Turner headed the ball back into the six-yard box following a corner and James nodded in.
That settled United's nerves and six minutes later they had another, Jackie Groenen pressing the West Ham defence before playing a superb pass to Press, who confidently finished beyond Courtney Brosnan.
United were playing with freedom now and United States international Press would have had a second but for a fingertip save from Brosnan.
Down the other end, West Ham forced their best chance when Dagny Brynjarsdottir powered her way through but Earps produced a fine block, and moments later the United keeper pushed a header from the same player round a post.
Press was then denied again by Brosnan and West Ham's woes deepened in the 77th minute when Vetterlein was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Kirsty Hanson.
Man Utd boss Casey Stoney: "I've come away from it disappointed with us in terms of an exhibition.
"If there was a crowd they would have been disappointed in the first half so it's just as well there wasn't. We've done it now and for me it's about next time, doing it with fans and being better.
"I wasn't happy at half-time, I let the players know that. It was sloppy. I think against a better team we would have got caught.
"We needed to get better and the response was much more positive. We moved the ball well, created a lot of chances. The pleasing thing I'll take away is the way we defended set-pieces.
"If you want to play Champions League football, you need to play at a Champions League standard. It's a grass pitch and we should be better."
West Ham boss Olli Harder: "They all thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be here. I thought it was a decent promotion of women's football.
"The girls weren't overwhelmed by the occasion. They came on and they were excited to play.
"We just obviously applauded the effort. The application today was fantastic.
"We said 'it's OK to be disappointed', what's not OK is for us to give up this fight. We've got a lot of tough games coming up and we carry on. The tide will turn."
Man Utd travel to Brighton on Sunday April 4, while West Ham visit Reading on Saturday April 3, with both games kicking off at 2pm.
