Four second half goals put pay to any hopes of Portsmouth had of picking up anything from their trip to Dagenham as West Ham ran out 6-1 winners in the first round of matches in the League Cup. The Halfway Line had the chance to catch up with Rehanne Skinner after the match, and gauge her thoughts on the performance.

From the outset, Skinner could be heard on the touchline barking orders especially in the direction of Marika Bergman Lundin in the central issues. Skinner raised concerns with the game being too transitional, but this issue didn't last for the Hammers.

When asked about the high-transition nature of the first half, Skinner responded "When you look at how many new starters there were in that first half getting the opportunity to play together you are always going to get some of those moments while players are still trying to build relationships."

She continued "We've got a talented bunch of players they just needed to get through that first bit and the second half shows the quality I think we have got in the team. I think they did a fantastic job and just calmed down a little bit on the ball and looked after each other and I think we did really well."

Speaking on The Halfway Line's Player of the Match in Viviane Asseyi, Skinner responded "She's had an impact which you would want to see that this level and I think it is important she gets opportunities in front of goal and I don't think we've had as many of those opportunities in the Barclays WSL games as we'd like for her."

Skinner went on to praise the creativity in her lineup as she remarked "Some of the through balls that went into our forwards today created some of those chances, for Seraina [Piubel] to score her first goal for the club and Riko [Ueki] had come on and she's scored as well, Vivi has got a couple, Emma [Harries] has got a couple." She continued "across the board it is so important for forwards to be scoring goals, I think collectively they have all done a fantastic job today."

Then speaking on the youth talent displayed tonight, Skinner stated "I thought they gave a really good account of themselves, it can be a bit nerve racking first time playing. And against a team in the Championship and they've not played at that level before against those types of players it was always going to be an edgy first few minutes."

Skinner expressed her delight after the performance, particularly packing on the praise for a few Hammers starlets "Marnie [Morrison] was nice and controlled on the ball, [it was] Hally's [Houssein] first start under me today as well, that was an opportunity for her to play. Ruby [Doe] was physical and competitive and looked to be really positive in advanced areas, and Dani [Way] has come on at the end and she's done really well as well."

Then speaking on club debutant Ruby Doe, who had to come off in the first half with an injury, Skinner updated "It is too early, [it was] just precautionary but she is on crutches as she is struggling to walk."

Despite the disappointment of Doe's omission, Skinner was keen to praise her replacement tonight in Emma Harries, after her three-goal contribution display. She said, "Now what you are seeing is her capabilities, she is quick, she is direct, she is prepared to put herself in really difficult situations for defenders, the goal she scored to get across the front post is a superb timed run, it's a fantastic goal and I don't think she would have done that last year."

Speaking on West Ham's League Cup group opponents, Skinner commented on the fact that her side are only joined by Championship opposition in the early stages of the competition. Skinner denied any suggestion that her side have the advantage, expressing "We want to do well in every competition that we are in, the other teams we have got in this competition will be tough with London City and Southampton both teams that have stacked things up this year. They are going to be competitive so we certainly won't be underestimating anyone."

Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend, Skinner noted "for us this week we have got a three game week, getting six goals out of today is an important boost for us following on from a great result on the weekend, we want to take that positivity into the weekend."

Skinner bristled at the suggestion that conceding against Portsmouth, who had not scored this season prior to last night, could be seen as an indiction of fragility ahead of this weekend's visit to the Joie Stadium to face Manchester City "no look, we have got a young player who caught a player in the box, it is what it is, it does not mean anything."

Share this:Like this:Like Loading...