West Ham United 0-0 Manchester United
By Catherine MacKenzie (19/04/2025)
Above: West Ham and Manchester United battle. Photo: Lindsay Cook for Impetus.
West Ham and Manchester United battled to a 0-0 draw in East London on Saturday afternoon in the WSL.
On a typical Women’s Super League matchday, Manchester United would have arrived in East London as strong favourites against West Ham. However, on-paper strength does not tell the story of West Ham’s 2025 so far; they have been the first team to leave Chelsea’s Kingsmeadow home with points, drawn with Manchester City, and beaten their North London rivals Tottenham.
Their form has been buoyed by the acquisition of German youth international Shekiera Martinez, who immediately hit the ground running in the WSL. She scored five goals in her first eight WSL games, including a brace against title-holders Chelsea.
The Hammers are on track for their best-ever league finish this season, with head coach Rehanne Skinner fielding a team that are known for being extremely physical – and very defensively organised.
United have been in similarly good form, notably beating Manchester City four-two earlier this year. Facing the Hammers, United arguably had much more at stake. Sitting third with Champions League qualification in reach and City seven points behind, their final fixtures against City, Chelsea, and Arsenal mean that any slip-ups now will add serious pressure to their remaining games.
Play it out or hoof it long?
United are relatively unique compared to their top-three peers in that they do not primarily aim to pass out from the back. A characteristic of many possession-based teams aiming to play attractive football, playing out from the back is often controversial; every WSL game-week it is inevitable that at least one team will concede a goal due to a refusal to play the ball long. West Ham were organised in this respect; they varied between long balls and attempts to pass out.
An interesting feature of this was the Hammers’ attempt at trickery. For some of their goal kicks, the Hammers set up as if they were going to pass out – but would then quickly dart forward to hoof it long. This visibly frustrated United, both because it took a few more seconds than they wanted to waste, and because they would have to reposition themselves.
When they did attempt to pass through the United lines, they were rarely successful. More than one attempt ended in a shot on target for United; there were too many loose passes deep in their own half. This is not to say that United were any more successful – they too normally ended up going long rather than trying to play through West Ham’s packed midfield.
Let’s get physical
Ask any West Ham fan – of either their men’s or women’s team – and they will say that a key feature of their teams is their physicality. This showed on Saturday afternoon, as the Hammers forced United to play a more physical game. United made 23 tackles, seven more than in their last outing. The last time they recorded over 20 was in early March against Leicester.
The early chances were shared – Clinton shot over the bar at the 18-minute mark, Bizet off the crossbar a minute later. For their part, West Ham’s Asseyi played a dangerous free kick into the United penalty area, and Shekiera Martinez was dangerous on the counter. Maya Le Tissier and Gabby George mostly managed to manage the forward, however she did manage to get a shot on target.
Elisabeth Terland caused the Hammers’ defence numerous issues, however Amber Tysiak (who recently put in an inspired performance for Belgium against England) managed to impede Terland on most occasions.
The most dangerous player for United was arguably Hinata Miyazawa, who acted as a playmaker in midfield. Given space in an otherwise congested midfield, she managed to intercept West Ham’s passing – particularly any attempt to play out from the back – and used her technicality to make the turn and deliver the ball up-field.
West Ham were so organised, however, that they read every play United made. United’s main success was in getting the ball out wide for Riviere or Bizet to cross into the box – the main barrier there being uncharacteristically off-target finishing from Terland.
United defending as a team
For United, this clean sheet means over four hundred minutes without conceding a goal. The last goal they conceded was in the three-one loss to rivals Liverpool on the 13th of March. The team are known for their cohesive spirit, and this was again on show Saturday as every player on the pitch played their role in defending the United goal.
Celin Bizet and Leah Galton both put defensive work in, Gabby George made the most challenges – resulting in a speaking-to by the referee and a preventative substitution at just over the hour mark. Grace Clinton made her fair share of interceptions, and barring one nutmeg of Maya Le Tissier, she and Millie Turner were strong in the centre.
The introduction of Dominique Janssen in the latter stages of the game gave United a bit more control of a West Ham midfield that was showing more impetus to get the ball moving.
Moving forward, both teams can take positives from this game. West Ham continued their strong home form with another clean sheet and point against a top-four team, and United’s defensive strength will give them confidence ahead of a trio of difficult fixtures.
For United, this will definitely feel like two dropped points rather than a point gained, however, and they will already be looking to next week’s battle with Chelsea as they look to cement that all-important third place.
TEAMS: WEST HAM: Szemik, Siren, Tysiak, Ueki, Nystrom, Zadorsky, Martinez, Asseyi, Gorry, Mengwen, Hanshaw. Substitutes: Walsh, Smith, Brynjarsdottir (for Gorry 78’), Pavi (for Martinez 87’), Harries, Saez, Denton, Ademiluyi, Piubel (for Asseyi 62’).
MANCHESTER UNITED: Tullis-Joyce, George, Le Tissier, Toone, Clinton, Galton, Riviere, Bizet, Terland, Miyazawa (for Janssen 82’), Turner. Substitutes: Middleton-Patel, Rendell, Mannion, Sandberg (for George 64’), Awujo, Janssen, Naalsund, Malard (for Galton 64’), Williams (for Toone 72’).
Attendance: TBC
Referee: Harrison Blair
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