West Ham beat Leicester for first WSL away win

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

Media caption,

West Ham claimed their first away win battling 2-1 victory over Leicester City

At a glance

ByCiara FlemingBBC Sport journalist

West Ham claimed their first away win of the Women's Super League season with a battling 2-1 victory over Leicester City at King Power Stadium.

They took the lead against the run of play in the first half, with full-back Verena Hanshaw curling in a free-kick from 25 yards just after the half-hour mark.

Shekiera Martinez doubled the lead midway through the second half with a superb effort. The Germany striker dashed down the left wing before cutting inside on her right foot and firing low beyond the dive of Leicester keeper Olivia Clark.

The hosts had dominated proceedings from the off, pushing West Ham back into their own defensive third. However, for the most part, their finishing left much to be desired.

Debutant Rachel Williams had a close-range shot crowded out by several in West Ham white, before defender Ashleigh Neville's cross had Irons keeper Kinga Szemik scrambling across her goalline to claw clear.

New Leicester signing Alisha Lehmann provided the perfect boost off the bench, pressuring West Ham defender Eva Nystrom at a set-piece and causing her to bundle into her own net.

In the face of growing pressure from Leicester, the West Ham back line persevered, producing a total of 39 clearances across the game to make sure they came away with a precious three points.

The gap to bottom side Liverpool remains at just one point after the Reds' maiden win of the season at home to Tottenham.

Defeat for Leicester leaves them nervously looking over their shoulder as they are now just one point ahead of West Ham in ninth spot.

It was a bold decision for West Ham to replace manager Rehanne Skinner with Rita Guarino in December, but are we already starting to see the pay-off?

The Italian had never before managed outside her homeland and was jumping right into the fire of the Women's Super League relegation battle, but she has instilled a fighting spirit into a team that previously looked lost.

Guarino, and crucially her players, have rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

Yes, they lost 5-0 to Chelsea, but two significant individual errors that afternoon had them 2-0 down before they truly got started.

Sunday's performance at Leicester was more reflective of the West Ham Guarino is building.

They were happy to sit back and defend their box, having less than 50% possession and fielding a total of 33 crosses from the home side, all the while waiting for their moment to strike.

When those moments came, Hanshaw and Martinez delivered, which is exactly what you need when you are battling for survival.

On the other side of the coin, Leicester City were wasteful, spurning chance after chance as the points were snatched away.

A positive note for them was Lehmann's impact off the bench just three days after signing for the club.

They will hope that the Swiss international can show more of that in the coming weeks as they look to avoid being reeled into the battle at the bottom.

Just two points now separate the Foxes from bottom side Liverpool, with the weekend's results creating a group of four clubs cut adrift from the rest of the pack, also including 10th-placed Everton.

While the lure of the title race is clear, the battle to avoid being left in the relegation play-off place promises to be just as intriguing.

The Player Rater cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable JavaScript or try another browser.

Player of the match

Number: 11 A. LehmannAverage rating 7.00Number: 11 A. LehmannAverage Rating: 7.00Number: 29 A. NevilleAverage Rating: 6.00Number: 23 O. McLoughlinAverage Rating: 5.83Number: 28 R. WilliamsAverage Rating: 5.70Number: 12 A. AleAverage Rating: 5.36Number: 21 H. CainAverage Rating: 5.23Number: 3 S. TierneyAverage Rating: 5.09Number: 20 S. MaylingAverage Rating: 5.08Number: 27 S. O’BrienAverage Rating: 4.83Number: 2 S. KeesAverage Rating: 4.70Number: 31 C. SwabyAverage Rating: 4.67Number: 13 O. ClarkAverage Rating: 4.50Number: 10 E. JanssonAverage Rating: 4.36Number: 9 N. MouchonAverage Rating: 4.22Number: 5 E. van EgmondAverage Rating: 3.90Back to team tabsNumber: 22 K. GorryAverage Rating: 6.70Number: 29 V. HanshawAverage Rating: 6.60Number: 28 E. CascarinoAverage Rating: 6.40Number: 4 O. SirenAverage Rating: 6.38Number: 77 S. PiubelAverage Rating: 6.20Number: 7 I. BelloumouAverage Rating: 6.13Number: 19 S. MartinezAverage Rating: 5.88Number: 1 K. SzemikAverage Rating: 5.80Number: 9 R. UekiAverage Rating: 5.78Number: 27 L. WandelerAverage Rating: 5.67Number: 20 V. AsseyiAverage Rating: 5.56Number: 2 Y. EndoAverage Rating: 5.44Number: 13 E. NyströmAverage Rating: 5.13Back to team tabs

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

Head here to get involved

More on this story

Visite BBC para ler a matéria completa.

O Cidades do meu Brasil é apenas um agregador de notícias e não tem responsabilidade pelos textos publicados. O conteúdo de cada artigo é de responsabilidade exclusiva de seus respectivos autores e veículos de comunicação.