Skinner keen for West Ham to build on previous performance against Chelsea | OneFootball

West Ham United manager Rehanne Skinner wants her side to build on their previous performance against Chelsea when the two teams meet at Kingsmeadow on Sunday.

The Hammers travel to the home of The Blues to contest an Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie.

West Ham United were defeated 2-0 by Chelsea earlier in the season. The East Londoners were very much in the game for the full 90 minutes as they put in a solid performance.

When speaking to the media ahead of the latest meeting, West Ham United boss Skinner said that she wants her side to build on the positives from their last match against Chelsea.

“It’s not the easiest of draws and it’s the one that people would want to avoid but at the same time, it is what it is, it’s football,” Skinner said.

“I think our performance against Chelsea [in the first half of the season] was one of our games which really bolstered the way that we were trying to play from the players’ perspective. We were so competitive in the game, we had opportunities and we limited their chances.

“They’ll be wanting to make a stance going into this game, I’ve got no doubt about that because that’s who they are and what they’re about. For us, it’s about building on what we did last time and the positives that we had against them. We want to take some of those chances and really put the pressure on.

“The FA Cup is the most prestigious competition in this country, it’s got such a national attachment to it. Everyone wants to play in the FA Cup and for us, there’s no point holding anything back, you’ve got to go for it with everything that you have. Anything can happen 11 v 11 in a cup game, so we’ve got to come out fighting for everything and start the new year the way that we want to portray ourselves going forward.”

Skinner went on to say that West Ham United won’t just be looking to stay in the tie on Sunday. The Hammers want to put pressure on the ball and make things uncomfortable for the hosts.

She said “I don’t think we’ve sat off anyone, so ultimately, we try and get pressure on the ball as early as we possibly can. Every team gives you different problems to face in terms of how you solve that, where that happens and who is the instigator in terms of your structure and theirs.

“We need to have that belief and confidence as a team. It’s a style that we want to play, we want to be as effective as we can.

“In any game, sometimes you end up in a mid-press, just by the nature of not being able to affect the ball on the edge of the box. It’s part of the game but for the most part, we want to try and make sure that we get pressure on the ball at the earliest opportunity that we can. That will help us build into the game in different areas and that’s really important.

“We always want to be pro-active, we want to control the game without the ball as much as we possibly can, sometimes that involves patience and sometimes it’s 100 miles per hour. It’s about recognising the right moments to be as effective as you can be. We constantly work on making the right decisions and how to go about that.

“It’s a cup game, we’ve got no fear, we’ve just got to play our way and see if it gets us the result that we want in the end.”

West Ham United’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Chelsea kicks-off at 1pm on Sunday afternoon.