Olli Harder hailed Kate Longhurst’s surprise versatility after West Ham clinched a hard-fought 2-1 win at Reading in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
Emma Snerle and Yui Hasegawa grabbed the goals for the Hammers before Faye Bryson’s late consolation cut the gap for Reading in stoppage time.
Midfielder Longhurst, 32, deputised in a back three for Harder’s side as West Ham defended resolutely to prevent a rousing Reading fightback and move up to sixth in the table.
And boss Harder, 36, said after the game: “I must say that Kate Longhurst did a fantastic job as a makeshift defender.
“She showed her experience and character.
“The first 60 minutes, I thought we established some really good control and put together a really professional, polished performance.
“It got a little bit scrappy in the last half hour, which invited Reading back into the game.
“A lot of spaces we were attacking, and all the work we’ve done was applied on the training pitch.
“In the first half, they’ve got their rewards because they found the right spaces, but we didn’t get the goal.
“The first goal was really crucial, and I thought that put everything back into perspective for us.
“We were disappointed not to score before half-time, and to come out straight away and score was a fantastic way to put an exclamation mark on what was a really good first-half.”
The Hammers came close to taking the lead in the eighth minute when Snerle’s close-range effort forced Reading goalkeeper Grace Moloney into a smart save.
Lisa Evans, Dagny Brynjarsdottir and Kate Longhurst all went close before Adriana Leon wasted the visitors’ best chance after Moloney pulled off an impressive stop.
Reading created their first meaningful opportunity moments later, but Lily Woodham’s powerful effort towards the near post was parried away by West Ham goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.
Snerle’s looping half-volley broke the deadlock at the start of the second half – and Reading were unable to respond despite falling a goal behind.
The Hammers doubled their lead when Evans launched a bursting run and squared the ball to Japanese ace Hasegawa, who cut past two Reading players to slot the ball into the net.
Bryson’s scrambled effort cut the gap in stoppage time but was not enough to prevent Reading’s winless run extending to eight Barclays FA WSL matches.
Snerle’s strike got the ball rolling for West Ham in Berkshire and Harder, whose team travel to Manchester United for their penultimate game of the season next weekend, added: “It was fantastic for Emma Snerle to score her first goal for the club.
“Reading didn’t look like scoring until they did score – they never really threatened us apart from one opportunity before they did score.
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