Manchester United 2-1 West Ham: Eva Olid earns first WSL victory

ByKeifer MacDonald

BBC Sport journalist

Eva Olid claimed her first Women's Super League victory as Manchester United manager - but they were made to work hard as they beat West Ham.

Spaniard Olid, who replaced long-serving Marc Skinner in August, had picked up just one point from her opening three league matches.

Elisabeth Terland's header after nine minutes set United on their way to three points, before Andrea Medina scored what proved to be the winner from inside the area late in the second half.

Norway international Terland opened her account for the season by connecting with Anna Sandberg's corner from the right after some slack defending from the visitors.

But the Hammers, who had not beaten Sunday's opponents since December 2019, could have drawn level almost immediately through Kelly Gago.

The French forward should have done better with a header from a corner when she found herself unmarked, seconds before curling just wide of the near post from outside the area.

Even though there was little to separate the two sides as the first half went on, West Ham were indebted to goalkeeper Constance Picaud-Inconnu as she made an acrobatic save to keep out Medina's header on the stroke of half-time.

Medina almost doubled United's lead within 60 seconds of the restart half when she chopped inside and let fly, only for her effort to cannon back off the crossbar.

The impressive midfielder was rewarded for her persistence 18 minutes from time when she followed up a blocked shot by curling the ball into the top corner.

West Ham scored in the second minute of stoppage time, as Viviane Asseyi converted a penalty after being fouled by Sandberg, but the hosts held on and extend their unbeaten record against the Hammers to 13 league matches.

The three points lifted Olid's side up to ninth in the WSL, while West Ham fell to 13th before the rest of Sunday afternoon's fixtures.

Analysis: Olid off the mark at Man Utd at last

When Olid took over the reins at Manchester United last month, she would not have imagined that a run-of-the-mill WSL fixture against West Ham United would carry such importance.

But as the Red Devils rocked up to Leigh second from bottom of the table, having failed to win any of their first three matches of the season, all eyes were on the Spaniard.

Olid, who spent five years at Scottish side Hearts before joining United, did not have time to show any signs of nerves on the touchline, as her side had taken the lead with less than 10 minutes on the clock.

It was the perfect antidote for the new United boss after what had been a difficult start to the campaign, which had left her side on the brink of becoming the first United women's team to fail to win four successive WSL matches.

However, United's clinical edge in the final third was enough to kick-start their season and follow on from the impressive 10-1 thrashing of Sheffield United in the League Cup earlier in the week.

The Red Devils have now avoided defeat in their past 31 WSL matches when scoring first.

At one point, though, that long-standing record did not appear to offer comfort for Olid, as a sloppy foul from defender Sandberg allowed Hammers forward Asseyi to halve the deficit with less than three minutes of stoppage time left on the clock.

When the visitors surged forward from the restart, for a brief moment it seemed as though the pressure was going to pile on Olid and United further, and their search for a first win of the campaign would head into a fifth week.

By the time the referee's whistle sounded out, Olid could hardly contain her smile.

There is no denying that there will be much tougher tests for United in the WSL this campaign, but after achieving a first win in charge of the Red Devils, there are likely to be few victories cherished as keenly as this by Olid.

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