West Ham 2 Charlton 0
Charlton Women suffered a 2-0 defeat to West Ham in their BWSL clash at Victoria Road.
After a quiet start for both sides, the first effort on goal came after 21 minutes, when West Ham’s Viviane Asseyi fired over the bar from distance.
Two minutes later, Grace Johnston showed impressive pace and determination to deny Leila Wandeller a goalscoring opportunity, making a superb recovery run before snuffing out the danger with a last-ditch tackle.
West Ham took the lead in the 43rd minute through Asseyi, who cut in from the left and fired towards the bottom right-hand corner. Her shot took a slight deflection, carrying it beyond Koivunen and into the net.
Charlton began the second half in West Ham’s half, but Asseyi struck again to extend the hosts’ lead, curling a direct free kick into the top corner.
Despite trailing 2-0, the Addicks continued to push forward, with both full-backs working tirelessly up and down the flanks to try and breach the West Ham backline.
Finland international Anna Koivunen pulled off a smart save from Ebony Salmon in the 78th minute to prevent the Irons finding a third.
She was then called into action once again two minutes later and again prevented Salmon from scoring as she smartly tipped her curling shot past the post for a corner.
The Addicks continued to probe but were unable to find a way past a strong West Ham defence.
Charlton: Koivunen; Fitzgerald, Skeels, N’Dow (Cissoko 64), Waldie, Johnston; Kenney (Azzaro 54), Davidson, Flannery (Humphrey 84), Korhonen (Robe 84); Lockwood
Subs (not used): Whitehouse, Mason, Neville, van Egmond, Lobato
Booked: Johnston 45+1 (dissent), Flannery 56 (pull), Korhonen 71 (foul)
West Ham: Picaud, Codina, Belloumou, Kumagai, Zelem, Gago (Salmon 76), Asseyi, Riesen (Tennebo 83), Wandeler (Morgan 66 (Endo 83)), Cascarino, Piubel (Ueki 66)
Subs (not used): Walsh, Endo, Siren, Nystrom, Salmon, Peacock
Goals: Asseyi 43, 53
Assist: Gago 43
Booked: Riesen 45+1
Referee: Abigail Byrne