West Ham boss Paul Konchesky has called on his players to "be more ruthless" in front of goal following a 3-0 defeat to Everton in the Women's Super League.
West Ham travelled to Merseyside looking to bounce back from last weekend's narrow defeat to Manchester City, with Konchesky opting to stick with the same XI that were edged out at the Chigwell Construction Stadium. However, it was a nightmare start for the Hammers, who fell behind inside three minutes thanks to a super header from Karen Holmgaard.
Things quickly went from bad to worse for Konchesky's side as the hosts doubled their advantage minutes later through defender Megan Finnigan. West Ham spurned the chance to pull one back early in the second half; Kate Loghurt blazing an effort over the bar from just a few yards out.
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And the Hammers were made to pay for a missed opportunity as substitute Aggie Beever-Jones rifled a stunning long-range effort into the top corner to seal the three points for Everton.
"I thought we were really good after the first ten minutes," Konchesky said after the game. "The goals (we conceded) are unacceptable.
"They're terrible goals from our point of view to concede and it’s always going to be a mountain to climb to try and get back into the game especially here at Everton. They’re organised and they’re hard to break down so to give them two goals its always going to be hard for us."
He added: "The goals we conceded today came from two senior players which you don’t expect. If it’s a younger one you probably expect it a little bit so it’s tough to take. After (conceding) I thought we were really good but just not ruthless enough in their attacking third and not ruthless enough in our box as well."
The result means West Ham stay seventh in the table, with the visit of title hopefuls Arsenal next to come in the league in two weeks' time. But despite the result, the Hammers have still made their best-ever start to a WSL season and Konchesky has backed his side to bounce back when they take on Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the Continental League Cup on Wednesday.
"It’s been our best start but we want to get better and better," he said. "You need to pick up points on the road, especially from the teams around us.
"It’s been a good start but we need to dust ourselves down because we’ve got a tough few games and we need to look forward to our next game in the Conti Cup."
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