As soon as West Ham United women’s team returned to the changing room following our 5-0 win over Southampton on Wednesday night, the squad were already looking ahead to the weekend’s test against Everton in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
The feel-good factor was well and truly back at Chigwell Construction Stadium in midweek, as Rehanne Skinner’s side ran riot to collect a third successive victory in the Subway® Women's League Cup.
Viviane Asseyi opened the scoring after the hour mark with a well-placed header, before Shekiera Martinez fired home a ruthless volley and Ffion Morgan slotted away our third. Both Asseyi and Martinez found the net again in second-half stoppage time to cap off a memorable night - the perfect precursor for Sunday’s visit of the Toffees.
After full-time on Wednesday, two-goal Martinez walked out of the tunnel to speak to us with a smile on her face having taken her tally in the cup to four goals, the most in the competition. The Germany U23 international thrives under the lights, claiming she feels like a werewolf, and she was pleased with her clinical finishing against the Saints.
“It was a fun game to play in,” she reflected. “We deserved to win, to score that many goals and I’m happy we’re all happy!
“Rehanne [Skinner] just told me to go in the box and be ready for the balls coming in. That’s what I tried to do. I tried to be ready in the box all the time.
“I’ve said it before, but when I don’t think, shots like this come off. I think I could feel it, and maybe people could see that I haven’t had time to think about them. I like it when it’s like this.
“All of the goals were really well taken, really important goals and also really nice to watch!”
Martinez’s brace came after she was on target in our league draw against Leicester City last Sunday. Her near-post finish from Anouk Denton’s cross was her eleventh WSL goal in 2025, which makes her the league’s leading scorer across the calendar year.
Our No19, with four goals in her last five games in all competitions, will have her eyes on scoring in a third successive match when we play Everton on Sunday, a team she has happy memories of facing.
In January against the Blues, Martinez headed home her maiden goal in Claret and Blue - the first of ten she would go on to score in the second half of last season. She insisted the Hammers are heading into the game brimming with confidence after our free-scoring performance in midweek.
“I hope we take this (confidence) into the game against Everton,” she said.
“I think we will because in the changing room after the [Southampton] game, everyone was happy, we were pushing each other and we were already talking about the game on Sunday. We’ll be ready.
“Playing at home is the best. I love to play here, in front of the fans.
“I think every game I’ve played gives me good memories, but I want to do better. Hopefully [I] score as well, not only in this game, but [in] every game we play.”
