New pavilion for girls

West Ham United Ladies Under-11s celebrated the opening of the new £1.2m Flanders Playing Fields pavilion by beating the Tigers 4-0 on Sunday to retain their place at the top of Essex County Women's and Girls' Alliance A Division table.

Goals from Amber Stokes, Chloe Webster, Charlotte Devlin and Layla Carvell were more than enough for the Hammers to extend their unbeaten run to 13 matches in league and cup.

The pavilion, situated on the historical recreation ground in Melbourne Road, East Ham, was funded by The Football Foundation. Additional donations were also made by the London Marathon Trust, Biffa waste management and the England and Wales Cricket Board, while the facility will be maintained by the Bonny Downs Community Association Sports Project.

Work on the clubhouse, which contains six changing rooms, a snack bar and a lounge for parents and supporters, began in June 2007. Its opening was marked with a comprehensive performance from West Ham's youngest girls' team.

Webster scored the first goal in the 24th minute to give the Hammers a 1-0 half-time advantage before Devlin, Carvell and Stokes all hit the target after the break.

Coach Luke Berry was pleased to mark such an important day in the club's development with a resounding victory.

"Sunday's was a big result for the girls. Tigers are one of the toughest teams we play against as they too like to play football and attack team. I changed things about to prevent Tigers from attacking in the first half and it did work. The girls took time to settle but once they did, the football they produced was brilliant.

"The goals that were scored were brilliant and made my day. All the hard work the girls put in at training came through. Overall I was so proud of the girls."

The Under-11s return to action after a two-week break when they travel to face Leigh Ramblers on Sunday 26 April.

West Ham United Ladies run two senior and four junior teams at Under-16, 14, 12 and 11 levels. The first-team were held to a goalless draw by Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday to leave them six points behind FA Tesco Premier League South leaders Millwall Lionesses.