For a brief period during the 2017/18 season, Viviane Asseyi and Inès Belloumou played together at Marseille. Reunited at West Ham United women's team, the duo clearly have a good friendship - and it showed as they beamed following our 5-0 hammering of Southampton in the Subway® Women's League Cup on Wednesday evening.
The Hammers duo, rightly so, were all smiles on an evening when Rehanne Skinner’s side were ruthless in front of goal.
Asseyi was one of two players to net twice at Chigwell Construction Stadium, scoring a well-placed header and a sumptuous volley, while Shekiera Martinez bagged a brace with a pair of clinical finishes. Wales international Ffion Morgan also got in on the act with her second goal in Claret and Blue.
While it was an enthralling evening in east London, the most important thing was getting another three points in Group C, as we now sit three points clear at the top of the table with a ten-better goal difference than Charlton Athletic, with one game remaining.
“I thought it was a real team performance today,” said Asseyi. “Of course I’m happy to score, but I’m more happy when we win, and how we won.
“The team did well in the first half, which helped in the second half. We worked hard on corners in training and for the second goal I saw the goalkeeper a little bit out of her goal.
“The game at the weekend helped us to be better today. This is football, you have to be ready at every moment. It’s good for the confidence of the team, and we’ll just keep going and working.”
While Asseyi slightly downplayed her stunning second of the evening, Belloumou was quick to boost her confidence.
“That’s my Vivi,” she smiled. “She’s doing that every day at the training ground. But I did not expect that she would score with her head! She did well and I was really happy for her. I was not surprised [with the quality of her second goal].
“She’s not my friend, she’s my sister! I was really young when I played with her in Marseille, so we’re happy to be back together.
“It was really good [ to play all 90 minutes]. I like to play football! So when I’m on the pitch I give everything, even more when we win, so I’m really happy. It’s important we got a clean sheet for us defenders. Everyone got time on the pitch, and everyone played well, so we’re happy.
“I always like to play at home. When we are here, we want to do the job 100 per cent and give the fans happiness. Every team has to be scared to come here. We're happy we won, but we have to do more and more. Keep the good things in our head, but we have to do more. The cup is something and the league is another thing. We have to focus on Sunday.”
