Everton Women left it until the very last moment to secure all three points against West Ham, with a dramatic late free-kick from Yuka Momiki sealing a 1-0 victory for the Blues.
Everton started brightly at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, immediately looking to put pressure on the hosts. Ornella Vignola was quick to spot the West Ham goalkeeper off her line and attempted to catch her out with a ball towards goal, but it lacked the necessary power and was headed clear by the Hammers defence.
The resulting clearance fell to Rosa van Gool, who looked to capitalise while the hosts were still unsettled. The midfielder struck from the edge of the box, but her effort drifted narrowly wide of the left post.
Everton continued to show their attacking intent, with Holly McNamara trying her luck from distance in an attempt to catch Constance Picaud-Inconnu off her line, although her effort sailed just over the crossbar.
The Blues had to remain alert at the other end, however, as West Ham looked to exploit any gaps in the Everton backline. Hannah Blundell showed good defensive awareness to chase down Viviane Asseyi who had found herself in behind the defence, preventing her from getting a shot away at Courtney Brosnan.
The hosts continued to threaten from distance, with Riko Ueki’s effort flying over Brosnan’s goal, after applying pressure on the Blues’ backline led her to intercept a pass.
In a busy opening half, Everton won a dangerous free-kick when McNamara was fouled in a promising position on the edge of the box. Hannah Cain delivered the resulting set piece towards the head of Hannah Silcock, but the defender was unable to direct her effort towards goal.
West Ham then came close to breaking the deadlock shortly before the interval when former Everton striker Kelly Gago found herself on the end of a quick counter-attack. Her effort from inside the box forced Brosnan into her first save of the afternoon, with the goalkeeper reacting quickly to keep the scores level.
Everton responded after the restart and created their most promising opportunity of the game so far. Vignola’s curling pass out towards the right wing released Cain, who drove forward before delivering a dangerous ball into the box.
The cross caused problems for the West Ham defence and eventually created an opening for Kitagawa, whose strike forced the hosts’ goalkeeper into a save.
But after 94 minutes, Momiki stepped up to deliver in dramatic fashion after winning a free kick deep on the right wing. Her set piece sailed across the crowded penalty area and evaded everyone, finding the far corner of the net to send the Blues into celebrations.
That goal proved the difference, pushing the Blues up to fifth in the WSL table, with Everton’s next league fixture coming against local rivals Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on September 27th.
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