Credit: Tung Manh Phan

Richie Mills

Mon 27 April 2026 15:40, UK

Rita Guarino hopes West Ham United Women can start to show more attacking quality after their superb defensive effort in the 1-0 win over Liverpool.

West Ham took an early lead through a Cornelia Kapocs own goal, and it could have been two if Viviane Assey had found a way past goalkeeper Jennifer Falk.

But after that, it was all hands to the pump for the visitors at BrewDog Stadium as Liverpool dominated possession and chances, but couldn’t find an equaliser.

The result means basement side Leicester City must win all three of their remaining WSL games to have a chance of overtaking West Ham in the battle to avoid the relegation play-off position.

Guarino was pleased with West Ham’s defensive unit against Liverpool, but is eager for the Hammers to show more going forward in the future.

West Ham’s defence shines again

West Ham Women secured their second clean sheet in four games as they condemned Liverpool to just their third defeat of the year.

And while they had their chances, Liverpool were better on the ball, had a higher pass accuracy (84% vs 76%) and looked the more likely to score after their own goal.

But Guarino’s team dug in as centre-back Estelle Cascarino won West Ham’s Player of the Match award.

While they are practically safe now, the Hammers boss knows what areas of their game they must improve if they want to climb the table.

She told West Ham: “It was an important performance, especially in the defence. We played well in the first half, we scored early, and then we had two opportunities to score again. But for the rest of the game, we defended very well.

“It’s important for me to see the growth of the team, to see how they fight to do better every day. It’s very important that I can see how they transform the training session in the game.

“It was not a plan to defend more; it was the opponent that pushed more forward. We were not able, when we had the ball, to stay up, and manage the ball better. It was not a plan to defend the whole second half, but they did well.”

Rita Guarino earning her keep at West Ham

Guarino replaced Rehanne Skinner just before Christmas on an 18-month deal in what was her first managerial role outside of her native Italy.

Since taking over, the Italian has secured league wins over lowly Liverpool and Leicester and mid-table Brighton, while earning creditable draws with Manchester United and London City.

Despite being just above the relegation zone, Guarino was not worried about West Ham dropping out of the WSL this season.

And she has been proven right after a battling win at Liverpool. Next up, they travel to Aston Villa in their penultimate game of the season.