Skinner: It was a whole team performance

A first goal for the club from Lucia Garcia, as well as a composed finish from Hannah Blundell proved to be the difference in Dagenham, as United continued our strong start to the 2022/23 campaign. 

Following up on last week's opening-day victory over Reading, Skinner opted to remain with the same XI and praised the enthusiasm his side showed from the first whistle.

''I thought our energy in the first half was great, we were very dominant [in the] first half and we were just missing the little bits of quality in the final third,'' he began, speaking to MUTV following the game.

''We need to score when we create those chances and I think, when we reflect on that, we need to be more ruthless, but our energy was great as we were on top of West Ham a lot.

''The pitch is quite compact and small, so West Ham were going to try to look to counter quickly and I thought we kept that to a minimum honestly during the game. I was impressed with our energy and we need just a tiny bit of adjustment in the second half.

''I asked them in out pre-match meeting, do you want to be the hunter or do you want to be the prey. I asked them to prove who they wanted to be and, n the second half today, they went out and hunted the opponent. I was really pleased with us.''

Making it two wins from two so far this season, United's defence has also been praised for their efforts so far, with new addition Maya Le Tissier and Millie Turner now boasting two clean sheets, as part of our solid backline showing. 

With onus on keeping the ball out of the net key to any team's success, Skinner also commended those who were not involved against the Hammers, reiterating the need for complete cohesion throughout the squad.

''They really are,'' when it was suggested both Le Tissier and Turner are performing well.

''I'm also going to add Aissatou [Tounkara] and Maria [Thorisdottir] into that, as they help provide that depth and the quality. What it allows us to do is peak at the right time, move them in and out and they are becoming a real solid unit with Mary [Earps] and Baggers [Sophie Baggaley].

''For us, it is about building that solid wall that no-one can penetrate, even when we had to make blocks today, Ona [Batlle] was in great positions and when we defended the box from crosses.

''The backline were in those compact positions we want them to be in, so I felt they are the reason that we are in the position we are in, by keeping those clean sheets with the goalkeeper, and the focus on the energy from the front to press.''