Lewes Women and West Ham play out an entertaining pre-season draw at the Beacon
A bumper crowd in excess of 300 turned out at the Beacon as Hassocks hosted a pre-season friendly between Lewes Women and West Ham United on Sunday 7th August 2022.
With the Dripping Pan unavailable, the Rooks asked about using the Beacon. Hassocks were only too happy to help, accepting the opportunity to play host to two sides from the top two divisions of the English football pyramid.
Lewes play in the second-tier Championship and are known as Equality FC for being the only club in the world who pay their male and female players the same wages.
The Hammers meanwhile are a fully fledged Womens Super League outfit, finishing the 2021-22 season in sixth spot and reaching the semi finals of the FA Cup.
In October last year, they pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the WSL campaign when winning 2-0 against a Manchester City side containing Lionesses Jill Scott, Alex Greenwood, Keira Walsh, Lauren Hemp and Ellen White.
Coming a week after England had brought football home by winning Euro 2022 at Wembley, the people of Mid Sussex came in their droves with the women’s game now more popular than ever before.
They ended up seeing a 2-1 win for Lewes, who came from behind after West Ham had taken an early lead. Grace Fisk powered home a header for the Hammers from a corner swung over by Japanese international midfielder Yui Hasegwa.
West Ham had started strongly. Claudia Walker almost opened the scoring after six minute but her strike from a Lisa Evans cross lacked the required power to beat Sophie Whitehouse in the Lewes goal.
Walker had the chance to double the Hammers advantage from the penalty spot after Jess Ziu was brought down in the area. Whitehouse though pulled off an excellent save from the resulting penalty.
Ziu was causing real problems down the right. Her next contribution was to play the perfect ball to Kirsty Smith who could not quite connect as the chance whistled past.
Lewes punished West Ham’s wastefulness by turning the game on its head with two goals in as many minutes just before half time. Emily Kraft scored both with two powerful finishes Mackenzie Arnold could not get near.
Hammers boss Paul Konchesky and his opposite number for Lewes Scott Booth made several changes for the second half, meaning the game lacked the intensity of the first.
Ziu thought she had equalised with a rebound after Whitehouse saved from Hasegwa, only for the assistant referee’s flag to go up for offside.
Hassocks Ladies begin their own Sussex County Women’s League season away at Saltdean United on Saturday 4th September.
The first chance to watch the Robins at home comes a week later against Seaford Town. Kick off is at 2pm and entrance is free.
