Arsenal Women 4 – 3 West Ham Women

Arsenal scored three times in seven second-half minutes to come back from 3-1 down to beat West Ham 4-3 in a Women’s Super League classic.

West Ham had raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 12 minutes through Amber Tysiak’s double before Chloe Kelly scored her first goal since returning to Arsenal before the break.

The visitors appeared to be heading for a shock victory when Shekiera Martinez restored their two-goal lead in the 51st minute but only 11 minutes later they would trail.

Katie McCabe netted from an improbable angle, catching goalkeeper Kinga Szemik out at her near post, to pull one back in the 56th minute.

And within 120 seconds, Leah Williamson had levelled the game with a superb header at a corner that Szemik tipped onto the underside of the crossbar but couldn’t stop from crossing the line.

Arsenal were rampant and forced a penalty when Kirsty Smith handled in the area, with Mariona Caldentey stepping up and finding the bottom-left corner to complete the incredible comeback in the 62nd minute.

West Ham, who now sit ninth, nearly equalised through substitute Anouk Dento, whose powerful shot from distance was tipped over by Daphne van Domselaar, and from the resulting corner Arsenal scrambled the ball off the line after the goalkeeper had pushed the ball onto the crossbar.

Arsenal remain third, eight points behind leaders Chelsea.

Williamson: I never thought we’d lose

Arsenal defender and Player of the Match Leah Williamson told Sky Sports:

“This sounds cliched but I never thought we were going to lose. We were just getting frustrated in the first half but I thought we would turn it around. We could have moved things a lot quicker and conceding the third goal made it bit harder for ourselves.

“Chloe [Kelly] was unbelievable today and when you need an injection of something she has a bit of bite about her. We needed that today to turn things around.

On her goal: “We practise those [corners] all the time. West Ham had 110 corners and they had not conceded yet this year and I was focused on turning that around today. Chloe put the ball on my head.”

Kelly: Hopefully I can repay Arsenal’s faith

Arsenal forward Chloe Kelly told Sky Sports:

“I had full belief. I know the talent we have in this group and know that we can always score goals. The belief was always there.

“It feels like years ago [her first Arsenal goal]. It was unbelievable to get a goal back here. This club is amazing and I am grateful for the opportunity. Hopefully I can repay it now.”

Skinner: I’m sure the third goal didn’t cross line

West Ham boss Rehanne Skinner told Sky Sports:

“I thought first half we capitalised on our chances really well, showed our pace, got in behind and our set play deliveries were really good. We were not prepared to let anything go, fighting for everything and got goals out of the game. They weren’t expecting us to play in a back five and we did it really, really well. I am proud of the players’ efforts today.

“There was a chaotic moment where I thought there was a lot of direct play from Arsenal and we didn’t clear our lines well enough. Unfortunately, the ball kept dropping to them and we did not deal with it.

“I need to see the third goal back because I’m pretty sure it didn’t cross the line, it is important to look back at that. We didn’t quite see out that section of the game and that is where it got away from us.

“There were so many fouls today that were not given. There are a lot of question marks over that. There was also a pull-back on the edge of the box as we were about to shoot and it wasn’t given. It is what it is.

“We scored three fantastic goals and caused a lot of problems. There are a lot of positives for us to take out of the game heading into Wednesday night.”

Slegers: We showed character and strength

Arsenal boss Renee Slegers told Sky Sports:

“I was saying before that we pride ourselves on clean sheets and being solid to beat defensively, so we put ourselves in a situation that we have not been in before as a team since I was here.

“I am very proud of the way that the girls kept calm and composed, found the solutions and kept digging in – I think it shows great strength and character. That is why we are standing here with a win.

“When we had positive momentum we were able to capitalise on it in the second half. This game gives us positive feedback on how to deal with hard times.

“They had a very tall team on the pitch today. They are strong on set-pieces. The pitch was very hard, too, so that made it hard for us to play. Part of it was the pitch and part of it was us letting the ball in central areas too much where the space was in the wide areas. The ball was in spaces for them to turn it over and counter-attack.

“I am happy to hear [the players believed in the team] because it is important for them to believe in what we do. As a player it is easier to believe because you can influence it on the pitch and impact what is happening. Also the support from the fans kept us believing. They kept calm and kept supporting.”

Story of the match in stats

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