West Ham United Women made a winning start to their Subway Players Cup campaign after beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 on penalties following a goalless draw.
Rita Guarino made six changes to the side beaten by Everton on Sunday and received the response she wanted at BetWright Stadium.
Neither team could find a breakthrough across 90 minutes, although West Ham created opportunities through Ebony Salmon and Kelly Gago before surviving two major late Tottenham chances.
Katie Zelem, Eva Nyström, Gago and Laia Codina then converted from the spot to secure the additional point available for winning the shootout.
Tottenham Women vs West Ham Women ends in shootout victory
Guarino had hinted that changes were coming for the Tottenham cup tie and followed through by making six alterations.
Yu Endo, Nyström, Ylinn Tennebø, Oona Siren, Salmon and Leila Wandeler were all brought into the starting XI.
West Ham began brightly.
Viviane Asseyi delivered several dangerous early set-pieces before Salmon saw an effort from the edge of the penalty area blocked.
The Hammers continued to threaten after the break, with Salmon and substitute Gago both going close as Guarino’s side searched for the opener.
Tottenham almost punished them late on.
Former West Ham forward Shekiera Martinez struck the post from close range with three minutes remaining before Codina produced a crucial block to deny Matilda Nildén another potential winner.
That intervention was particularly significant for a player whose importance to West Ham’s defence had been highlighted before the trip to Tottenham.
The match therefore went directly to penalties under the competition’s new format.
West Ham hold nerve from penalty spot
West Ham were almost flawless in the shootout.
Zelem, Nyström, Gago and Codina all converted, while Caitlin Dijkstra and Martinez failed to score for Tottenham.
The official West Ham match report confirmed the 4-3 shootout victory, giving Guarino’s side two points from their opening league-phase fixture.
It represents an important response after Sunday’s frustrating late defeat against Everton.
West Ham had also lost 3-1 on their previous visit to Tottenham earlier this month, making the defensive improvement particularly encouraging.
Supporters had been able to follow the build-up through our Tottenham Women vs West Ham Women match guide, but Wednesday’s contest ultimately became a test of squad depth after Guarino’s heavy rotation.
The result suggests those changes did not weaken West Ham.
A clean sheet, four successful penalties and a victory against an unbeaten Tottenham side gives the Hammers a positive start to the competition and some much-needed momentum heading into their next Women’s Super League fixture.
