Manchester United beat West Ham 2-1 for Eva Olid’s first WSL victory

Manchester United beat West Ham United 2-1 on Sunday to secure their first Women’s Super League win of the season and Eva Olid’s first league victory as the club’s manager. Elisabeth Terland put United ahead early at Progress With Unity Stadium in Leigh, and Andrea Medina added a second after the break. Viviane Asseyi’s stoppage-time penalty gave West Ham a late goal, but United held on.

The result ended a winless opening three league matches for United. Olid’s side had lost 2-1 to London City Lionesses and 5-0 to Chelsea before drawing 1-1 with Arsenal. Sunday’s result changed that immediate record: United finally had a league win, although one result alone says little about how the rest of the season will unfold.

How United built the lead

Terland opened the scoring in the ninth minute, heading in an Anna Sandberg delivery following a corner. The goal came on Terland’s 50th start for Manchester United, according to the club’s match report. West Ham’s own account says the visitors began on the front foot but were behind inside ten minutes, a setback that forced them to chase the match early.

United took that 1-0 lead into halftime, according to United.no’s match report. Its account says West Ham initially controlled possession before United gradually took over. That description adds context to the scoreline: the early goal did not mean United had controlled every phase of the first half, even though they reached the interval in front.

West Ham had an opening of their own before Medina scored. Sky’s event log records a 61st-minute shot by Estelle Cascarino that United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce saved. The save kept United ahead by one goal during a stretch in which the match was still open, with neither side having added to Terland’s first-half strike.

Medina gave United a two-goal cushion in the 72nd minute. Sky describes her finish as a right-footed shot into the top-right corner. Manchester United says it was Medina’s first goal for the club since her arrival from Atlético de Madrid. With less than 20 minutes of normal time remaining, the goal left West Ham needing two to draw level.

A late penalty narrowed the margin

West Ham did get one goal back, but only in second-half stoppage time. Sky’s log says Sandberg fouled Asseyi in the penalty area; Asseyi won the penalty and converted it in the 90+2 minute. The league match record also lists Asseyi’s penalty at 90+2, confirming the timing of a goal that reduced United’s lead to 2-1.

Sky records the final whistle after seven minutes of second-half added time. Asseyi’s penalty therefore changed the margin without changing the winner. The league event record lists the three scorers as Terland, Medina and Asseyi, in that order. United had secured the first league result under Olid that brought three points rather than a defeat or draw.

What the win changes

United’s previous results matter when assessing the significance of Sunday’s match. The club’s results listing separates the league defeats and draw from a 10-1 midweek Subway Players Cup win over Sheffield United. That cup result was a win, but it did not end United’s wait for a WSL victory. The West Ham match did.

Manchester United says Olid made seven changes from the team that began the cup win. Compared with the league side that drew against Arsenal, however, the club records only one change to the starting lineup: Ella Toone replaced Simi Awujo. The league comparison gives a clearer picture of United’s selection for this match than the larger change from a cup fixture.

For West Ham, the late penalty was insufficient to recover from the two United goals. For United, the 2-1 scoreline brought a first league win after three fixtures without one and gave Olid her first WSL victory as manager. The available match accounts establish that result and its scoring sequence; they do not establish what it will mean for either side’s later results.