# 2018–19 West Ham United F.C. Women season

The 2018–19 West Ham United F.C. Women season was the club's 28th season in existence and their first in the FA Women's Super League, the highest level of the football pyramid and their first as a fully professional team. Along with competing in the WSL, the club also contested two domestic cup competitions: the FA Cup and the League Cup.
On 28 May 2018, it was announced that West Ham United Ladies had been granted a WSL licence, promoting the team from the third-tier FA Women's Premier League. Rosie Kmita and Vyan Sampson were the only players to remain with the club and sign on professional terms following promotion. Former WSL winner Matt Beard was appointed head coach on 7 June 2018. They changed their name to West Ham United F.C. Women in July 2018.
The season was also notable as the subject of the BBC behind-the-scenes documentary Britain's Youngest Football Boss.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Becky Spencer |
| 2 | DF | NZL | Ria Percival |
| 3 | DF | USA | Erin Simon |
| 4 | DF | USA | Brooke Hendrix |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Gilly Flaherty (captain) |
| 6 | MF | NED | Tessel Middag |
| 7 | FW | SUI | Alisha Lehmann |
| 8 | FW | IRL | Leanne Kiernan |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Jane Ross |
| 10 | MF | GER | Julia Simic |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 11 | DF | ENG | Claire Rafferty |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Kate Longhurst |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Anna Moorhouse |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Vyan Sampson |
| 15 | MF | USA | Brianna Visalli |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Rosie Kmita |
| 17 | FW | NED | Esmee de Graaf |
| 18 | MF | NED | Lucienne Reichardt |
| 19 | FW | CAN | Adriana Leon |
| 20 | MF | KOR | Cho So-hyun |

## FA Women's Super League
### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 11 May 2019. Source: FA WSL

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 5 | Reading | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 33 | 30 | +3 | 27 |
| 6 | Bristol City | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 34 | −17 | 25 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 23 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 22 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 38 | −22 | 16 |

## FA Women's League Cup
### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | WPEN | LPEN | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ARS | WHU | LEW | CHA | MIL |
| 1 | Arsenal | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | +18 | 12 | Advance to knock-out stage | — | 3–1 | — | 5–0 | — |
| 2 | West Ham United | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 9 | Advance to knock-out stage | — | — | 4–1 | — | 4–0 |
| 3 | Lewes | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 6 | | 0–9 | — | — | 5–0 | — |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 14 | −10 | 3 | | — | 0–2 | — | — | 4–2 |
| 5 | Millwall Lionesses | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 0 | | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | — | — |

### Knockout phase
## Squad statistics
### Appearances

Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | FA WSL | FA WSL | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Becky Spencer | 16 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | NZL | Ria Percival | 25 | 0 | 15+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Erin Simon | 23 | 0 | 16+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Brooke Hendrix | 23 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Gilly Flaherty | 29 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | NED | Tessel Middag | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | SUI | Alisha Lehmann | 30 | 9 | 20 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | IRL | Leanne Kiernan | 22 | 6 | 10+5 | 2 | 3+2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Jane Ross | 30 | 11 | 18+2 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | GER | Julia Simic | 15 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | ENG | Claire Rafferty | 22 | 1 | 11+2 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Kate Longhurst | 29 | 3 | 17+2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Anna Moorhouse | 16 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Vyan Sampson | 19 | 0 | 6+6 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | USA | Brianna Visalli | 30 | 5 | 16+4 | 1 | 1+4 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Rosie Kmita | 20 | 4 | 1+13 | 1 | 0+3 | 1 | 2+1 | 2 |
| 17 | FW | NED | Esmee de Graaf | 14 | 3 | 7+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 2 |
| 18 | MF | NED | Lucienne Reichardt | 21 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | CAN | Adriana Leon | 10 | 3 | 4+2 | 1 | 3+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | KOR | Cho So-hyun | 12 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Rank | No. | Pos. | Name | FA WSL | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 9 | FW | Jane Ross | 7 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 | 7 | FW | Alisha Lehmann | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | 8 | FW | Leanne Kiernan | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 15 | MF | Brianna Visalli | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | 16 | FW | Rosie Kmita | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | 10 | MF | Julia Simic | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | 12 | MF | Kate Longhurst | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 17 | MF | Esmee de Graaf | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | 19 | FW | Adriana Leon | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | 5 | DF | Gilly Flaherty | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 11 | DF | Claire Rafferty | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 25 | 13 | 11 | 49 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From |
| 13 June 2018 | GK | Becky Spencer | Chelsea |
| 15 June 2018 | DF | Claire Rafferty | Chelsea |
| 20 June 2018 | MF | Brianna Visalli | Chicago Red Stars |
| 25 June 2018 | DF | Gilly Flaherty | Chelsea |
| 5 July 2018 | FW | Esmee de Graaf | PEC Zwolle |
| 5 July 2018 | MF | Lucienne Reichardt | Ajax |
| 6 July 2018 | GK | Anna Moorhouse | Arsenal |
| 9 July 2018 | FW | Jane Ross | Manchester City |
| 14 July 2018 | MF | Tessel Middag | Manchester City |
| 18 July 2018 | FW | Leanne Kiernan | Shelbourne |
| 19 July 2018 | DF | Brooke Hendrix | Brescia |
| 20 July 2018 | MF | Julia Simic | Freiburg |
| 3 August 2018 | DF | Ria Percival | FC Basel |
| 6 August 2018 | FW | Alisha Lehmann | Young Boys |
| 9 August 2018 | MF | Kate Longhurst | Liverpool |
| 14 September 2018 | DF | Erin Simon | Sky Blue FC |
| 12 January 2019 | FW | Adriana Leon | Seattle Reign |
| 13 January 2019 | MF | Cho So-hyun | Avaldsnes IL |