West Ham Women eased their way through to the last eight of the Women’s League Cup after their 3-0 win against Southampton in their last home match of 2024.

Both times struggled to create many opportunities in the first half. Dagny Brynjarsdottir missed from the penalty spot 38 minutes in, but as the half time whistle blew, the game was goalless.

After a fairly quiet opening 45 minutes, Rehanne Skinner’s side showed their quality going forward in the second half. Defender Shelina Zadorsky scored her first goal for West Ham in the 60th minute, firing home from close range.

With 15 minutes to go, Southampton defender Paige Peake turned a cross from Brynjarsdottir in to her own net to give the Hammers a two goal lead. Brynjarsdottir would make up for her earlier penalty miss in stoppage time, following a goal mouth scramble, the midfielder wa in the right place at the right time to guide the ball past Southampton’s keeper and seal the win for West Ham.

The Hammers have been on top form in the League Cup winning all three of their matches in Group C, scoring an impressive 13 goals and conceding just two in the process. Rehanne Skinner’s side will be wanting to continue their excellent performances in the competition and see just how far this Cup run can take them.

A good cup run can make a massive difference to team morale and confidence in a dressing room. West Ham Women can take great pride in their League Cup performances so far. Confidence will already be high following a 5-2 league win over Crystal Palace, and if they are able to use their League Cup wins as a foundation to build on in their league season then they have a great chance of picking up more wins and finding themselves in a good position in the WSL.