Man City 0-2 West Ham United: Gareth Taylor defiant despite growing pressure

Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor says he is the right person to take the team forward despite their third successive Women's Super League defeat.

Dagny Brynjarsdottir's header and Yui Hasegawa chipping the keeper from 40 yards in added time sealed the win.

"I hope so. I still believe massively," said Taylor when asked if he could turn things around after the poor start.

"I think I have proved I can bring a brand of football that is exciting to watch but is winning football.

"We are up against it. Everything seems to be going against us. We won't get help from anywhere else, we have to do it ourselves. I still thought we had enough out there to win it and we didn't. We are always fighting all the way."

City, who were also knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the qualifying stages, had a goal ruled out from Ellen White for offside after the break, before Laura Coombs struck the post.

It capped a frustrating afternoon, which condemned City to back-to-back defeats at home - Spurs inflicted the Citizens' first league defeat at the Academy Stadium since April 2018 when they won 2-1 last month.

'We're in a really tough moment'

Taylor's side, runners-up in the WSL last season, have won just one of their opening four games and were thumped 5-0 by Arsenal last week.

They have been hampered by injuries with key players Steph Houghton, Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh and Ellie Roebuck all missing in recent weeks.

West Ham, meanwhile, climb to fourth in the table with two wins and a draw in their opening four games.

"We dominated the first half, had numerous chances and numerous opportunities," Taylor added.

"We're in a tough moment, we're really in a tough moment. It will get better. We have to take responsibility. We need to score goals and don't concede at the other end. I know it sounds really simple but that's it!"

It will not get any easier for City as they travel to derby rivals Manchester United in their next WSL fixture on Saturday, 9 October (13:30 BST), live on BBC One.

West Ham had plenty to be pleased about as they put in a defensively solid performance before Hasegawa took advantage of Demi Stokes' mistake at the back to land a stunning late blow.

Boss Olli Harder hopes the victory over City can be used as a "benchmark" to close the gap on the WSL's leading sides as they prepare to travel to Birmingham City.

"I thought the players dug deep. City are a quality team, we knew that. We let them have the ball but pressed them high up the pitch when we could," said Harder.

"The girls are obviously pleased and it's about using that as a benchmark to move forward."