{
  "id": 6149322,
  "title": "West Ham “need to be much better” on the ball, says head coach Rita Guarino.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/west-ham-need-to-be-much-better-on-the-ball-says-head-coach-rita",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-07T16:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/west-ham-much-better-ball-164500745.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "West Ham coach Rita Guarino believes her team needs to significantly improve their ball-playing style. The Hammers suffered a 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in their WSL season opener, with Viviane Asseyi scoring the only goal. Guarino stated, \"We need to be much better.\" Initially, the match was evenly contested, but Spurs took the lead quickly through Signe Gaupset and solidified their lead with two more goals, including one by Kirsty Hanson on her debut. Guarino acknowledged the difficulty of recovering from conceding two goals. She plans to learn from the match and work towards growth and improvement. The team aims to replicate their second-half success from last season. This season, West Ham has added new players like Saki Kumagai, Laia Codina, Estelle Cascarino, and Katie Zelem, shifting their focus from defensive safety to attacking play. Tottenham's strong start is attributed to their high-quality football, which Guarino recognizes as a challenge for West Ham to overcome.",
  "summary": "The Hammers suffered a 3-1 defeat away against Spurs in their opening game of the WSL season, with a consolatory goal from Viviane Asseyi in added time providing little comfort.Speaking after the matc...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}