West Ham Women defender Kirsty Smith needs to bounce back after disappointing debut campaign

West Ham Women defender Kirsty Smith needs to bounce back following a disappointing debut campaign for the club.

The experienced 29-year-old signed for the Hammers from Manchester United last summer after penning a two-year deal with the East Londoners. But the Scotland international’s first season for the Irons perhaps didn’t go as well as she would have hoped following a few shaky performances.

Smith progressed through the ranks at Hibernian, making her debut in 2011 and went on to have considerable success with the club.

That earned her international prominence, and she currently has 49 caps for Scotland, for whom she participated in the country’s first-ever World Cup four years ago.

During her seven years with Hibs, she made 44 appearances and scored 17 goals, helping the Edinburgh club win the domestic double in both 2016 and 2017.

Smith’s outstanding performances for both club and nation drew the attention of Manchester United Women ahead of their maiden season in 2018.

The agile defender made 40 appearances for the Red Devils during her four-year stay, garnering valuable experience as they won the Championship in her debut season before fighting for a spot at the top of the WSL.

After appearing in 24 Premier League games for Manchester City, she joined West Ham United last summer as part of a defensive revamp.

Despite starting 19 league games and appearing in all 22, the left-back’s form was uneven, with SofaScore assigning her an average rating of 6.47 for the season – significantly lower than the majority of the Hammers’ starters.

The Irons only kept four clean sheets, and the defense won possession on 0.3 occasions after trying 1.6 tackles per game on average.

She made one interception and 1.6 clearances per game, although she was dribbled past 0.7 times as her team conceded 44 goals on their way to eighth place in the WSL.

Smith lost possession 18.5 times, won only 47% of her duels, and was effective in only 46% of the dribbles she tried.

The defender did not score a goal but did have two assists in her first season, however her pass success rate was 57% and only 17% of her crosses found one of her teammates as she averaged 44.1 touches per game.

Although the Scot didn’t have the best start to life with the Hammers, it wasn’t all her fault as the whole of the squad failed to deliver in what was ultimately a disastrous season.

The left-back still has a year left on her contract to prove her worth at this level, and she will be eager to help the squad improve its defensive record in the coming season.