‘It means everything’ – Everton’s interim boss Phelan reacts to his first victory at Goodison Park | OneFootball

Everton’s interim head coach Scott Phelan was delighted to celebrate his first victory at Goodison Park as The Toffees defeated West Ham United 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Honoka Hayashi netted the only goal of the game as Everton made it three consecutive Barclays Women’s Super League wins.

When speaking to the media after the match, Everton’s interim boss Phelan spoke about the importance of that third successive maximum points return.

“I’m pleased in terms of the results,” Phelan said. “We couldn’t have asked for much more in terms of points because the situation in the table meant we needed to win games of football to keep climbing away from the wrong end, so that’s been really positive. The girls being able to complete three wins back-to-back is tough at any moment in the league and at any end of the table.

“Huge congratulations to them for the effort that they’ve put in and that’s been rewarded with nine points out of nine. I’m just really happy for them, I’m proud and it does mean a lot. We just need to make sure the three wins that we have had count for something and we continue to move forward.”

The Gwladys Street End was rocking and the atmosphere felt electric for the first time in a long time. Phelan commented on what the support means, not only to him but also for the players.

He said “It means everything. We felt it straight away, the songs that the fans were singing helped us a lot. We asked for people to arrive at the stadium and bring some energy and enthusiasm and they definitely did that.

“There were moments of the game where we probably didn’t have as much control as we would have liked, so definitely hearing the fans singing the songs and getting behind the players just helps. We’ve still got more games to play at the stadium, so hopefully they can continue that noise.”

Match-winner Hayashi continued her impressive form with a goal and Phelan had nothing-but-praise for the player.

He said “She’s an intelligent player, her appreciation of the game is really good. A lot of her work, apart from the goals, goes unnoticed in open play. She seems to arrive in the right areas at the right time and she’s somebody that we feel we can rely on in the middle of the pitch.

“She’s just one part of the team’s effort. Goals have contributed over the course of the season and obviously, the one today helped get us three points.”

Everton return to action when they face Liverpool in an Adobe Women’s FA Cup Merseyside derby at the BrewDog Stadium on Sunday.