Lauren Burton’s first-half goal was enough for Reading to secure all three points in a wet and cold afternoon in East London.

It proved to be a frustrating afternoon for West Ham as they failed to convert their chances into goals. West Ham captain Kenza Dali's penalty miss in the second half proved costly and extend their winless run in the Women’s Super League.

Matt Beard’s side has yet to register their first win of the season and face Brighton and Hove Albion in the Continental Cup on Wednesday night.

Both sides will face eachother again in the Continental Cup at the Chigwell Construction Stadium early next month.

  • Story of the match

It was a bright start for the home side when Adriana Leon’s diving header went over the bar, followed by Alisha Lehmann’s delivered cross.

West Ham mounted further pressure as skipper Dali’s low cross found Kate Longhurst who failed to keep her effort on goal. The home side played some lovely football and a lapse of concentration from Reading’s centre-backs on both occasions.

Reading faced a major setback when Fara Williams suffered a knock and was replaced by Brooke Chaplen.

The visitors started to grow into the game and summer signing Emma Mitchell’s long cross forced an athlete save by West Ham goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and earned Reading a corner.

The Royals broke the deadlock in the 26th minute through Bruton’s close-range finish at the near post. This was followed by a brilliant cross from Reading captain Natasha Harding finding Bruton who poked the ball past Arnold to open the scoring.

The 27-year old almost doubled Reading’s lead early in the second half. Royals midfielder Angharad James played a smart ball to Bruton at the front post, but it was palmed away by the West Ham goalkeeper.

The home side regained dominance and came so close for an equaliser. This time, Leon’s low-range effort hits the frame of the woodwork and skipper Dali’s rebounded effort at the near post forced a save by Grace Moloney.

The Canadian international has another effort on goal and forced another brilliant save from Moloney at the near post.

Royals keeper's involvement does not stop here as the home side piled more pressure in the opposition’s penalty area. West Ham’s Rachel Daly reacted instantly to a free-kick into the Reading box, the summer signing prodded the ball past the keeper who was brought down and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.

Reading shot stopper redeemed herself and dived to her left to save a penalty from Hammers captain Dali, which kept the visitors in the game.

Former Arsenal forward Danielle Carter’s long-range effort forced a staggering save from Arnold.

West Ham enjoyed a fair share of possession and worked tirelessly to level the game. It proved to be a collective effort from Reading who stood firm to see out this game and deserved all three points.

  • Takeaways from the match

Reading’s defensive effort

We got to give credit to Kelly Chamber’s side in terms of their defensive effort throughout the game. Apart from the first ten minutes, they were caught off-guard but eventually grew into the game.

The defensive back-line: Harding, Deanna Cooper, Mitchell, Molly Bartrip all shined through and showed a lot of physicality. The aim was to win the game but found another way of winning this game (was to win ugly). They held firm, were strong, physical and frustrated West Ham’s play by being defensively drilled. Reading’s full-backs read the game brilliantly.

It wasn’t down to the Reading defence; it was a collective effort and every player did their defensive shift. They found pockets of space and dominate areas of the pitch where the ball is.

In particular, Carter’s effort both with/without the ball was sensational. She can frustrate the Hammers’ backline and in certain occasions, they struggled to get the ball of her and showed Carter’s willingness to fight for the team. Carter’s defensive approach was instilled with the rest of the team and it was clearly evident. Most importantly, Reading could be one of the dark horses in this campaign.

  • Player of the match

Emma Mitchell – Emma had a sensational performance against West Ham. She was strong, firm and read the game incredibly well. Former Arsenal and Tottenham left-back’s experiences shined throughout the team and demonstrated her leadership qualities too.

The 28-year-old was also good going forward and built an understanding with the attacking players. Her link up was excellent and posed a threat every time she had the ball.

She will definitely be a key part in Reading’s season with regular game time and cementing her place in the starting XI.