West Ham United Women have been one of the quieter sides in the WSL this season, not being involved in the relegation scrap between Liverpool Women, Birmingham Women and Bristol City Women, but also not challenging for the European spots at the top of the league either. One player who has had a very impressive season for them is 21-year-old Switzerland forward Alisha Lehmann. This tactical analysis will look at how she creates passing options for her team with her movement, how she works with the front line, and how she is versatile in her playing style, meaning she fits West Ham’s tactics wherever she is asked to play.
Creating space
The first theme of Alisha Lehmann’s game that we will look at in this analysis is how she moves to create space for her team.
Here, we see how Alisha Lehmann, circled, is looking to get forward into the space. She likes to play on the shoulder of the defensive line, as we see in this image. Her instinct is clearly to get forward, not only because that is her position, but we can see in this image how her body position shows she is already looking to run forwards despite her teammates in possession (in the square) not having a clear pass through to her.
This does two things to the opposition’s defence: Liverpool Women in this example. Firstly, they can opt to stay where they are and leave Lehmann offside, but risk the ball being passed whilst she is in line with them, as she is here. The second option is to go with her, with the downside being that they leave the midfield areas open and undefended. However, the fact that Lehmann’s movement forwards puts this doubt in their minds is key, and it is one of the reasons that West Ham clearly rely on her runs in behind and look to build from them.
