As the half wore on, West Ham began to come into the game more and they ended the opening 45 minutes the stronger of the two sides, as Berger was forced into again by Middag and then Alisha Lehmann blazed over at the back stick with the goal at her mercy. It was a huge let-off to end the half for the Blues.

After the break there was far more attacking intent shown by the home side and, as a result, the game became stretched as both teams took it in turns to attack. Bachmann had our best opportunity during this passage of play, but it was well stopped once again by Brosnan.

Then, with the game approaching the hour mark, Hammers boss Matt Beard brought on Adriana Leon – and within 10 seconds he was rewarded with a goal, as the Canadian international broke the deadlock with a tidy finish after Berger had made a spectacular save.

Hayes responded with an attacking change of her own, introducing Fran Kirby from the bench. Our No14 brought up an appearance milestone in the process, as it is her 100th game for the club, a figure only four other members of the current squad have amassed. She almost followed Leon in making an instant impact, as she met Ji’s cross with an acrobatic volley which Brosnan gathered with England waiting to pounce on any slip up.

Our reaction to going behind will have certainly pleased Hayes, as we pegged West Ham back in their own defensive third, but it was beginning to look like Lady Luck wasn’t smiling upon us. For the second time in the game we were denied by the woodwork and this time it was Bright who missed out on her first goal of the season as her thunderous shot from inside the box cannoned off the crossbar and out of play.

However, our persistence was about to pay off in a big way and the equaliser arrived through a quality finish by Ingle. Kirby had played her part in the build-up, switching the ball for Ji who patiently held on to lay a pass into the path of the onrushing Welsh midfielder. Prior to this season she’d never scored for the Blues; five appearances into this campaign she already has two to her name.