‘It’s a big achievement’ – Taylor highlights Hemp’s growth after record-breaking goal

Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor highlighted Lauren Hemp’s personal growth after the player netted her 50th Barclays Women’s Super League goal in The Cityzens’ 2-0 victory over West Ham United at The Joie Stadium this afternoon.

Hemp netted her first top flight goal back in 2017 whilst representing former club Bristol City. The attacker has now reached the 50-goal mark, becoming the youngest player in Barclays Women’s Super League history to achieve that feat.

When speaking in the post-match press conference, Manchester City boss Taylor highlighted the growth that Hemp has enjoyed in her time with the club.

“It’s a big achievement, particularly with her age,” Taylor said. “She’s done so much; you look at the likes of her, Jess [Park], Mary Fowler, these players have done a hell of a lot already in their young careers.

“Lauren is such a dream to work with, I’ve enjoyed my time working with her so much. It was so crucial that we got her to re-sign last season. That was a real positive for us because I’m sure there are a lot of clubs that want a Lauren Hemp and so they should because she’s really coachable, she’s really honest, she gives everything for the team, she is such a team player. To have that at your club is amazing. We are trying to give her more responsibility now and she has became one of the six captains, I think she is really relishing that. 

“From a young player that has got the ability to now be able to help younger players or be a voice in the dressing room, I think is magic for us to have.”

Hemp opened the scoring for Manchester City early in the first half against West Ham United while Mary Fowler added a second goal 19 minutes from time. When reflecting on the game, Taylor hailed the impact of second half substitutes Khadija Shaw and Aoba Fujino in helping the team make sure of the three points.

He said “I’m really pleased with the result and the clean sheet. We could’ve opened up a little bit more but I felt that we needed that spark in the second half. I think Bunny and Aoba gave us that almost immediately with the changes.”

With a big UEFA Women’s Champions League fixture against FC Barcelona on the horizon, Taylor was able to name the likes of Shaw, Fujino and Vivianne Miedema amongst the substitutes against West Ham United. The Manchester City boss explained that he didn’t have that same luxury last season.

He said “We have more improved options at the top end of the pitch that we didn’t have last season with the wingers that we have with Aoba [Fujino], Mary [Fowler], Lauren [Hemp] and Chloe [Kelly]. Last season, we couldn’t really leave Bunny Shaw out of a starting team. Of course, she wants to play, she wants to score and I thought her impact was really good today when she came onto the pitch and it was a brilliant bit of play from her to create Mary’s goal.

“We didn’t have those options last season. I’ve spoken about it before, when we lost Bunny with three games to go, that was tough for us because we didn’t have a direct replacement. When you look at the fact that we’ve not played Viv [Miedema] there who is probably one of the best nines that we’ve seen in the game; we feel that she’s got a lot to give from that position where her shoulders are facing the goal a bit more rather than back to goal.

“The options are great and that’s what we need.”

Manchester City are back in action on Wednesday evening when they play host to FC Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage.