It’s derby day and even though taking place is one of the oldest riveries not only in London but in England one could sense the atmosphere was different. I have attended many mens derbys in the past such as Barcelona v Espanyol, Barcelona v Real Madrid, Tottenham v West Ham, Tottenham v Chelsea and Tottenham v Arsenal and one can always sense the hostility. This year I have attended West Ham v Tottenham at the London stadium and Tottenham v Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and today as well as the previous two WSL womens derby matches has much more of a family feel to them leaving all the hostility of the mens game behind allowing for these matches to be much more kid friendly.
The atmospher was electric at the London stadium back in September as well at the North London Derby at Tottenham Hotspur stadium in October but had a different feel than what one may be used to, it felt cosy, there was no trouble and I witnessed rival fans sitting together, laughing and drinking pre and post match. Instead of the usual hostility we have come to know as the norm everyone instead came out to to celebrate womens football/soccer and just have a good fun family day out which is what this sport is all about. Even though this match was taking place at a much smaller stadium it was still a derby with a lot to play for both teams who were sitting in 7th and 8th position before kick off but it was great to see that positive famly feel from the previous derbys transfer to the Hive London for this derby.
So it’s match day and West Ham were the visitors this time, Tottenham were coming off a defeat to Manchester City and West Ham’s match against Everton was prosponed due to high levels of illness in the West Ham camp. Before the match Tottenham sat in 7th position while West Ham sat in 8th with two games less so nothing less than a victory would be good enough for the Lilywhites if they are to continue their push to survive their first season in the Womens Super League. Tottenham lined up with a 4-2-3-1 which saw Spencer in goal, the defensive unit consisted of Neville at right back with Godfrey and Filbey in the centre and loanee Emma Mitchell at left back, defensive midfielders today were Josie Green & Ria Percival and the attacking unit of consisted of Gemma Davidson down the right, Kit Graham in the centre and Rosella Ayane down the left wing leaving Rianna Dean as a lone central striker. West Ham lined up with a 4-3-3 with Brosnan in goal, Vetterlein, Fisk, Flaherty and Kvamme in defence, Longhurst, Middag and Dali in midfield as Leon, Thomas and Lehmann occupied the forward positions.
This match was always going to be tough and West Ham were always going to have to be cautious due to losing both previous meetings between these two clubs. The match was very even between the two teams with both midfields having to work extra hard to gain an advantage, The first 30 minutes didn’t see much except for a few stoppages first Kit Graham went down after a clash with West Ham Keeper Courtney Brosnan after Brosnan’s misplaced pass was intercepted by Graham who played through Rosella Ayane.
The 9th minute saw the game stop again this time to an injury to Becky Spencer in the Tottenham goal after a Adrianna Leon half chance for West Ham. Even though it was a pretty even first half an hour Tottenham always looked the most likely to score and in the 30th minute thats exactly what happened when loanee Emma Mitchell scored a thunderous goal with a shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner to give Tottenham a 1 – 0 lead.
I’ve said before how much I like Mitchell, she has brought a sense of confidence and organisation to the defence and is becoming a leader on the pitch in the short amount of time she’s been at Tottenham. We should have been 2 up before the break when in the 40th minute Rosella Ayane’s header hit the crossbar in what should have been Tottenham’s second but it just wasn’t meant to be and the half ended with Tottenham just up by one at the break.
Half time saw Chloe Morgan replace Becky Spencer in goal, the second half started just like the first with both teams battling for the midfield making it a very even start to the 2nd half. The 55th minute saw a long delay when Kate Longhurst went down and the medical team rush to assist her. No one really knew what had happened and whether Kate Longhurst had collapesed or what but this caused a long delay in play righty so as a players health has to come first and both sets of medical teams had to be sure Longhurst was okay to continue. The outcome forced West Ham into a double substitution with Jacynta coming on for the the very quick and dangerous Adrianna Leon and Julia Simic coming on for Kate Longhurst. Right as play resumed Tottenham continued to apply pressure to West Ham and in the 62nd minute Rosella Ayana came close again to doubling Tottenham’s lead but her shot flew wide over the bar. 7 minutes later Tottenham came close again when Gemma Davidson’s free-kick was played to Rosella Ayana but her shot was blocked before I fell to Rianna Dean who was denied by a fine save by Courney Brosnan. The 72 minute saw Tottenhams 2nd change of the match with Lucy Quinn coming on for Kit Graham as the last 20 minutes seemed to play out even with a 1-0 win for Spurs. Angela Addison came on for Rosella Ayana in the 85th minute and in the 86th West Ham came close to levelling the game when Marta runs onto a chipped ball but Chloe Morgan was there to meet the ball before any serious danger could come from the attack. West Hams persistence late in the game finally paid off for the visitors when in the 90th minute Kenza Dali’s strike levels it for West Ham to make it 1-1.
The 4th official signals a minimum of 9 minutes injury time will be played due to the injury to Kate Longhurst and other stoppages. Both teams were trying to push forward looking for a winner but two very stubborn midfields made life very difficult for bot sets of attackers. The game looked like it was going to end in a draw, a first point for West Ham vs Tottenham who up to now have enjoyed the upper hand on their London rivals but then in th 86th minute Rianna Dean headers Tottenham back in front after Lucy Quinn steals the ball in midfield plays through Angela Addison who’s wonderful run down the left crosses into the box for Rianna Dean to freely header the ball into the right top corner to win it at the death for the Lilywhites giving Tottenham a much needed victory and pushing them up to 5th in the table.
Player of the match.
It was a very tough match for both teams and every single player gave 100% but overall the player of the match has to go to Rosella Ayana (pictured below) she caused West Ham’s defence many problems with her quick skillful ageility and her defence splitting balls and should have been rewarded with a goal of her own.
Tickets.
Up next for Tottenham is Manchester United away but on Sunday the 26th Tottenham are back at home in the FA Cup against Barnsley. Tickets are priced at £5 for adults and £1 for concession if purchased in advanced. *NOTE* FA Cup tickets are NOT included in Tottenham women season tickets and holders will need to purchase a sepearte ticket which can be purchased at spurs.to/LQ2QyK
Women's Soccer Fans 