It’s that time of year again where dreams are made and hearts are broken. The Women’s FA Cup is here again and Tottenham welcomed Barnsley to the Hive for the 4th round clash. This time last year Tottenham faced Crystal Palace and were victorious with a 3-0 victory in the 4th round with goals from Jessica Naz, Ashleigh Neville and Coral-Jade Haines. The Lilywhites are hoping for a good run in the FA Cup and even tasting FA Cup glory under the Wembley arch in May but standing in Tottenham’s way of progressing to the next round was Barnsley.
So who are Barnsley?
For thoes that aren’t familiar with Tottenham’s FA Cup rivals, Barnsley play their football in Division 1 North that’s a whopping 29 places and 3 different leagues that separates these two teams. Barnsley sit top of of Division 1 North having played 11, won 10 and draw only one game so Barnsley are on the right path to seek promotion.
Tottenham went into this game as favourites but no matter how small ones rivals respect is something that always has to be maintained as many shocks and surprises have happened due to a lack of respect so bigger teams will need to put out a strong team to avoid defeat. Tottenham are looking to follow in last year’s finalists West Ham’s shoes by reaching the FA Cup in their debut WSL season only Tottenham will want to go one better and lift the FA Cup in their home city.
Barnsley brought a good amount of fans with them to support their team in the FA Cup forth round and making plenty of noise at the Hive, this is something I feel Tottenham need to do so our fans can travel together to unknown cities and support our Lilywhite ladies. I’ve noticed when we had teams such as Manchester United, Manchester City and now Barnsley they have had coaches of fans going to away matches to support their team. This got me thinking as to whether Tottenham offer this service so I emailed them and was informed they do not nor have any plans at the minute to offer this service
To be honest this response really did upset me as I know there are a few fans that I have spoken to at the Hive who have said they do not drive and would like to go to away matches to support the team. If you look at Manchester City they roughly brought 500 fans with them to the Hive. On Saturday I saw on Twitter that Barnsley were providing this service for their fans which made me think no disrespect to Barnsley but how is it that a team that’s 3 divisions lower than Tottenham able to provide this for their fans yet we can’t for ours.
Yesterday I spoke to a group of Barnsley fan who told me they had roughly 200 fans that had made the trip down to London whereas we are left to make our own way to away matches. Personally I believe if Tottenham offered this service it would prove quite popular and would give our fans the chance to give our Lilywhites the support these ladies deserve away from home. The womens game is improving but at a very slow pace, I do undertand its Tottenham’s first season in the Super League so maybe transportation is a service that Tottenham will look to provide at a later date but for now our fans will need to make their own way which for some can prove to be too expensive and our players suffer as they do not get the support they deserve at away matches.
Tottenham started with a 4-3-3 with Chloe Morgan in goal, Lucia Leon at right back, club captain Jenna Schillaci in the centre alongside Siri Worm, with Emma Mitchell in left back. The midfield saw the coaches opt for Gemma Davidson, Coral-Jane Haines and Chloe Peplow with Kit Graham, and Rosella Ayane down the wings and Dianna Dean in the number 9 position.
Tottenham started the game as favourites to be in Monday’s FA Cup 5th round draw and the difference in divisions was obvious from the get go. Tottenham dominated from the first minute however the second minute almost saw Tottenham fall behind to the visitors when Amy Woodruff’s shot from outside the box flew just wide of the Tottenham crossbar. A minute later could have seen Tottenham take the lead when Coral Haines shot from outside the Barnsley box goes just over the bar. Tottenham dominated possession and their persistence finally paid off in the 20th minute when kit Graham’s shot from outside the box was saved but palmed away by Barnsley keeper Beth Davies but only as far as to Rianna Dean’s feet who scores one of the easiest goals in her career to give Tottenham a well deserved lead. 3 minutes later Rosella Ayane runs through the Barnsley defence and is hacked down just on the edge of the area by Lucy Turner, she was lucky to escape with just a yellow card. Siri Worm steps to take the free kick and scores with a wonderful curled shot around the wall to double Tottenham’s lead.
Two minutes later things got worse for Barnsley when Rosella Ayane again split the Barnsley defence and was foul in the area by Beck’s Hornsey. Rianna Dean stepped up for Tottenham and converted the spot kick to give Tottenham a comfortable 3 goal cushion. 3 goals didn’t look like it was enough for Tottenham because a minute later Gemma Davidson ran down the right wing and centred a wonderful ball which was headed over by Kit Graham. Tottenham kept piling on the pressure and on the 39th minute Gemma Davidson again twist and turns the Barnsley defence and crosses again this time finding Rosella Ayane whos shot is saved by Beth Davies at point blank range. Gemma Davidson was having a fantastic first half giving the Barnsley midfield and defence a nightmare and on the 44th minute Davidson again runs through the midfield splitting the Barnsley defence with a wonderful through ball to Rosella Ayane whos shot again is saved at point blank range by Beth Davies, Tottenham could have easily been 6 up at the break but instead ended the half 3 goals to the good.
Tottenham started the 2nd half like they ended the first, piling pressure on Barnsley and dominating the midfield again. Barnsley’s only real chance of the second half came in the 53rd minute when Laura Bartup’s curled effort was punched away by Chloe Morgan to keep a possible clean sheet for Tottenham alive. Tottenham didn’t let Barnsley into the game and carried on putting pressure on the back 4 and in the 57th minute one of Tottenham’s players of the match Gemma Davidson got her first goal for the club with a low shot from outside the box to give Tottenham their 4th goal of the match. At 4-0 the coaches felt the game was won and began to make changes and in the 62nd minute Angela Addison came on for Emma Mitchell and on the 63rd minute Elisha Sulola came on for Gemma Davidson. It didn’t take Sulola long to make her mark because a minute after coming on she scored her first senior goal for Tottenham to give us a 5 goal lead. The 66th minute saw Lucy Quinn take the place of 2 goal hero Rianna Dean for Tottenham’s final change of the game. The last 20+ minutes saw Tottenham pass the ball to run down the clock but they did have chances to create more opportunities but every time Angela Addison would get the ball she would be on the recieving end of over the top hard challenges which could have injured our quick and skillful number 14. Barnsley had a few half chances but nothing to worry the Tottenham defence, keeper and coaches too much.
Post match analysis.
Tottenham were favourites going into this game and for most should have brushed Barnsley aside with ease and seen themselves go through to the 5th round of the FA Cup and that’s exactly what they did. Barnsley didn’t do enough to worry Tottenham on the day but one has to wonder what could have happened had Tottenham played someone of higher status. Kit Graham’s and Rosella Ayane missed so many clear chances which another day against another team it could have cost Tottenham to be eliminated. I understand that players have off days and other players are creators and not goal scorers but you do wonder what kind of punishment another super league team could have caused Tottenham. Moving on I don’t want to focus too much on what could have been the most important thing is that Tottenham played well and are through to the 5th round of the FA cup. Being Enfield based it was wonderful to see the club captain and fellow Enfieldian Jenna Schillaci back on the field playing her heart out. Personally there are so many players that can get into the starting 11 at any other club but give our coaches Karen Hills and Juan Carlos Amoros a headache every week. I do wonder sometimes how Angela Addison, Lucy Quinn and Lucia Leon get more playing time when we see the quality of their performances when they are given the chances but I guess that’s what happens when you have a high level of talent in ones team. Whatever the reason we as fans believe and trust in our coaches, they have been at this club long enough and have known most of these players for many years and seen them grow with age on and off the pitch.
Woman of the match.
This again is a tough one, Gemma Davidson was fantastic and showed her class and was involved in many of Tottenham’s goals and even got a goal herself. Someone else that really impressed us was Lucia Leon, Lucia has been at the club for 6 years and is still only 22 years of age. Replacing Ashleigh Neville is never going to be a easy task but today Lucia showed her class again and demonstrated that she is ready to take on the challenger when called upon therefore due to her confidence and many attacks down the wing linking up well with Davidson our woman of the match goes to Lucia Leon.
Ticketing.
Tottenham next match is at home to Bristol City in the Super League on Sunday 2nd February at 14:00pm at the Hive. Tickets for this match can be purchased at https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/buy-tickets/spurs-women/ for £6.50 for adults and £3.50 for concession tickets with advanced purchases only.
FA Cup draw.
This evening saw the FA Cup 5th round take place and the draw saw our Lilywhites drawn away to Coventry United. FA Cup 5th round games will take place on Sunday 16th February.
Women's Soccer Fans 