The weekend is finally here which can only mean one thing, the WSL is back. This week our Lilywhites travelled up north to face Everton in the Super League. Tottenham come into the game in 7th place after a draw last week against West Ham. Everton sit in 6th position after winning their opening fixture by 4-0 against Bristol City.
First visit to Walton Hall Park.
Tottenham came into the game looking to build on last weeks home draw with West Ham by getting their first 3 points of the new campaign. Last season Everton ran out 3-1 winners with Pike, Filby (o.g) and Graham (Lucy not Kit) scoring for Everton and Lucy Quinn scoring Tottenham’s only goal. The return leg proved a different story with Tottenham showing their new never die attitude after the Christmas break. Tottenham found themselves 0-2 down with 12 minutes to go before Angela Addison sparked a come back with 10 women to take a point against the toffees.
Line ups.
Tottenham opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Spencer in goal. Leon at right back with Zadorsky, Harrop at the centre of defence and Neville in at left back for Worm. The midfield was occupied by Pervival and Green with Addison, Graham and Kennedy filled the attacking midfield role leaving Williams in the number 9 role. Everton also opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Maclver in goal, Wold at right back, with Finnigan, Sevecke in the centre of defence and Turner in at left back. Stringer and Christiansen ahead of the defence with Raso, Graham, Emslie make the attacking midfield with Magill in the lone striker role for the blues.
Match report.
Everton started the game the most dangerous and it took the blues just 7 minutes to call Becky Spencer into action. Hayley Raso latched onto a misplaced ball by Josie Green from a Kerys Harrop pass fell to Raso who’s shot was brilliantly saved by Spencer for an Everton corner. A minute later it was Raso again that was causing Tottenham problems. Everton again catching Tottenham on the counter with Raso running down the left wing onto a Christiansen pass and shooting from outside the area which turned out to be a comfortable save for Becky Spencer in the Spurs goal. In the 18th minute there was a shout for a Tottenham penalty for a foul on Percival but referee Rob Ellis instead gave a free kick to Everton for a foul against Percival. The half played out quite even with both midfields fighting for possession, Tottenham seemed to have learnt to be tougher as both teams were quite physical with one another and Tottenham showing they are no longer the newbie push overs that many teams tried to bully last season. Hayley Raso once again proved to be a handful for Tottenham when in the 35th minute Raso again came close with a run down the left on the counter after what should have been a free kick to Tottenham but Percival got back in time to block in the box as Raso pulled the trigger for an Everton corner. Much of the first half was played in midfield and it wasn’t until the 40th minute that Tottenham had their best chance with a thunderous shot by Josie Green from 25 yards but Maclver made a good save at her top left corner to turn the shot away for a Tottenham corner. Tottenham continued to pressure Everton in the closing moments of the first half and in the 45 minute Kit Graham shot from outside the area which was well saved by Maclver for a Tottenham corner.
Half time saw Tottenham make 3 changes with Davison, Ayane and Quinn coming on for Addison, Leon and Williams whilst Everton brought Sørensen on for Emslie. I expected the 2nd half to be similar to that of the first with an intense battle of the midfielder’s but instead Tottenham came out the stronger of the two teams. Tottenham run the midfield for the first 5 minute of the restart but on the 50th minute Tottenham were punished when Sørensen latched onto a through ball down right wing leaving Percival behind crossing into the box which was met by Isobel Christiansen’s head to give Everton the lead. This game that we love so much can be cruel at times because just as Tottenham were playing better Everton punished them to take the lead. Chances were minimal for both teams so chances must be taken whenever they come to you or you’ll be punished as Tottenham found out last week to West Ham. Everton had the goal they needed to continue their winning streak in the new campaign and didn’t look like they were going to push forward too much and risk conceding a goal as again most of the play took part in the midfield with very little breakaways falling to either team except for a break by Everton in the 67th minute which saw Simone Magill booked for a dive inside the Tottenham area. Tottenham’s Ayane and Kennedy continued winning the midfield but there was no presence in the final third. Tottenham’s next chance came in the 72 minute when a Davison corner was headed just wide by Kennedy. Tottenham looked to build on the dominating possession because 3 minutes later Tottenham came close again to get the equalizer they needed. A good run by Davison down the right wing who’s centred ball came to Ayane who turned to shoot but her shot was straight at Maclver, any side of the keeper and it would have been 1-1. The more the clock ticked the more it seemed that for a 2nd week in a row it just wasn’t meant to be Tottenham’s day. I feel Tottenham found it hard to do anything with their possession because every time Tottenham got the ball Everton would come in with strong tackles committing fouls and not giving Tottenham time to move the ball how they would like. The 81st minute saw Tottenham make their 4th substitute of the game with youth player Elisha Sulola coming on for captain Josie Green. The last 10 minutes seemed to drag Everton looked like they didn’t want to come out and risk conceding a goal and Tottenham just played too many long balls as they couldn’t get into the Everton area playing shorter balls. The 85th minute saw Tottenham making their final sub of the game with Rianna Dean coming on for Kerys Harrop. The 85th minute saw a wonderful chance fall to Sulola when a miss kick by Maclver fell to Sulola who instead of controlling the ball shot from 30 yards and skied the ball sparing Maclver her blushes. The two teams played out the rest of the half again in midfield before Rob Ellis ended the game leaving Tottenham still searching for their first win of the season.
Player Of The Match.
Picking a player of the match this week was tough as most of the game took place with both midfields battling for possession. For me Angela Addison was the best Tottenham player in the first half. She tracked back, made challenges and attempted to make runs down the left wing. The second half was a different story, Angela was substituted therefore I felt Davison’s introduction was key to Tottenham’s attack. Gemma was the only player trying to create something out of nothing and encouraged a lot of fouls against her therefore it is hard to pick one player of the match so for me I choose Angela for her first half performance and Gemma for her 2nd half display.
Post Match Analysis.
Where to start, another week and another disappointing result. Tottenham came into this game in search of their first 3 points of the season. We all know it was going to be a tough game but after last week’s performance I expected a little more from Tottenham. I won’t be too harsh on the team as we need to remember that these inspirational women haven’t played competitively for 6 months before last week but they need to start taking advantage of the opportunities that come their way because the month of October will prove to be the toughest any team could wish for. After the FA Cup game away to Arsenal, Tottenham then face Manchester City away, Manchester United at home and Arsenal away which could see Tottenham on 1 point after 5 matches and facing a relegation battle. The only positive to take out of this run of fixtures is that with the exception of Chelsea that would mean that the toughest WSL teams would be out of the way for Tottenham meaning in theory Tottenham should take points in the remaining games before they face the big 4 again. I felt that Tottenham didn’t have much precense in the final third today. Tottenham again dominated possession but didn’t do much with it. I understand that the new players are still adapting and and I feel the coaches are still looking for the right starting 11 but if Tottenaham aren’t careful they will run out of games as Liverpool found out last season. I don’t think Tottenham will be looking at relegation battle but after the month of October if Tottenham do not get something from one of those games it could harm their confidence. Hopefully the arrival of Morgan will spark something in Tottenham but if Tottenham want to better last years fabulous debut WSL season they need to improve and fast.
New Kit.
This week Tottenham also announced the new 3rd kit for the 2020-21 season.
The new 3rd kit is available for purchase at https://bit.ly/32ko2gH from tomorrow Monday September 14th and will retail from £55 for youths and £70 for men’s/women’s Jersey’s however currently you will not be able to get a Jersey to support the women’s team with the WSL patches.
A new signing on the horizon.
This past Friday it was reported that our Lilywhites had pulled out the biggest signing of the transfer window. According to Meg Linehan and many other reliable sources U.S. superstar Alex Morgan had signed a short term deal with Tottenham until the end of the year.
Personally I didnt believe this, I am a HUGE Orlando Pride fan in the states and there was no talk regarding Alex going abroad. Orlando Pride coach Mark Skinner announced earlier this week that Alex will be returning to training Monday after giving birth in May. Now let’s remember that 2020 has been one wild ride of a year so far and with the Rose Lavelle, Sammy Mewis going to Manchester City, Christen Press, Tobin Heath going to Manchester United it may not surprised many that Alex had decided to follow suit to get match fit for next season NWSL and the 2021 Olympics.
At 3pm yesterday Saturday September 12th it was announced that Alex Morgan of the Orlando Pride and USWNT has signed for the 2020-21 season and will wear the her trademark number 13. A full statement can be ready at https://bit.ly/2Zum9fo.
Alex comes to Tottenham as a x2 World Cup winner and x1 Olympic champion having scored 107 goals in 169 appearances for the U.S. national team and no doubt will add many much needed goals during her time at Tottenham.
FA Cup restart.
There is no WSL matches next week due to a international break but Tottenham are back on Saturday 26th Septmeber against Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter finals which will be broadcast live on BBC Two from 17:15pm.
Tottenham will be hoping to seal their place in the Semi Finals for the first time in their history against city rivals and record FA Cup winners Arsenal at Meadow Park. The FA Cup draw for the Semi Finals took place today and will see the winner of Arsenal/Tottenham travel away to take on the winner of Leicester/Manchester City. Semi Final matches will take place Wednesday September 30th and hursday October 1st. Let hope Tottenham start to find form and are able to overcome Arsenal in the FA Cup quater finals, COYS.
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