It is Women’s Football Weekend again and what a difference a year makes. Last year we were heading to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium for the first ever WSL North London Derby and this year we are in a lockdown due to a global pandemic.
The last time Bristol and Tottenham faced off last season in the WSl Tottenham ran out 2-1 winners with two fantastic long-range Kit Graham goals to give the Lilywhites the 3 points. Highlights of last season’s matchup can be found below.
Lineups:
Bristol City lined up in 5-4-1 with Baggaley in goal, Allen at right-back with Matthews, Evans and Layzell in the centre of defence with Purfield in at left-back, The Bristol midfield was made of Daniels down the right, Logarzo, Humphrey in the centre of midfield and Bissell down the left wing with Salmon in the number 9 position.
Tottenham lined up in a 4-3-3 with Spencer in goal, Neville at right-back, Godfrey and Zadorsky in the centre of defence with Worm in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield consisted of Green, Kennedy and Percival. The Tottenham front 3 was made of Addison, Leon and Alex Morgan who was starting her first game for the Lilywhites.
Match Report.
The big news again today was that X2 World Cup Winner Alex Morgan would be starting her first game for the Lilywhites at Twerton Park. Tottenham came into this game under a lot of pressure still looking for their first win of the season and no disrespect to Bristol but many believe that if Tottenham did not get the 3 points against Bristol then major questions need to be asked about management and maybe it is time for a change in the hot seat.
Both teams came cautious of one another as they both sized one another up, with a lot at stake for both teams. The bad conditions due to the rain prevented Tottenham from playing their slick passing game so the Lilywhites had to adjust to longer balls.
It took Tottenham just 10 minutes to settle into the game despite the weather conditions. On the 15th minute, it was Siri Worm who had the first clear opportunity of the game with a shot from just outside the Bristol box after a Tottenham attack but it was deflected out for a corner as both keepers remained untested in goal. Angela Addison took the Corner for Tottenham which was almost deflected in for an own goal but instead went out for another Tottenham Corner. A minute later Worm took the Corner for Tottenham to the back post which was just taken away from Morgan’s head at the last second denying Morgan her first goal for the club on her first start. Two minutes later it was Tottenham again who was looking the more likely to score when Alanna Kennedy stole a ball from the box, shot but her shot was comfortable enough for Baggaley to keep the score at 0-0.
Bristol started to grow into the game sightly at around the 30 minute mark but were still unable to test Spencer thanks to the hard work put in by the Tottenham midfield. In the 36th minute, Bristol was awarded a penalty totally against the run of play when Ebony Salmon was fouled in the box by Siri Worm, the penalty was taken and scored by Logarzo to give the home side an undeserved lead. Tottenham as usual pushed forward to look for an equaizer and in the 42nd minute, after twisting and turning Angela Addison was fouled to the right of the Bristol goal, Siri Worm took the free-kick and curled it straight into Baggaley’s top right corner from a difficult angle to give the Lilywhites a deserved equalizer.
The big surprise of half time was that Alex Morgan was substituted for Rianna Dean, We know Alex is still trying to find her fitness and we know that Alex didn’t have much impact in the first half except for the header that she had taken away from her at the last second by Yana Daniels. On a few occasions now forwards have been taken off at half time or early into the 2nd half for not being effective enough but the coaches need to realise that the issue still lays with the midfielders. With the exception of Angela Addison I believe that none of the midfielders are getting balls into the box for the forwards because it is not normal for a team to be 7 WSL games in and having scored 6 goals and 5 of them goals have been scored by defenders with the other goal being an own goal by Grace Fisk on matchday 1.
Tottenham started the 2nd half the stronger of the two teams earning themselves 3 corners in the opening 4 minutes but it was Bristol on the counter again that almost punished Tottenham in the 50th minute, Salmon broke between the Tottenham defence but tried to do too much and eventually lost the ball to Tottenham’s relief. Tottenham continued piling on the pressure looking for a 2nd goal and in the 59th minute another dangerous Worm corner was met my Lucia Leon but Leon was unable to keep her effort on target. 4 minutes later Tottenham finally got their reward when a Worm free-kick was met by Neville to head past Baggaley to get her 2nd goal in 2 games and give Tottenham a well-deserved lead at Twerton Park. Tottenham was almost punished in the 71st minute when a misplaced ball by Godfrey fell to Bissell but Spencer stood strong to deny Bristol an equaliser. On the 77th minute Rafferty misplaced a ball for Bristol midway in the Tottenham half after pressure from Angela Addison, Evans then lost the ball after a Percival challenge and the loose ball was picked up by Addison as she passed out to the wing to Percival for a Tottenham attack. Percival crossed first time but Layzell just got to the ball before it found Dean who was coming in behind Layzell to attack the ball, Dean pounces onto the loose ball and challenges Baggaley for a loose ball and that’s when controversy struck as Rianna Dean was shown a straight red for challenging for a 50-50 ball.
Being a player down it didn’t seem to faze Tottenham and in the 82nd minute it was none other than Siri Worm who again threatened the Bristol goal with another world-class free-kick this time her effort hit the underside of the bar, Tottenham claimed it had crossed the line but referee Lisa Benn gave it as free-kick to Bristol after Green apparently commits a foul as there was a scramble to get the ball over the line. Bristol looked to take advantage of Tottenham’s player less and in the 86th minute Tottenham were almost punished when a rare attack by Bristol lead to a corner which saw the ball fall to Salmon in a crowded Tottenham box but Salmon put her effort over the bar. All of Tottenham’s hard work came undone in the 92nd minute when Salmon latched onto a long ball from Purfield to slot past Becky Spencer and gave Bristol an equalizer. A minute later Tottenham had a chance to win it when Kennedy headed off target from a Worm free-kick in what should have been the winner at the death, but Bristol held on to earn their first point of the season.
Player of the match.
For another week in a row, the two stand out players for Tottenham again were Angela Addison and Siri Worm. After again causing the Bristol defence lots of problems with her runs, corners and scoring a world-class free-kick our player of the match goes to Siri Worm for a second week in a row.
Post match analysis.
Many people said that if Tottenham did NOT take the 3 points against Bristol then questions would have to be asked about management. These are games in which Tottenham should be taking all 3 points against. Tottenham dominated the game BUT still lack something in the final third. Tottenham seriously need a right-winger because the only player that is providing a service to the forwards is Addison. Ayane and Davison are clearly not cutting it hence why Leon played in that right-wing role. I do not know why the coaches do not play Lucy Quinn but Tottenham need a solution and quickly because I am seeing the same pattern with Tottenham as we saw with Liverpool last season and we all know how that ended. I don’t know why forwards are being replaced so quickly after the restart this season surely the coaches see that the midfield is at fault, if the forwards are not getting any service then they can’t have any effect on the game. Dropping points against Bristol is not acceptable. Let’s be realistic we aren’t going to take any points from any of the two Manchester sides, Arsenal and Chelsea so these are games we must win. I know the weather doesn’t help but it’s not the first time that our forwards are looking frustrated at the lack of service. As much as it pains me to say it but sometimes change is good and maybe its time for a change in the management seat. I am not saying the coaches should be fired because after all they have achieved it would be sad to see their reign end in such a way. Maybe the coaches need to hold their hands up and say this is as far as we can take this team, step aside and give someone else an opportunity to take the club to the next level. Every week it seems the coaches do not know who their best 11 are, one week Dean plays, then its Ayane as a forward, Davison is in, then out, Godfrey plays and then replaced by Harrop. With the exception of injuries, the same 11 need to be starting most of the matches but at the moment it seems Tottenham can only compete with the likes of the London City Lionesses and Bristol City which is a long way away from the standards that Manchester United are at which came up with Tottenham in 2019. I know we must have faith in the team and the management but as each week passes we have to realize we are 1 week less from surviving our 2nd season in the WSL. It all lies on the Brighton game on December 6th. If we do not get the 3 points on matchday 8 I think we will need a new coach in for January to save our season.
Next match.
The WSL is now on a 2 week break for international matches so Tottenham’s next match will be Sunday 6th December against Brighton at the Hive COYS!!!
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