Welcome back.
What a roller coaster ride it has been for Tottenham fans these past 2 weeks. Since our last WSL match, Tottenham took on Arsenal in the Conti Cup where our Lilywhites twice came from behind to draw the game 2-2 only to lose out on penalties after an Alex Morgan miss.
I believe this was Tottenham’s best performance all season and it can be seen by the way Tottenham played that Karen and Juan’s philosophy was finally paying off and if Tottenham were able to play this way in every match our Lilywhites would again be a threat to most of the WSl teams.
Shake up.
At 12:30 on Thursday, November 19th, Tottenham Hotspur announced that Karen and Juan had been relieved of their duties as Tottenham coaches. We all knew that Juan and Karen were under a lot of pressure as the results haven’t been the best this season, but we need to remember that Tottenham had the toughest run of any team in the WSL by taking on Arsenal in the FA Cup, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal in the League. We saw some huge improvements against Reading and most of us thought that Tottenham had finally turned a corner but the disappointing 2-2 draw against bottom of the table Bristol must have been the final straw for the board.
On the same day, Matt Beard had left West Ham and many thought that Beard would be the next Tottenham coach but only 5 and half hours after it was announced that Juan and Karen had been relieved of their duties Tottenham announced England number 2, Rehanne Skinner as their new coach until the end of the 2022/23 season. We can’t help but think that this deal was already sealed and Rehanne was just waiting for the club to make the change.
Who is Rehanne Skinner.
So who is the new Tottenham coach? Rehanne Skinner joined the England senior squad in September as Phil Neville’s assistant after having been in the England set up for the past 3 years with the under 18’s and under 21’s. Previous to working with England, Rehanne previously worked as assistant manager to Laura Harvey at Arsenal between 2010-2013 where she won 2 leagues, 1 FA Cup, 2 league cups and reached two Champions League semi-finals.
Skinner started her journey in full time coaching in 2006 with Leicester where they earned 4 promotions up the tiers before moving to Arsenal in 2010. Skinner has also been assistant manager for team GB, Wales under 17’s, under 19’s as well as assistant manager for the Wales senior squad before moving to the England under 18’s in 2017. As shocked as many are at the departures of Karen and Juan sometimes change is good. We wish Juan and Karen all the best for the future and want them to know that they are legends and will never be forgotten. Thank you, Juan and Karen we will never forget you and we wish new coach Rehanne Skinner all the best COYS. Rehanne’s first sit down interview for Tottenham can be seen below.
Line ups.
Tottenham started with a 4-4-2 with Spencer in goal, Neville at right back, Zadorsky and Filbey in the centre of defence with Harrop at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Green, Kennedy and Percival with Ayane, Morgan, Addison making up the Tottenham front line.
Brighton opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Walsh in goal, Le Tissier in at right-back, Kerkdijk and Wiliams in the centre of defence with Gibbons in at Left-back for Brighton. O’Sullivan and Bowman occupied the positions in front of the defence. The Brighton midfield was made of Whelan down the left-wing, Kaggman in the middle and Green in the right-wing position with Rianna Jarrett as the sole striker for Brighton.
Fans are back.
After 10 months since fans were allowed into stadiums, we returned with a change of management in a must-win game if our Lilywhites want to avoid relegation. Considering we are in tier 2 and many people are still nervous about attending events there was a great turnout at the Hive for Tottenham’s first game in front of fans despite the cold weather and that the Tottenham men’s team was taking on Arsenal later in the day. Many fans made the warms up and were desperate to catch a glimpse of the new signings for the first time.
As expected there was a lot of support for x2 World Cup Winner Alex Morgan in the stands.
Match report.
Tottenham came out the strongest of the two teams and looked like a completely new team on the field, is that the impact that Rehanne Skinner has had on the of the effect of having the crowd back in the ground backing these inspirational women. From the start, Angela Addison was a huge threat with Gibbons unable to cope with the dangerous number 14. Tottenham’s first chance of the game came in the 8th minute after more pressure by Tottenham resulted in a corner which was whipped in by Harrop but Kennedy’s effort went wide of Walsh’s right-hand post. 2 minutes later Neville intercepted a Brighton throw which Morgan latched on to but was brought down by Williams. Harrop took Tottenham’s free-kick and scored Tottenham’s opener after a thunderous left-footed shot, Walsh should have done better to keep the ball out but they all count and Tottenham took the lead after dominating the opening 10 minutes of the game. Tottenham should have been 2 up in the 21st minute when Rosella Ayane latched onto a long Neville pass ahead of Gibbon but rushed her shot from outside the box and put her effort wide of Walsh’s goal. 3 Minutes later Morgan came close to getting her first goal for Tottenham but her header from a Harrop corner went just over the bar.
Addison was causing the Brighton defence all sorts of problems and in the 28th minute she should have gotten a goal after twisting and turning down the right but her effort was a little too soft and ended up being a comfortable save for Walsh. Brighton started to settle into the game a little after half an hour and on the 38th minute, Tottenham was made to pay when unintentionally Alanna Kennedy’s high foot caught Whelan and Brighton were awarded a penalty which kaagman converted to draw Brighton level. 6 minutes later in the 43rd minute Kennedy almost made amends after Kaagman fouled Green but Kennedy’s free-kick went just over the bar. Tottenham continued to pile on the pressure and a minute later Alex Morgan came close again to getting her first goal for the club but Walsh stood strong on a 1 on 1 to keep Morgan’s effort out. Ria Percival almost put Tottenham up before the break when Addison cleverly found Percival but her shot was deflected for a corner to keep the game at 1-1 at half time
Second Half.
The second half started with both teams trying to gain control of the midfield, with most of the play taking place in the middle of the park. The first big chance of the second half came in in the 54th minute when Alex Morgan scored a wonderful goal but it was disallowed after a very late flag which the Tottenham fans did no like as boos rang around the Hive. 6 minutes later Addison stole a ball from Le Tissier and went round Walsh to score a superb solo goal for Tottenham who finally got their reward after dominating the game. Brighton was not going to go down without a fight and 9 minutes later sloppy play by Tottenham gave the ball away to Kaagman who fired a thunderous shot from outside the box but her effort hit the underside of the bar and bounced out and kicked away to safety by Harrop to deny Brighton an equaliser.
Brighton kept trying to find a break but the Tottenham midfield was too strong, and Brighton had to go back to a physical way of play to try to stop Tottenham but Brighton couldn’t created anything but half chances with their best effort falling to Ellie Brazil after Rianna Jarret latched on to a long pass down the wing, crossed first time finding Brazil but she expect the pass and her effort was comfortably saved by Spencer in the Tottenham goal, In the 84th minute after some wonderful passing by Tottenham lead to a Tottenham counter down the left with Harrop crossing deep into the Brighton box which resulted in Williams bringing down Percival to earn Tottenham a penalty. Up stepped Alex Morgan to convert for Tottenham to give the Lilywhites a 3-1 lead over Brighton and their first 3 points of the season.
Player of the match.
Every player gave 110% and it looked like a new Tottenham team under Rehanne Skinner. Tottenham came out the hungrier from the start but a player that keeps improving and impressing week after week is Angela Addison. She caused Brighton so many problems and scores a fantastic solo goal so our player of the match has to go to our number 14 Angela Addison.
Post match analysis.
What a day, FANS ARE BACK and what a way to welcome us back. The first 3 points of the season and what a performance by the team. Every player gave their all and it was a well deserved victory over a very tough opponent. For me the atmosphere was electric, the fans made lots of noise and the team look like they had a new confidence about them whether that was down to the fans, the new coach or both I don’t know but Tottenham were up for it and they did not disappoint. The midfield worked overtime, chasing every ball, and not giving Brighton anytime on the ball making it a very long afternoon for the seagulls. It is only one game so we can’t get too over confident but it is a first victory so I am sure us Tottenham fans will enjoy it to the fullest. It is very early days for Rehanne Skinner so I wont be too critical but there still needs to be some work done by the midfielders as Angela Addison is the only player that really gets forward and puts balls in to the box. I’d personally like to see Quinn down the other wing and believe with Quinn down one wing, Angela down the other and Morgan and Dean up front we should be more of a threat in the final third. For now we will must enjoy this victory and hope we will be celebrating another victory next week. Congratulations to the whole squad and I hope next week there is a good turnout again and we get behind these inspirational women.
Next Match.
Our next match is another home game, this time we welcome Aston Villa to the Hive in what should again see fans in the stands. Tickets for these match’s are currently ONLY available to season ticket holders due to government restrictions, We hope for another wonderful turn out this Sunday December 13th at 2pm and another 3 points COME ON YOU SPURS!!
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