7th place Tottenham took on 11th placed Aston Villa in match day 12, our Lilywhites was looking to bounce back from last weeks defeat to league leaders Chelsea after what could have been a historic match turned into a nightmare, Tottenham Started the better of the two teams and could have been 2 goals up before conceding two in 2 minutes after a string of errors cost Tottenham against the league leaders.
Tottenham last faced Aston Villa back in December where our Lilywhites ran out 3-1 winner’s thanks to goals from Alex Morgan, a Caroline Siems own goal and Rosella Ayane scored her first-ever Tottenham goal.
Villa was looking for their 3rd victory of the season to ease pressure of a relegation battle, whilst our Lilywhites were be looking to set themselves nicely before the manic build-up of matches in March/April versus the top 4.
Another Departure.
In a shock move, it was announced this week that Anna Filbey has joined Celtic on loan until the end of the season. I believe that Anna was and still is a fundamental player but Rehanne needs to build her team if she wants to take Tottenham to the next level. We wish Anna the best of luck and hope she returns at the end of the season. I feel Skinner missed the opportunity to sign a forward. With Morgan gone, Williams injured and no confidence in Dean, Tottenham need a natural number 9 because Naz and Ayane are not the solutions to our lack of goals.
Rescheduled fixtures.
Tottenham’s cancelled fixture with Everton has now been rescheduled for 2 pm Sunday, February 28th at the Hive whilst our match with reading has been moved to take place 3 days earlier on at 12.30 pm Sunday, March 14th at the Madejski Stadium both matches will be shown live on the FA Player.
Line ups.
Villa opted for a 4-3-3 with Weiß in goal, Haigh at right-back, N’Dow and Asante in the centre of defense with Ale in at left-back, the Villa midfield consisted of Hutton, Ewers, and Hanssen while the attacking 3 were made of Iwabuchi, Larsen and Silva.
Tottenham opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Mikalsen in goal, Percival in at right-back, Mcmanus and Zadorsky in the centre of defense with Harrop at left-back. Cho and Kennedy occupied ahead of the defense with Davison down the right, Graham in the middle and Addison down the left-wing with Rianna Dean starting in the number 9 position for the Lilywhites.
Match report.
The big news for Tottenham was that Cho so-Hyun made her debut for Tottenham, Rianna Dean finally got a rare start and Shelina Zadorsky Captained Tottenham for a second time. In other fantastic news for Tottenham, Siri Worm was back in training and was on the bench after being out since December. As expected Tottenham dominated possession but with that being said, Villa didn’t just sit back they did attack Tottenham when they found openings. Tottenham had their first chance of the game when a great ball by Cho in midfield picked out Addison who was fouled but the referee waved play on, Harrop picked up the loose ball, picked out Graham who shot from distance but her effort was deflected and saved comfortably by Weiß. Villa countered from that Tottenham chance and against the run of play Iwabuchi shot from distance to give Villa the lead, there was nothing Mikalsen could do about that thunderous shot. Angela Addison was being a nuisance as usual and drawing lots of fouls from the Villa defense. Tottenham kept pushing forward looking for an equaliser and in the 16th minute, Weiß came out of her box to clear the ball but her clearance fell to Addison who spotted Weiß off her line, shot from distance but Weiß recovered well to deny Tottenham. Villa had a call for a penalty turned away in the 19th minute when Ale shot inside the Tottenham box and the ball seemed to hit McManus in the arm but referee Jane Simms waved play on. Tottenham kept pushing forward and dominated possession as Villa just booted the ball down the field hoping to find Iwabuchi or Silva for a counter-attack. In the 26th minute, Tottenham again came close after great play my McManus to start the attack found Dean who had her cross cleared only as far as Kennedy but her effort flew over the Villa bar. Villa countered right away with Iwabuchi receiving the ball on the edge of the box, shooting from distance but her shot was too central and easy enough for Mikalsen. In the 28th minute, some great play by Percival down the right found Dean who picked out Cho in midfield who played the ball to the left flank to play in Harrop who shot from distance but her effort was too hard and flew over the Villa bar. In the 34th minute, Cho found Dean who centred the ball but her cross was deflected out for a corner. Tottenham protested for a penalty as Dean’s cross seemed to hit a hand before going out for a corner but again Jane Simms waved the claims away. The Tottenham corner almost lead to an equaliser but Kennedy’s effort was too central and picked up easily by Weiß to keep it 1-0 to the hosts.
Second Half.
Skinner started the 2nd half by making two changes, Addison and Dean off for Ayane and Naz, Tottenham started the 2nd half like the finished the first by pinning Villa back and piling on the pressure. Tottenham continued to dominate possession but Villa was defending with everyone back, making it difficult for Tottenham to get into the Villa box. In the 58th Minute, Graham had no option but to shoot from outside the box but her effort went over Weiß’s bar. Skinner made her third substitute on the 61st minute taking Gemma Davison off for Lucy Quinn. Villa was frustrating Tottenham by defending with 8 players in the box with rare counters when they saw the Tottenham backline too far forward. In the 65th minute a rare Villa counter caught Tottenham short at the back and Mikalsen had to come out of her box and make the foul on Silva, Villa protested for a red card for Mikalsen but referee Jane Simms showed Mikalsen a yellow for the offence. Iwabuchi took the Villa free-kick but her effort went wide of the Tottenham goal. Tottenham began to take their foot off the pedal slightly in the 70th minute as Villa began to push forward and look to get a second and seal the game without much luck. With 20 minutes left to play, Tottenham was rushing play instead of using their heads. Villa clearly couldn’t cope with the Tottenham pressure and just committed foul after foul. Some great play by Quinn on the 75th minute found Naz who twisted and turned the Villa defense, laid off Graham but had her effort bravely blocked as Villa defended for their lives. In the 87th minute, Ayane crossed from the right-wing but her ross seemed to hit a Villa player in the arm as she went to clear the ball but again referee Simms was not interested and waved claims away. The fourth official indicated a minimum of 8 minutes injury time as Tottenham threw everything forward in search of a goal. Villa continued to slowdown play whenever they could, committing fouls and wasting time to run down the clock. In the 93rd minute Tottenham piled more pressure on Villa, leaving no one back, Cho diverted play to the right flank before the Tottenham cross was cleared only as far as Captain Zadorsky who shot from distance but her effort went over Weiß’s bar. Tottenham could have grabbed an equaliser at the death when in the 99th minute after claims for another penalty was waved away, the Villa clearance fell to Cho who shot from the edge of the box but her effort was a little too hard and just went out over the Villa bar.
Player of the match.
As always Zadorsky was a rock in the Tottenham defense, Quinn was fundamental when she came on causing the Villa defense all sorts of problems and Cho did not look like a new player. Cho is the creative player we have needed all season, she made runs, tracked back, changed the flow of play and picked out our forwards with amazing passes. Therefore we feel the player of the match has to be Cho for a fantastic game on her debut.
Post match analysis.
I feel Skinner got the team selection almost right with the exception of Davison who I still feel should be replaced by Quinn. I do feel that Skinner got her selection completely wrong in the 2nd half in taking off Addison and Dean at half time for Naz and Ayane. Naz looked like a headless chicken out there, she has speed but didn’t seem to have a clue of what to do with the ball when in possession of it. I have to give Naz the benefit of the doubt as she has spent a long time out injured and regaining fitness will take time. As for Ayane, well I didn’t even realise that she was on the pitch, it was like we were playing with 10 instead of 11. Lucy Quinn always gives her all, like I believe 99% of the players that put on the Tottenham jersey and today was no exception for Quinn. She was one of the standout players in the second half for Tottenham. Quinn was all over the pitch and caused Ale and Gregory a huge headache from the minute she came on and just like Addison received lots of fouls from the Villa players.
We can’t fault the heart of the team and the effort they put in, Our Lilywhites gave everything but sometimes it’s just not meant to be. The worst thing that can happen against a team fighting relegation is to concede first as from that moment Villa didn’t want to play. I give credit to the Villa defense for holding Tottenham out in what was a tough fought victory for the Lions. We need to remember that a few weeks back we were the team that rode our luck against West Ham and this time we were the one’s left frustrated (Karma). These are games that we SHOULD be winning but I think it is impossible to play against a team that doesn’t want to come out to play. I think had we started with Quinn instead of Davison and should Skinner have kept Dean and Addison on, we would have broken the Villa defense and taken all 3 points. I do not understand why Skinner took Dean and Addison off at half-time as Addison was giving Ale and Haigh lots of problems and Dean did very well with the few opportunities she got. I understand that Skinner inherited this team and she needs to build her own team but I do question her line ups and substitutes, Dean has not had a look in until today, Quinn should not be on the bench and you cant take off Addison when she is one of the few players that can create something from nothing. We must now regroup, learn from today and get the 3 points against Bristol on Wednesday no matter what. COME ON YOU SPURS!!
Next match.
Our next match will take place this coming Wednesday at the Hive in the rescheduled fixture against Bristol. Unfortunately, this match will be taking place behind closed doors due to government guidelines however the government are supposedly currently working on a plan to get fans back into stadiums. We wish Tottenham all the best against Bristol COYS!!!
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