Tottenham travelled to Crawley looking to extend their unbeaten run in the WSL taking on 7th placed Brighton. Tottenham was looking to build on last weeks 0-2 victory over Leicester City. Highlights of last weeks victory can be viewed below on our YouTube channel.
Line ups:
Brighton: 4-3-3 Walsh in goal, Koivisto in at right-back, Le Tissier and Williams in the centre of defence with Gibbons in at left-back. The Brighton midfield was made of Kaagman, Brazil and Simpkins. The Brighton attack was made of Carter down the right, Whelan down the left and Geum-Min in the centre.
Tottenham: 4-3-3 Spencer in goal, Neville at right-back, Bartrip and Zadorsky in the centre of defence with Harrop in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Percival, Clemaron and Graham. The Tottenham front three was made of Ayane down the right, Chi down the left and Williams in the centre.
Match Report.
Brighton started the strongest of the two teams, playing with a high line stopping Tottenham from coming out of their half and playing their free-flowing football. Tottenham had a half-chance in the 12th minute when Chi managed to get a shot away from the left but her effort was wide of Walsh’s goal. Tottenham continued to try to create something with Chi down the left and in the 16th-minute good play by Chi down the wing, crossed into the Brighton box trying to find Williams but Le Tissier got her head to the ball just before Williams, putting the ball out for a corner. The corner was taken by Graham who found Neville unmarked but was unable to get her effort on target as the ball sailed wide. Tottenham looked like they had finally settled into the game as the Lilywhites began to regain control of the midfield but was still unable to create any clear chances.
Brighton had a chance in the 23rd minute when a shot from distance from Koivisto went just over Spencer’s bar. Brighton began to regain control of the game as Clemaron was having trouble distributing the ball due to always having two players on her. Brighton came close again in the 33rd minute when good play by Whelan found Kaagman, who shot from distance as her effort just scraped the top of the bar before going over. Brighton continued to pressure high and in the 37th minute it paid off as Min got the opener with a low shot from inside the box to give Brighton the lead. Tottenham should have been level in the 43rd minute when Graham twisted and turned in the middle of the park before getting shot away from distance, but her effort was just over Walsh’s bar. Tottenham almost got an equaliser in the dying second of added time, Graham gathered the ball from midfield and shot from distance but her effort went just wide of Walsh’s goal.
Second Half.
Tottenham made a substitute at halftime with Cho replacing Clemaron, Brighton again started the half the strongest. Tottenham took until the 53rd minute to create something when Graham took on 3 Brighton players and managed to get a cross into the box but V.Williams got there before any attacking Tottenham players to put the ball out for a corner. The Tottenham corner was met by Rachel Williams who headed straight at Walsh from point-blank range. Some sloppy defending almost gifted Brighton a second when a bad pass by Neville gifted the ball to Carter who shot from distance and hitting the bar as Tottenham were let off the hook. Tottenham appealed for a penalty a minute later when Graham seemed to have been fouled inside the Brighton box by V.Williams but the referee waved play on.
Brighton came straight back at Tottenham, Carter was giving Tottenham a horrid time and almost gave Brighton a second with some wonderful play down the wing but Zadorsky tracked well putting Carter under pressure and preventing her from getting a good shot away as Spencer made a comfortable save. Brighton had a little good fortune in the 66th minute when Chi managed to get a shot away from the left, the ball slipped away from Walsh but Williams was unable to turn in the loose ball. Tottenham seemed to have grown into the game with the introduction of Addison, in the 74th minute it was Addison that had a chance to draw Tottenham level when she twisted and tuned taking on Gibbons but was only unable to get a soft shot away, in the end, making it a comfortable save for Walsh.
A minute later things went from bad to worse for Tottenham when Rachel Williams was sent off for a double yellow card. The replays show that there was nothing in the challenge and a second yellow was very harsh but due to no VAR in the women’s game Tottenham was forced to play the remaining 15 minutes with 10. Tottenham refused to go down without a fight and even with 10, Tottenham continued to push forward as Brighton defended with everybody back as Graham’s effort was blocked by a wall of players. Brighton could have had a second in the 84th minute when good play by Brighton, switching the flow of play from left to right found Carter who shot from the edge of the Tottenham box but her effort went just wide of Spencer’s goal. A minute later Brighton had calls for a penalty rejected and was awarded a corner, the Brighton corner found V.Williams in the Tottenham box who was unmarked with plenty of time to decide where she wanted to put the ball and slotted past Spencer to give Brighton their second of the game. Tottenham responded right away with a great interception by Cho, finding Graham with a pass who took on V.Williams and slotted past Walsh to give Tottenham some hope. The officials indicated a minimum of 5 minutes added time, Neville found Graham with a throw, who found tang with a pass who twisted and turned before getting her shot away but her effort was straight at Walsh. Brighton defended with everyone back as Tottenham threw everyone forward looking for an equaliser but the Brighton defence held strong before the game was brought to an end after 6 minutes of added time.
Player of the match.
Our player of the match for the second game in a row goes to Kit Graham. Graham was again at the centre of all of Tottenham’s attacks and score a consolation for our Lilywhites.
Post match analysis.
Brighton was always going to be a tough match, they are always very physical and fight until the end and today was no different. Brighton marked Tottenham’s dangerous players with a 2 on 1 ratio giving Clemaron, Chi and Graham no space to create anything. Again we feel that Skinner got the lineup wrong with starting Ayane who went missing and at times felt like Tottenham were playing with a player less. Another player that we feel needs a rest is Neville who every week is making mistakes that can cost Tottenham goals.
Credit has to go to Brighton who fought from the start and maintained high pressure on our midfielders stopping them from being able to create. Even the always relatable Clemaron had a terrible first half before being substituted for Cho. Tottenham looked more lively from the 55th minute when Cho, Addison and Tang gave Tottenham a different approach which makes us think had Addison and Tang started the result could have been very different.
We knew that this moment would come but I think most of us thought that our first dropped points would have come against Manchester United or Arsenal. Congratulations to Brighton they put in a shift and deserved the points. We must now lift our heads and focus on United after the international break. Good luck to our Lilywhites and we know they will bounce back from this setback, we Spurs fans are proud of the team COYS!!!
Conti Cup
On Wednesday night Tottenham took on former coach Karen Hills and her Addicks in the
Conti Cup. Tottenham are in group C alongside Coventry, Watford and Charlton. Coventry ran out 3-0 winners against Watford while our Lilywhites beat Charlton 1-0 with Tang getting the goal for Tottenham.
Tottenham made many changes from Sunday’s defeat to Brighton with Korpela, Morgan,
Addison, Cho and Tang all getting rare starts, while Molly Bartrip Captained the side for the first time as Shelina Zadorksy was given a well-deserved rest. Tottenham looked like they were still suffering a hangover from Sunday’s defeat and took a while to get going. Charlton came out very physical which seemed like the only way Charlton would be able to stop Tottenham. Angela Addison looked as dangerous as ever giving Kiera Skeels lots of problems in the first half but former Tottenham defender Anna Filbey was always there to cover. Even though this was a very scrappy game Tottenham showed their class as they dominated Charlton but once again need to take advantage of their chances and put the ball in the back of the net.
Some good news for Tottenham was that Kyah Simon came on in the final 27minutes
even though is still not fully match fit, Simon looked good for Tottenham chasing every ball and tracking back to receive the ball from the midfield to try to create something for Tottenham. We were impressed with what we saw from Simon and believe once she is match fit and has had a chance to gel with the team she will most certainly be a starter and a great addition to the squad. Highlights of our Lilywhites first win in the Conti Cup can be seen below on our Youtube channel.
Next match.
Our Lilywhites next WSL match is at home to Manchester United after the international break. Tickets at priced at £6.50 for adults, £4.50 for young adults and £3.50 for kids and concession and can be purchased at https://bit.ly/3auDZUI
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