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After what seems like an eternity, the WSL is back. Tottenham travelled to 6th place Reading as our Lilywhites looked to take third place back from a Manchester United who beat Leicester this weekend 4-0 to go third. Tottenham last took on Reading in September, where our Lilywhites ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a Naz goal 5 minutes from time.

Tottenham have had a slow start to 2022 but seem to have found their way again after beating Brighton 4-0 and defeating Birmingham 2-0 at ST Andrew’s. Highlights of that match can be seen below.

News.

Tottenham fans got a boost this week when @spurswomen posted a photo of Kit Graham on her road to fitness after suffering a horrific injury against West Ham back in November.

We wish Kit a speedy recovery and hope to see her back for the start of the 2022-23 season.

In other news, the Barclays Player of the Month was announced this week with our very own Ash Neville taking the award.

This is the first time a Tottenham player has won this award and it goes to show how far this group of players have come. We would like to wish Ash a HUGE congratulations on this award and hope that this is the first of many for this club.

Finally, three Tottenham matches have been chosen for live TV. The first match will be Tottenham vs Manchester City, which will be shown live on BBC Two on Sunday, March 13th at 12.30. Our rescheduled match with Chelsea from Kingsmeadow will be shown on Sky Sport on Wednesday 23rd at 19.45. Finally, the month ends with the North London Derby. Our match with Arsenal has been moved to Saturday, March 26th and will now take place at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, March 26th at 14.15 with the match being shown on BBC One

Tickets for the North London Derby can be purchased at https://www.eticketing.co.uk/arsenal/EDP/Event/Index/2989. Tottenham fans will be occupying the East Section 18 from rows 5 upwards.

Lineups.

Reading 4-4-2: Moloney in goal, Bryson in at right-back, Evans and Cooper in the centre of defence with Woodham in at left-back. The Reading midfield was made of Harding down the right-wing, Eikeland and Vanhaevermaet in the centre of midfield with Rowe down the left-wing. The Reading front two was made of Dowie and Rose.

Tottenham 4-3-3: Korpela in goal, Ale in at right-back, Bartrip and Zadorsky on the centre of defence with Harrop in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Summanen, Percival and Clemaron. The Tottenham front three was made of Neville down the left, Simon down the right and William in the number 9 role.

First Half.

Tottenham started the strongest of the two teams and got their first chance of the game in the 4th minute when Neville was denied by Moloney after good play by Percival down the left. Tottenham continued to dominate possession as Reading struggled to get out of their half. Tottenham came close again in the 14th minute when Percival broke loose down the right-wing, crossing deep into the Reading box but an unmarked Simon was unable to get a touch to the ball. Rachel Williams came close in the 21st minute when Simon picked out Williams however her diving header was off target.

Tottenham had calls for a penalty turned away two minutes later when Moloney beat Percival to a long Neville ball but clashed with Percival preventing the Kiwi from latching into the loose ball. A minute later Tottenham came close again, this time Ale found Percival with a cross but her header was well saved by Moloney to keep the score at 0-0. Reading started to settle into the game in the 30th minute as Rowe started to see more of the ball for the hosts as she tried to get Reading into the game.

Tottenham continued to push forward and look for the opening goal and came close in the 37th minute when a quick Bartrip free-kick found Neville down the left. Her cross was headed away by Evans only as far as Simon who tried to find Percival unmarked but Reading recovered well and her pass was blocked and put out to safety. Reading’s first effort came in the 39th minute when a rare Reading attack led to an Eikeland half volley but quick reflexes by Korpela denied the Norwegian. Reading kept pushing forward in the closing 5 minutes and came close again in the 41st minute when Harding volleyed unmarked in the Tottenham box but her effort flew just over Korpela’s bar.

The 4th official indicated a minimum of 5 minutes injury time but Tottenham didn’t sit back. Reading did almost grab a goal at the end when a Woodham corner almost flew straight into the Tottenham net, but an alert Korpela was able to get a hand to the ball to deny Reading. Tottenham came close once again in the 4th minute of injury time when Williams latched onto a long ball, twisting and turning Evans before getting her shot away but just missed Moloney’s left/hand post. A minute later, Tottenham came close again with Neville down the right who hit a cross-shot looping over Moloney and hitting the back post before being cleared to safety by the Reading defence.

Second Half.

Reading started the second half brighter as they looked to gain control of the midfield while Tottenham looked to find their rhythm again. Tottenham again had claims for a penalty turned away in the 50th minute when Summanen broke through the Reading defence and was shoved by Rowe. Much to everyone’s surprise, the referee gave a free kick in favour of Reading. Rowe looked like Reading’s most lively player as she got behind the Tottenham defence on a couple of occasions but great defending by Bartrip denied Rowe with a last-minute tackle to deny a one on one opportunity for the hosts.

Tottenham started to get back into the game and had a half-chance in the 54th minute when Williams latched onto a long Ale ball but Moloney was quick off her line to deny Williams from getting her shot away. Tottenham continued to pressure the Reading defence as Cleamaron found Percival with a clever chip before receiving the ball back and shooting from distance but her effort sailed over.

Reading was almost punished in the 57th minute when a Woodham ball was intercepted by Percival, Williams was unable to get to the loose ball before Moloney rushed off her line as Reading was let off the hook. Zadorksy got a half chance for Tottenham in the 69th minute when a Summanen free-kick found Clemaron who then found Zadorksy down the left before unleashing a shot from distance but her effort flew over Moloney’s bar.

Reading came close and should have taken the lead in the 72nd minute with a counter, Evans somehow skied the ball unmarked from point-blank range. Tottenham came close again in the 75th minute when a Percival cross took a heavy deflection off Rose. The ball bounced awkwardly over Moloney as Cooper let the ball bounce over her head before being cleared off the line. Tottenham claimed the ball had crossed the line but without VAR, Tottenham was again denied an opportunity to take the lead.

Tottenham pushed forward and finished the game the stronger of the two teams. Summanen came close again for Tottenham in the 85th minute when a Harrop attack down the left found the Fin but she couldn’t get enough power behind her effort. Reading caught Tottenham with a counter in the 87th minute with Rose down the left before finding Harding with a cross but Harrop was quick to cover and managed to get a block in before she was able to pull the trigger. The 4th official indicated a minimum of 3 minutes injury time as Tottenham continued to dominate possession. Reading had a claim for a penalty turned away in the 91st minute when Neville got a last-minute tackle in to win the ball cleanly but Reading claims for a foul was denied. Tottenham came straight back at Reading and had the final chance of the game with a Summanen shot from distance but was unable to curl her effort as it flew just wide of Moloney’s post before the game was brought to an end.

Player of the match.

Tottenham gave it their all luck just wasn’t on their side. Percival, Bartrip, Clemaron and ale all impressed for our Lilywhites but we feel Summanen just takes our award for the player of the match. Summanen was everywhere she pushed forward, created chances, helped out in defence and came close to scoring on a few occasions.

Post match analysis.

Tottenham gave one of the best performances of the season against Reading, unfortunately, luck was not on their side. Tottenham had the ball cleared off the line, 2 penalty claims turned away and hit the post but were just unable to get the ball in the back of the net. The starting 11 could be questioned but once again we saw how bad luck and a lack of firepower upfront cost Tottenham a chance to go 2nd in the WSL.

Credit to Reading for being well organised and holding strong but luck was on their side in a game where it looked like only one team was most likely to take the victory. Reading had a few chances against the run of play and could have cruelly taken all 3 points but luckily for Tottenham the few times that Reading countered, Korpela and the Tottenham defence was alert to deny the hosts.

Tottenham’s subs came a little too late in the game with Cho coming on for Percival in the 77th minute and Addison coming in for Ale in the 84th minute. We would have liked to see Tang introduced as these are games that should be won especially with the tough 3 matches that face Tottenham throughout Match. Williams hasn’t scored for Tottenham since December and needs support upfront. She missed a couple of sitters and did not chase the ball down unless it was played to her feet. We hope we see a change-up top next week against City as we need to take advantage of the few opportunities that we will get.

After this draw, it’s safe to say that our chase for Champions League football has now come to an end. We can still be proud of the team and hope improvements will be made in the summer as we look to improve on what’s been a fantastic season in the WSL. Anything is possible in football and our Lilywhites may take something against City, Chelsea or Arsenal but if they fail then we can all still be proud. We will continue to have faith and believe in the team and hope Tottenham can take something next Sunday against City. COME ON YOU SPURS!!!

Next match.

After a month of waiting, Tottenham are back at the Hive. The match has been chosen for live broadcast and will be shown on Sunday Match 13th at 12.30 live on BBC2. Tickets for the match and all remaining home WSL matches can be purchased over at https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/buy-tickets/women/match-tickets/.

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Tottenham travelled to St. Andrew’s to meet 12th placed Birmingham City. The last time the two teams met back in September Tottenham ran out 1-0 winner with a goal from Kit Graham. Tottenham was looking to build on last week’s 4-0 at the Hive and remain in the hunt for Champion’s League football. Highlights of last weeks match with Brighton can be seen below.

https://youtu.be/-9WV4qbeq_A

Lineups.

Birmingham 3-4-3: Ramsey in goal, Lawley, Quinn and Holloway made up the three centre-backs. Finn and Robertson were in wing-back positions with Murray and Sarri making up the Birmingham midfield. The Birmingham front three was made of Pennock, Smith and former Tottenham player Lucy Quinn.

Tottenham 4-3-3: Spencer in goal, Ale in at right-back, Bartrip and Schnaderbeck in the centre of defence with Zadorsky in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Neville, Clemaron and Percival. The Tottenham front line was made of Simon down the right, Naz down the left and Williams in the middle.

First half.

The game started quite scrappy with both teams giving the ball away cheaply and unable to hold possession. Birmingham had the first chance of the game in the 10th minute with a wonderful shot by Sarri but Spencer made a goal-saving stop to deny Birmingham the opener. Birmingham grew into the game and looked the most comfortable, enjoying most of the possession. In the 18th minute, Pennock broke from midfield unchallenged but her effort went over Spencer’s bar. Tottenham countered straight from the restart with Bartrip playing Naz through with a long ball. Naz hesitated and went wide of the goal, Naz did manage to get cross the ball in but Quinn was able to get the ball out for Birmingham before Tottenham won the ball again and got the ball back into the Birmingham box which found Naz but headed wide as a good opportunity was wasted.

Tottenham found themselves in another good position to take the lead in the 23rd minute when some lovely play by Naz found Clemaron who played through Simon but Simon also hesitated and her effort was blocked as another good chance was wasted. Tottenham tried to find their feet but was finding it hard to break down a well organised Birmingham defence. Birmingham was the better side in the first 40 minutes, except for a couple of half-chances for both sides, neither team was able to trouble the keepers.

Tottenham could have grabbed an opener in the 42nd minute when a Bartrip corner found Zadorksy at the back post but her header was just wide of Ramsey’s left-hand post. Birmingham finished the half the strongest as they regained control in the final few minutes of the half. They piled on the pressure and tried to grab a goal before the break but a well organised Tottenham defence was able to keep out the Birmingham attack before the first half came to an end.

Second Half.

Tottenham made two changes at halftime with Harrop and Summanen coming on for Simon and Schnaderbeck. Tottenham came out in the second half like a new team and the substitutions had an immediate effect. Tottenham gained control of the game and in the 52nd minute, Tottenham came close to getting the opener when Ale broke down the right-wing, she managed to get her cross into the Birmingham box but Williams somehow missed the header from point-blank range. Birmingham had calls for a penalty turned down two minutes later when Clemaron and Quinn seemed to come together in the Tottenham box but the referee waved play on despite protests from the Birmingham players. Tottenham came close again in the 59th player after passing the ball around looking for an opening. Summanen and Ale played some wonderful football, before playing Percival through one on one but Ramsey was quick off her line to deny Tottenham an opener.

Tottenham finally got their breakthrough in the 65th minute when Percival and Bartrip played a one-two from the corner, Bartrip found Naz with a pass who centred into the Birmingham box. Percival missed the header while Ramsey misjudged the cross before Neville turned in the loose ball to put Tottenham ahead. Tottenham came close to a second 2 minutes later when a Harrop cross found Summanen but she could direct her diving header as Ramsey made an easy save. Tottenham continued to pile on the pressure and in the 69th minute, Tottenham again came close. A Bartrip corner was hit by Williams but her effort was cleared off the line. Summanen latched onto the loose ball but her thunderous shot hit the Birmingham bar as Tottenham looked for a second.

Tottenham should have had a second in the 72nd minute after Naz broke down the wing and crossed deep into the Birmingham box, the ball was missed by everyone but Neville managed to get a touch at the back post but her effort somehow went wide of Ramsey’s right-hand post. Tottenham continued to dominate the game and should have had a 2nd in the 81st minute after Harrop broke away and shot from distance, Ramsey made a good save, the loose ball came to Neville but her effort went wide as she was unable to turn in the loose ball. Tottenham came straight at Birmingham as Naz broke for Tottenham, she found Neville with a pass but Ramsey and the post somehow kept the ball out as Tottenham was awarded a corner. Tottenham finally got a second 6 minutes from time when a Neville cross was touched by Williams to Percival who tapped in from close range to give Tottenham a second. Birmingham protested for offside but the goal was given as Tottenham sealed all 3 points before the game was brought to an end.

Player of the match.

Summanen had a fantastic 45 minutes and made a huge difference to how Tottenham played but we have to give our player of the match to Neville for getting the opener for Tottenham and coming close to bagging a couple more for our Lilywhites.

Post match analysis.

This match was certainly the opposite of last weeks match against Brighton. We always knew that Birmingham was going to be tough especially as they are fighting for survival. Once again the biggest problem for Tottenham this season is goals, goals, goals, too many opportunities are being missed by the front line once again. We feel that Skinner got the lineup wrong, Summanen should have started alongside Percival and Clemaron, Tang should have started in place of Naz. But credit goes to Birmingham who had a game plan and stuck to it and caused our Lilywhite a lot of problems in the first half.

We once again saw a game of two halves, Birmingham was the better side in the first half but the introduction of Harrop and Summanen made a huge difference. Summanen was all over the pitch and was unlucky to not have gotten a goal. Tottenham looked like a new team in the second half and finally was able to break down Birmingham and dominate the game. We saw in the second half the lineup that should be starting weekly. Tang didn’t get much playing time once again but should be starting for Tottenham otherwise we can’t see her extending her loan deal.

After what has been a tough start to the year, its good Tottenham have been able to get two wins before the international break. Tottenham now sits in third place before facing Reading away in a couple of weeks. We hope Tottenham have gotten their confidence back and can continue in their winning ways. We are looking forward to seeing Tottenham take on Reading in March and hope they can take all three points before facing City and Chelsea in two tough WSL matches that can decide Tottenham’s Champions League fate. We believe, we have faith and will back this team until the end COME ON YOU SPURS!!!

Next match.

Tottenham will now be on a 2-week break as the sides break for an international break. Tottenham’s next match will take place on March 6th as Tottenham travel to Reading before welcoming Manchester City to the Hive on March 13th. Tickets for Manchester City and the remaining WSL home matches can be purchased at https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/buy-tickets/women/match-tickets. The match will also be shown live on BBC 2.

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Fa cup.

Our journey in the FA Cup has sadly come to an end after a hard-fought match against Leicester City. A game in which Tottenham dominated the game but a Tottenham error resulted in Leicester drawing level with 9 minutes to play. Two more defensive errors saw the Foxes clinch a famous 3-1 victory and a place in the 5th round of the FA Cup. Highlights of last weeks FA Cup defeat can be seen below.

Where is it going wrong.

So 2022 has not been kind to Tottenham and has seen our Lilywhite dip in form, so where is it going wrong for Tottenham. The answer is simple, there is not enough depth in the squad and with players away on international duty Tottenham looks like they are losing momentum. Being involved in 3 competitions as well as pushing for a Champions League place may have been a big ask and we are now seeing that the team may have run out of steam coming into the second half of the season.

Many positives can be taken from how Tottenham started the season and we are sure Skinner and Jepson will know the areas that need strengthening for next season to ensure Tottenham can carry the momentum we saw in the first half of the campaign. Despite the dip in form, Tottenham fans can still be proud of what the team has achieved so far and with 22 points we can already look forward to another season in the WSL.

Transfers.

Tottenham announced this week that our very own Esther Morgan has joined Leicester City until the end of the season.

We hope Esther gets the playing time that she deserves at Leicester and that she will return to Tottenham next season and start getting back into the first team. We need to keep young players and nurture them not leave them out in the cold. We wish Esther the best of luck and hope to see her in a Tottenham jersey again very soon.

In other news, Tottenham new signing Evaliina Summanen and Viktoria Schnaderbeck made their debuts last week in the FA Cup 4th round match against Leicester. Although Summanen did not get much playing time Schnaderbeck looked good in defence but, it resulted in Molly Bartrip having to move up to midfield and take over Clemaron’s role. It’s always good to strengthen the team but a centre back is not a position we needed to fill, instead, a left-back and forward is what we need the most. It will be interesting to see where the new arrivals will fit in Skinners plans.

Viktoria sat down earlier this week with Spurs TV to speak about her move in an interview which can be viewed below.

🎙 “I just wanted to get back to playing”

Viki's first interview as a Spurs player ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/5frIluNUPN

— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) February 2, 2022

Conti cup.

Our search for silverware, unfortunately, came to an end this past Thursday as Manchester City ran out 3-0 winners in the second semi-final of the Conti Cup. Despite a disappointing week for our Lilywhites, the positive we can take is that this team reached its first major semi-final for the first time in its history. Deep down we all knew that it would be a huge ask considering our recent run of results but we always have to believe. Tottenham could have taken the lead when Naz found herself one on one with Roebuck but put the ball wide. Had that chance gone in it could have been a completely different story.

You can’t let teams like Manchester City off the hook and once again we saw what devastating impact those missed chances have on a result. City looked comfortable throughout with our Lilywhites struggling to trouble Manchester City. Sometimes you need to face facts and the truth is Tottenham have overachieved in the first half of the season. Tottenham wasn’t winning games convincingly, they were lucky in many games, bigger clubs like City got off to a slow start and now the lack of depth is showing. Tottenham is still a new club in the WSL, Rome wasn’t built in a day but Tottenham are already showing what the future can bring if they continue to invest in the club. Highlights of Tottenham’s Conti Cup Semi-Final match can be viewed below.

Tottenham made some signings in the summer that just haven’t cut it for us and that’s no fault of Skinner or the coaching staff as it happens everywhere. Just look at the likes of Barcelona who signed Dembele and Coutinho and haven’t been the players they expected. The same has happened at Tottenham, Chi, Cho, Simon have not been the players we expected. Tang hasn’t had enough minutes to prove herself whilst Clemaron and Bartrip have been major hits and become key players for our club. Dean was never WSL quality but if you are going to trade Dean you must bring in someone better, what you can’t do is have one natural striker with no backup. How players like Dean are allowed to leave and Ayane is given a new contract is a mystery. Even though there is still plenty to play for this season, Tottenham needs a shake-up and at least 4 players need to be traded with a minimum of 5 new players bright in with a forward and winger as a priority.

We have heard recently that the defence is letting too many goals in, we don’t feel the issue is the defence. The issue lies upfront if those chances we miss regularly was turned in, games would be finished, teams would be broken and our defence wouldn’t need to work so hard. It’s not the same being 2 or 3 up as opposed to finding yourself 0-0 or barely 1 up. However we are proud of the teams achievements so far and we just hope this slow start 2022 won’t have a negative effect on the team for the rest of the season as we now turn our focus back to WSL action and welcomed Brighton to the Hive.

Lineups.

Tottenham 4-3-3: Spencer in goal, Ale in at right-back, Bartrip and Zadorksy in the centre of defence with Harrop in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Summanen, Clemaron and Percival. While the Tottenham front 3 was made of Simon down the right, Williams in centre and Addison down the left.

Brighton 4-3-3: Walsh in goal, Le Tissier in at right-back, Kerkdijk and Williams in the centre of defence with Kullberg in at left-back. The Brighton midfield was made of Zigiotti, Connolly and Koivisto. Whilst the Brighton front line was made of Kaagman, Brazil and Carter.

First half.

The game started quite evenly matched with both teams looking to gain control of possession. Tottenham had their first clear chance in the 11th minute when a long Bartrip ball beat the Brighton defence. Simon reacted the quickest chipping the ball over Walsh to give Tottenham the lead. Brighton almost got back on level terms in the 18th minute when a long Brighton ball led to a heavy touch by Bartrip, Kaagman was first to react but her effort was easily gathered by Spencer in the Tottenham goal. Brighton was very physical with their challenges as V.Williams saw a yellow card in the 22nd minute for a heavy challenge on Percival.

Summanen took the Tottenham free-kick but her effort hit the Brighton wall before they began a counter with a long ball. Quick defending by Bartrip prevented Brazil from latching onto the long ball and regained possession for Tottenham. Tottenham almost doubled their lead in the 27th minute when a Summanen corner was met by Williams but her header smashed against the Brighton bar before being cleared to safety. Tottenham continued to dominate possession, passing the ball around trying to pick out an opening to release Addison down the left, but Le Tissier was alert and stuck close to Addison.

Tottenham again came close to a second in the 32nd minute when Percival played through Summanen who raced between then the defence, Walsh was quickly off her line to tighten the angle and Summanen put her effort just wide of Walsh’s right-hand post. Brazil moved over to the right and began to cause Harrop some problems before skipping past 3 challenges and getting the ball into the Tottenham box but Zadorksy was alert and was able to get to the ball before Carter to get the ball away to safety.

Brighton began to gain control of the midfield towards the end of the half, pushing their lines further up but Tottenham took advantage and broke on the attack with Addison who took on V.Williams and Kullberg before shooting from distance but her effort was easily saved by Walsh. The 4th official indicated a minimum of 2 minutes added time and Brighton almost snatched an equaliser in the 47th minute. Le Tissier made a good run and crossed into the Tottenham box, the ball was missed by everyone but Spencer reacted quickly to make the save and deny Brighton a freak goal.

Second half.

Brighton started the strongest in the first few minutes of the second half with Kaagman shooting from distance after latching onto a long ball but her effort flew over Spencer’s bar. Skinner made a substitute in the 53rd minute with Neville coming on for Addison as Tottenham looked to hold out the Brighton attack. Neville had an instant impact on the game by doubling Tottenham’s lead in the 56th minute. Percival was again involved in the build-up as she picked Neville out with a pass before the substitute slotted past Walsh to double Tottenham’s lead.

Tottenham continued to push forward and looked in an unforgiving mood. In the 61st minute, a Percival corner was met by Williams who headed across the face of the goal. Summanen reacted first and got a touch but Walsh made a fine save from close range, Zadorsky reacted the quickest and tapped in the rebound to make it three for Tottenham. A minute later Tottenham won possession again with Neville winning the ball outside the Brighton box, she got a cross in, across the face of goal finding Simon who knocked the ball past Walsh for her second of the game and Tottenham’s 4th.

Brighton began to gamble and push everyone forward as they looked for goals, in the 69th minute, Kaagman found herself clear on goal from a long ball but a great run back and last-minute tackle by Bartrip denied the Dutch forward before she was able to get her shot away. Tottenham began to slow the game down in the 80th minute as they passed the ball around the backline keeping possession and patiently waited for an opportunity to break on Brighton. Brighton looked to open up Tottenham down the left flank but Bartrip and a substitute Schnaderbeck was alert and prevented any crosses causing any danger in the Tottenham box.

Tottenham had a penalty claim turned down in the 88th minute when Williams and Le Tissier both chased a ball into the Brighton box. Le Tissier seemed to nudge Williams in the box as the Tottenham forward went down but the referee waved play on. The 4th official indicated a minimum of 4 minutes injury time, Brighton caught Tottenham on the counter-attack and almost came close in the 91st minute when a counter led to a shot from the edge of the box but the ball was well deflected out for a corner as the Tottenham defence held strong before the game was brought to an end.

Player of the match.

Our player of the match goes to Ria Percival who was everywhere and was involved in three of the Tottenham goals. Percival was a victim of a few heavy challenges and at one point looked like she would go off injured but the Kiwi pushed on and was instrumental in Tottenham’s victory.

Post match analysis.

Tottenham bounced back from what has been a slow start to 2022. Tottenham seemed to have found their rhythm again and dominated Brighton from the start of the game. Summanen looked good in the Tottenham midfield causing the Brighton defence a lot of problems and could have grabbed a couple of goals. For the first time this season, Tottenham looked lethal in front of goal and did not miss clear chances. Percival was key for Tottenham, being involved in three goals and numerous other chances for Tottenham. For a team that’s played 3 big games in a week, our Lilywhites looked fresh and maybe the disappointment of two cup exits motivated Tottenham in the game against Brighton.

Maybe just maybe Skinner has found her right lineup for the second half of the season. Cho and Tang still need to return after the Asia Cup final but Tottenham looked much more of a threat with Addison down the wing and Summanen looked very impressive in the Tottenham midfield. Tottenham have never replaced Rachel Furness but with Clemaron, Percival and Summanen Tottenham seem to have finally found the perfect midfield with Percival and Summanen liking to get forward and give the forwards support.

Things finally look like they are getting back on track, but it’s only one game and we can’t get too ahead of ourselves. Tottenham’s next match is away to bottom of the table Birmingham City. On paper it should be another 3 points for our Lilywhites but Birmingham are fighting for survival and will no doubt make it tough for Tottenham. United take on City in the Manchester derby so a draw in that match and a victory for our Lilywhites will put us back in contention for a Champions League spot. It’s onward and upwards now for our Lilywhites COME ON YOU SPURS!!!

Next match.

Tottenham now face two away matches with Reading and Birmingham our opposition before our next home game at the Hive where Tottenham will take on Manchester City on March 13th. Tickets for our next home game can be purchased over at https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/buy-tickets/women/match-tickets/

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Announcement!!

Before we get into this week’s blog, we at Lilywhites ladies and Women’s Soccer Fans would like to offer our apologies to the travelling Leicester fans. After yesterdays upsetting defeat a Tottenham “fan” decided to swear and abuse a group of Leicester fans for celebrating their victory in the FA Cup. No one likes to see their team lose but football/soccer is a family game and the woman’s game has always been family-oriented with lots of young children around.

We are unsure if Tottenham Hotspur is aware of what happened after the game. We who are independent of Tottenham Hotspur would like to thank the quick reactions of the Hives security team and fellow Tottenham fans who confronted the individual who was hurling abuse at a group of Leicester fans. Had the brave Tottenham fans and security team not responded the situation could have turned violent and that’s something that we never want to see again at a match. If anyone has any information on who this individual was please report them to the Hive and Tottenham Hotspur Football club as this individual is not a fan but a trouble maker and these types of people are not wanted at future Tottenham women’s games.

The FA Cup is back.

There was no WSL action this week because the famous FA Cup was back. Our Lilywhites hosted Leicester City at the Hive. Tottenham was looking to respond to last weekends disappointing defeat to Manchester United in which our Lilywhites fell to a 3-0 loss. Highlights of last weeks defeat to United can be seen below on our YouTube channel.

Lineups.

Tottenham 4-3-3: Spencer in goal, Ale in at right-back, Bartrip and Zadorksy in the centre of defence with Neville in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Percival, Clemaron and Addison with the Tottenham front line being made up of Ayane down the right, Naz down the left with Williams in the middle.

Leicester 3-4-3: Lambourne in goal, Brougham, McManus and Plumptre as a back three with Howard and Purfield as wing-backs. The Leicester midfield was made of Pike and Barker with support from the wing-backs while the Leicester front line was made of Sigsworth, O’Brien and Gregory.

First Half.

Tottenham started the game the strongest from the first whistle. The Hive is slowly becoming a fortress with the last defeat coming on May 2021 against Chelsea. Tottenham dominated possession with Leicester struggling to get out of their half. Tottenham’s first chance came in the 17th minute after pressure by Tottenham led to a corner. Percival swung the ball in with Williams connecting well only to have her header cleared off the line by Plumptre to deny Tottenham an opener. Tottenham continued their high pressure and in the 27th minute, Tottenham had another clear chance to take the lead. A good interception by Addison started the Tottenham attack, she found Naz with a pass before playing through Ayane who blasted over the bar from point-blank range.

Leicester tried to catch Tottenham on the counter and in the 30th minute, the visitors had a chance to snatch a goal after Gregory took on Ale before centering into the Tottenham box with Sigsworth connecting with a diving header unmarked but fortunately for Tottenham her header was just over Spencer’s bar. Tottenham kept coming at Leicester and came close again in the 37th minute after good work by Ale down the wing, she found Ayane with a pass who crossed into the box finding Williams who found herself 1 on 1 with Lambourne but the Leicester keeper was off her line quickly to put off Williams before she was able to pull the trigger.

Leicester had a penalty claim turned down in the 42nd after a collision in the Tottenham box between Clemaron and Sigsworth but the referee waved play on. The 4th official indicated a minimum of one minute added time as Tottenham looked to snatch a goal before the break.

Second Half.

Tottenham again started the second half in complete control. Addison came close in the 48th minute after a good run by Williams found Addison with a defence-splitting pass. Addison found herself one on one with Lambourne but the Leicester keeper was quick off her line as Addison was unable to turn the ball in for Tottenham. Ayane came close for Tottenham in the 51st minute after spinning away and unleashing a shot that was saved by Lambourne. Tottenham kept coming at Leicester and Neville came close to get breaking the deadlock in the 58th minute after latching onto a loose ball and shooting from the edge of the box but her effort sailed just wide of Lambourne’s goal.

Tottenham finally got their breakthroughs in the 69th minute when Naz took on Plumptre down the right before getting her cross into the Leicester box as Addison slid in to knock the ball in to give Tottenham a well-deserved lead. Tottenham continued to dominate the game but a rare error from Captain Zadorksy who lost the ball to O’Brien who took full advantage and let loose a thunderous shot into Spencer’s top left-hand corner to draw the Foxes level with less than 10 minutes to play. With a minimum of 4 mines added time, Tottenham tried to seal the game and avoid extra time. Tottenham came close to closing the tie in the 93rd minute after a good run by Neville finds Naz with a pass who shoots from an angle but her effort was somehow saved by Lambourne to deny Tottenham at the death before the game was called to an end.

Extra Time.

Extra time for off to the worst possible start for Tottenham as Leicester took the lead a minute into the half. A long ball from Plumptre found Howard in the Tottenham box, a miss-timed challenge by Zadorksy allowed Howard to get to the ball first who lobbed the ball over Spencer to give the Foxes the lead against the run of play. Tottenham came straight at Leicester as they searched for an equaliser. A good ball by Zadorksy in the 105th minute found Williams who played Neville down the right. Neville put in a wonderful ball into the Leicester box but no one was able to connect with the ball to turn the ball in for what should have been 2-2.

Tottenham kept searching for an equaliser in the second half of extra time but was unable to break down a solid Leicester defence. Tottenham had to gamble and pushed everyone forward as they searched for the goal to keep them in the FA Cup tie but unfortunately, Tottenham was punished in the 119th minute when Tottenham was caught with just one player back. Leicester under pressure booted the ball anywhere to ease the Tottenham pressure. The ball reached the half-way line as Naz tried to beat Baker in the air for the ball, Naz managed to get a touch in the ball as Zadorksy came back to clear up the loose ball but Spencer came rushing off her line missing the ball and the loose ball was walked into an empty Tottenham goal by De Graff to give Leicester the victory and knock our Lilywhites out of the FA Cup with less than a minute left to play.

Player of the match.

For the second week in a row, Molly Bartrip is our player of the match. Others like Angela Addison proved once again that she should be a regular starter and even got on the score sheet. Bartrip was solid in defence and was asked to play out of position in place of Clemaron and did a fantastic job in midfield and has proved what an important versatile player she is.

Post match analysis.

The FA Cup continues to surprise year in and year out. Firstly we would like to congratulate Leicester on their victory and wish them all the best for this years FA Cup.

So what went wrong for our Lilywhites? Tottenham dominated the game but once again we do not have the players to finish games off. Our bench was mostly defensive and to make matters worse Addison was substituted for Harrop, a defender at 1-1. Credit has to go to Leicester for hanging in there and never giving up, but they were allowed to get back into the game because Tottenham still can not finish games off.

There is no way we could fault Skinner’s team selection because with players away at the Asia cup it makes the selection more difficult, but rather than bringing in players in positions we don’t need, we should have been looking at bringing a forward and winger to the club. Things haven’t been going as well since the Christmas break and our fear is that if things continue going as they are it will start to affect the team’s confidence. It’s been a tough start to 2022 with points dropped to West Ham, defeat to Manchester United and now being eliminated from the FA Cup. The team now needs to focus and pull themselves up as this week will see our Lilywhites take part in one of the biggest games in their history as they look to make their ever first cup final.

The last time our Lilywhites faced Manchester City our Tottenham side ran out 1-2 winners under controversial circumstances but plenty of positives could be taken from that performance. Our team has grown since that game back in September and must believe that we have a good opportunity to make our first final. Highlights of our victory against City can be seen on the following link on the Tottenham Hotspur Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsNf0aCnwFQ.

As disappointed as we all feel with the recent run of results we need to show the team our support this Thursday in the Conti Cup semi-finals. If you are heading to Manchester be sure to make plenty of noise and give your backing to the team, we believe in the team and wish our Lilywhites the best of luck for Thursday COME ON YOU SPURS!!!

Breaking news.

This week’s breaking news is that our cancelled away match against Chelsea which was due to take place on January 7th has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 23rd at 19.45 and the match will be broadcast live on Sky Sport.

In other breaking news, new signing Evaliina Summanen now has Visa clearance and has joined up with the team and made her debut against Leicester as a substitute in Extra time.

Our very own Tinni Korpela sat down with the new recruit to get her first impressions of joining Tottenham.

🎙 “I'm excited to finally wear the shirt”

Tinni interviews Eveliina! ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/pfQaolLfte

— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) January 27, 2022

So who is Evaliina Summanen? Summanen is a 23-year-old Finnish midfielder who has played for Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (HJK) in Finland, KIF Örebro in Sweden and Kristianstads in Sweden before making her move to Tottenham until 2023. Summanen also has 20 caps to her name with the national team with two goals to her name.

In other breaking news, Tottenham also announced the loan signing of Austrian defender Viktoria Schnaderbeck from Arsenal this week.

So who is Viktoria Schnaderbeck? Schnaderbeck is an experienced defender who has played for LUV Graz and Bayern Munich before making the move to Arsenal in 2018. Schnaderbeck also has 53 caps for Austria after making her debut in 2007.

Next match.

Tottenham’s next home match will take place on Sunday, February 6th at 14.00. The match will also be broadcast live on the FA Player if you are unable to attend the match. Tickets for our next match and future home matches can be purchased over at https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/buy-tickets/women/match-tickets/.

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After the postponement of last weeks match with Chelsea due to Covid, Tottenham started the new year with a home game to London rivals 8th placed West Ham. Tottenham last faced the Hammers in November where Tottenham suffered just their 2nd defeat of the season in a game that Tottenham dominated but wes unable to put the ball in the back of the net.

Transfer market.

Tottenham have been linked with a move for Kristie Mewis and Swedish forward Stina Blackstenius but unfortunately those deals never happened with Mewis going to Gotham FC and Blackstenius signing with London arrivals Arsenal. The good news for our Lilywhites is that Tottenham has managed to make a signing so with Finnish international midfielder Eveliina Summanen. Summnen is yet to be cleared by immigration as she awaits her Visa clearance but should be available for Tottenham by next weekends match with Manchester United.

Line ups.

Tottenham 4-3-3: Spencer in goal, Neville in at right-back, Bartrip and Zadorksy in the centre of defence with Harrop in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Green, Clemaron and Percival. The Tottenham front 3 was made of Ayane down the right, Naz down the left and Tang in the number 9 position.

West Ham 5-3-2: Leat in goal, Stringer in at right-back, Fisk, Flaherty and Cissoko in the centre of defence with Longhurst in at left-back. The West Ham midfield was made of Snerle, Evan and Svitkova. The Hammers front 2 was made of Walker and Brynjarsdottir.

First half.

Tottenham started on the front foot and had an early chance in the first minute when Neville crossed into the West Ham box but Naz was unable to get her head to the ball as the cross went out for a goal-kick. West Ham tried to get at Tottenham but the Lilywhites held strong and in the 4th minute Tottenham came close again with good 1-2 play between Ayane and Tang lead to Tang playing through Ayane who had her effort blocked on the line by Svitkova before Flaherty got the ball away to safety. Like in the first game back in November, West Ham was very physical and committed many fouls to prevent Tottenham attacks. West Ham began to push their lines higher up as they looked for their first attack on the Tottenham goal, a good interception by Naz lead to a Tottenham counter with Tang playing through Ayane who used her speed to run the ball from the Tottenham half to the West Ham area before rushing her shot making it a comfortable ball for Leat to gather.

From the 20th minute, the game because quite even with most of the play taking part in the middle of the park. Neither team was able to create any clear chances as both keepers remained untroubled. Tottenham should have done better on the 30th minute after a Cissoko foul on Percival was looped into the West Ham box by Green, Flaherty headed the ball only as far as Neville who took a shot on the volley but the ball sailed wide of Leat’s right-hand post. West Ham was almost punished in the 34th minute when a Snerle back pass was mis-controlled by Leat but Ayane was unable to pounce quick enough before the New Zealand keeper managed to recover and get the ball away from Ayane. West Ham came straight at Tottenham and Evans unleashed a shot in the Tottenham box, but she was tracked well by Zadoskry who got in the block to prevent any threat on Tottenham’s goal.

Tottenham should have had a penalty in the 36th minute when Tang and Cissoko fought for a ball in the West Ham box, Cissoko leaned all over Tang before pushing her down but the referee was uninterested as West Ham was awarded the goal-kick. It took West Ham 40 minutes to have their first effort on goal when Longhurst shot from the right but the ball was gathered easily by Spencer in the Tottenham goal. West Ham had their best chance of the game in the 43rd minute when Svitkova’s West Ham corner was headed by Brynjarsdottir to Fisk who volleyed the ball over the Tottenham bar from 6 yards. Tottenham had their chance to take the lead in added time when Naz found Tang with a pass, Tang played through Ayane who rushed her shot put her effort wide.

Second half.

Tottenham started the second half with Skinner making a bizarre substitution with Williams coming on for Clemaron. The second half saw West Ham come out more attack-minded but much of the play continued to take place in the midfield. Tottenham was awarded a penalty on the 53rd minute when Cissoko brought down Tang in the West Ham box. The French international was lucky to not have been shown a second yellow card after countless fouls and for giving the penalty away. Ayane took the penalty for Tottenham and slotted into Leat’s bottom right-hand corner to give Tottenham a deserved lead.

West Ham came back at Tottenham as they looked for an equaliser but the Tottenham defence held strong. Cissoko again was at the centre of controversy when in the 55th minute she was finally shown a second yellow card after bringing down Naz at the halfway line and then booting the ball away out of frustration.

With a player less, West Ham looked more motivated than when they had 11 on the field as they searched for an equaliser. West Ham had calls for a penalty turned down in the 63rd minute when a Longhurst cross was met by Evans who claims her header hit Neville’s arm but replays show that there was no handball by the Tottenham defender. Tottenham began to slack a bit in the 2nd half but had a good chance to double their lead in the 67th minute when a Naz cross found Williams who cleverly back-heeled the ball to Ayane but Brynjarsdottir got a good block on the effort to deny Ayane her second of the game. Tottenham began to grow back into the game from the 70th minute and West Ham was let off again when a Harrop cross found Williams who played a nice layoff to Percival, Percival returned the pass to Williams who would have found herself one on one with Leat but Tottenham’s top goalscorer was unable to control the ball as it was gathered by the West Ham keeper. West Ham almost gifted Tottenham a goal a minute later when Leat’s kick hit Parker bouncing back into the West Ham box but Tang unexpectedly was unable to get onto the loose ball.

Tottenham kept coming at West Ham and in the 73rd minute some good play by Addison found Percival with a pass before playing a clever 1-2 with Neville who shot from an Angle beating Leat but Parker was there on the line to deny Tottenham their second of the game. Tottenham came close again in the 76th minute when a great run and skill by Percival found Tang who shot from the edge of the box but her effort was deflected out for a corner by Parker. Addison caused West Ham lots of problems down the right and came close with a shot from the edge of the box which was deflected on the 77th minute. The loose ball was charged down by Percival who played Tang through who found herself one on one with Leat but the West Ham stopper stood strong to deny Tottenham. Addison once again came close in the 80th minute when good play by Green down the right found Addison who twisted and turned before unleashing a shot from the edge of the box but Leat was positioned well to deny Addison.

Tottenham kept pushing forward looking to double their lead and put the game to bed, but the Lilwhites was unable to create a clear chance inside the West Ham box. After an additional 3 minutes was given by the 4th official, Tottenham looked to play the last few minutes by holding possession to run the clock down. West Ham came back at Tottenham looking for a final opportunity to snatch something. A West Ham cross from the left was headed away by Harrop but Chi was unable to get to the ball before Fisk who found Brynjarsdottir who chipped the ball into the Tottenham box finding Longhurst who got to the ball before Bartrip to loop her header past Spencer to draw West Ham level deep into injury time to draw West Ham level before the referee called the game to an end.

Player of the match.

Even though it was a scrappy match and both sets of players gave their all, our standout player of the game was Ria Percival. The Kiwi was everywhere and caused the West Ham defence a lot of problems which lead to Cissoko accumulating numerous fouls before her sending off. The former West Ham player is someone that goes unnoticed in most games but once again proved how important she is in the Tottenham midfield.

Post match analysis.

Skinner put out a weaker side than we are used to especially against a tough, well organised West Ham side. The big surprise was that Williams was benched but it was good to see Tang get some playing time. Ideally, we would have liked to see Korpela in goal, with Williams in Place of Ayane and Addison in place of Naz. It will be interesting to see where Summanen will fit in once she has her visa clearance to play. Ayane again for us is a huge weakness, except for speed she doesn’t seem to bring anything else to the team and costs Tottenham too much possession and once again we have seen that Tottenham’s biggest problem is the inability to finish games off.

Tottenham started the game brightly but found it hard to break down a team with 5 defenders who didn’t want to play football and whose game plan was to catch Tottenham on the counter-attack. After Cissoko’s sending off, Tottenham was unable to take advantage of the extra player. Credit to Olli Harder and his West Ham team for keeping organised but once again we have seen Tottenham unable to finish games off convincingly. The Tottenham defence and midfield were solid and made no errors but it’s the front line that remains an issue for Tottenham. Why did Williams not start the game? why is Addison not getting starts? why does Skinner feel she needs to change the lineup regularly? if it’s not broken don’t touch it. Something that we have seen all season is that Williams needs support she needs someone to play alongside her, maybe Tang is that player but with the lack of minutes she has gotten, it’s hard to know. We definitely need a couple of signings, lets hope Tottenham can bring a couple more players in before the end of the winter transfer window.

It’s always disappointing to not take all three points when you dominate a game and it’s not the first time that Tottenham has dominated and dropped points to West Ham. Tottenham need to be more ruthless in front of goal and they MUST bring in reinforcements maybe enquire about Beth England who’s not getting regular minutes at Chelsea and with the Euros 6 months away, I am sure she will be looking for regular playing time to make the England squad. We must now focus on making history this Wednesday when Tottenham take on Liverpool in the Conti Cup Quarter-Finals with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs. We believe in the team and wish our Lilywhites the best of luck for this Wednesday COME ON YOU SPURS!!!

Next match.

Tottenham’s next home match will be at home against Liverpool in the Conti Cup quarter finals. The game will kick-off at 19:30 on Wednesday January 19th. Tickets for the game are included in season ticket passes or can be purchased online and on the day from the Hive box office. Online tickets can be purchased at https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/buy-tickets/women/match-tickets/.

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The WSL was back after a 2-week international break and our Lilywhites travelled to the Banks Stadium to take on 10th placed Aston Villa. Tottenham was looking to bounce back after defeat to West Ham in their last WSL outing while Villa was looking to bounce back from the 5-0 thrashing by Manchester City on matchday 8. Highlights of Tottenham’s match to Wesh Ham can be seen below.

🎥 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦: 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗺 𝟭-𝟬 𝗦𝗽𝘂𝗿𝘀

The key moments from the Chigwell Construction Stadium. pic.twitter.com/fStYnW4Mfq

— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) November 22, 2021

Line Ups.

Aston Villa 4-3-3: Hampton in goal, Mayling, Asante, Sargeant and Pacheco in defence. The Villa midfield was made of Arthur, Allen and Boye-Hlorkah while the Villa attack was made of Gielnik, Littlejohn and Lehmann.

Tottenham 4-3-3: Korpela in goal, Neville, Bartrip, Zadorksy, Harrop in defence. The Tottenham midfield was made of Cho, Percival and Clemaron with the Tottenham front 3 being made of Naz, Williams and Simon.

First half.

Tottenham started the strongest of the two teams, playing their quick passing game as they pinned the hosts back. Tottenham had their first chance of the game in the 8th minute when Williams saw herself one-on-one with Hampton but somehow put the ball wide for what should have been the opener. Villa countered Tottenham right from the goal-kick with Gielnik leaving Harrop behind and shooting from the angle but her effort went wide of Korpela’s goal. Against the run of play, it was the host that struck first on 18 minutes when Lehmann centred into the box and Allen got to the ball before Bartrip and slotted past Korpela.

Tottenham kept coming at Villa while dominating possession and on the 27th minute, good play by Percival saw her brought down in the Villa box by Sergeant for a Tottenham penalty. Simon stepped up and slotted the penalty away to give Tottenham a well-deserved leveller. Tottenham continued the high pressure but was unable to break down a well organised Villa defence. Villa had a good chance in the 39th minute as the ball bounced around the Tottenham box but Korpela pulled off a good save to deny the hosts. Villa could have grabbed a second just before the break on the 43rd minute when a long Allen ball found Gielnik but Korpela was quickly off her line to deny Gielnik for what would have surely been the second for the hosts.

Second half.

The second half started evenly matched with both teams trying to find their flow without risking too much in defence. Villa came close on the 54th minute when a Hampton kick almost went straight in at the other end after Gielnik challenged Korpela but the Finnish shot-stopper recovered well to deny Villa the goal. Tottenham began to regain possession and dominate the game. On 61 minutes Williams won the ball and played it out wide to Neville who crossed from an angle, her cross almost caught Hampton off guard and flew in but the Villa stopper reacted quickly to prevent the goal.

Tottenham continued their pressure and got their reward on the 67th minute after Neville intercepted a Villa ball, played the ball to Naz who slotted Williams through who found herself one on one with Hampton, slotted the ball away to give the Lilywhites a 2-1 lead.

Tottenham had another great opportunity on 70 minutes when Williams found Simon with a pass but good defending by Mayling who got her foot in just as Simon was about to pull the trigger denied the Australian her second of the game. Tottenham continued to pile pressure on Villa and a minute later a Percival cross was dropped by Hampton before being booted away as far as Naz who shot from distance but Hampton saved to deny Tottenham a third.

Villa almost got a goal in the 79th minute when a Pacheco free-kick was dropped by Korpela, Sergeant was first to the loose ball shooting without hesitation but wonderful defending Bartrip, who cleared the ball off the line, denied Villa an equaliser. Villa protested the ball had crossed the line, but without the aid of VAR, the effort could not be reviewed for a goal. Villa kept pushing forward in the last moments of the game looking for an equaliser, but the Tottenham defence held strong in keeping the Villa attackers out before the game was brought to an end by the referee.

Player of the match.

Despite not having it all their own way Tottenham gave a solid performance. Williams has a good game scoring one and creating chances but our player of the game has to go to Molly Bartrip who had a solid performance in defence and denied Villa an equaliser with a goal-line clearance.

Post match analysis.

Another 3 points for our Lilywhites which was the perfect way to bounce back after the defeat to West Ham before the international break. Tottenham went into this game as favourites and dominated the game from the start. Villa had their chances and took the lead against the run of play, but Tottenham showed their fighting spirit and got back into the game. Credit has goes to Villa who was well organised and made it difficult for Tottenham at times, but the quality of the Tottenham team showed as they was determined to leave the Banks Stadium with nothing less than 3 points.

InTottenham’s first game without the injured Kit Graham, we did wonder who would play in place of Kit, Simon filled that position perfectly and looked like she has settled into the team and is gaining confidence with each game. We still feel Addison should start in place of Naz to give Tottenham extra flair down the wing, but all in all, it was a solid team that took on Villa. Tottenham still needs to work on some defensive issues because a stronger team would have punished Tottenham but sometimes a little luck is needed to win games since Tottenham have had their share of misfortune especially against West Ham.

Tottenham now takes on Coventry in the final game of the Conti Cup on Wednesday before welcoming 9th placed Everton to the Hive on Sunday. Everton is struggling this season and has seen a change of management but these are the teams that have given Tottenham the most problems this season. Everton will no doubt be very physical and out to take points no matter what, therefore Tottenham must be solid in defence, and take every opportunity presented to them to not be punished like against West Ham. Maybe it’s still too early to think about Champion League football but with each victory, our Lilywhites are closer to once again creating history. We believe in this team and are proud of their achievements so far this season and our journey continues this Sunday at the Hive COME ON YOU SPURS!!!

Next Match.

Tottenham’s next home match is next Sunday’s at The Hive against Everton. Tickets for the match can be purchased at https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/buy-tickets/women/match-tickets/ and the match will be shown live on the FA Player at 14:00 on Sunday, December 19th.

Tottenham was back in WSL action after what has been a fantastic week of results for our Lilywhites. Last weekend Tottenham took on league leaders Arsenal at the Hive where a record-breaking 2896 fans turned up to see our Lilywhites take their first-ever points against Arsenal. It was most certainly a game of two halves and our Lilywhites had opportunities to take the win with Ash Neville having a clear chance to put Tottenham 2 up in the second half. Overall it was a solid and positive performance by Tottenham and a result that the team and fans can be proud of. Highlights of last weeks match against Arsenal can be seen below on our youtube channel.

https://youtu.be/hKQN9jC1Quw

Tottenham was back in action midweek in the Conti Cup where Tottenham travelled to Watford in their second match of the group stages. Tottenham put in a fantastic performance but things did feel like it just wasn’t going to go Tottenham’s way when our Lilywhites had 3 goals disallowed. Once Tottenham got their breakthrough the onslaught began and Tottenham ran out 0-11 winners with Angela Addison and Rosella Ayane both bagging a hat-trick each. Highlights of Tottenham’s match against Watford can be seen below.

Tottenham travelled away to West Ham for matchday 8 with the hammers sitting in 8th place after last week’s 2-2 draw to Reading, while our Lilywhites sat in 4th after a historical point against the Gunners.

Line Ups.

West Ham 3-5-2: Arnold in goal, Flaherty, Cissoko and Fisk in the back for the Hammers. The West Ham midfield was made of Svitkova down the right, Yallop, Brynjarsdottir and Hasegawa in the centre while Longhurst was down the right. The West Ham front-line was made of Walker and Evans.

Tottenham 4-3-3: Korpela in goal, Ale in at right-back Bartrip and Harrop in the centre of defence with Neville in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Percival, Clemaron and Cho with the Tottenham front three being made of Simon, Williams and Graham.

First Half.

The game started quite evenly matched but it was West Ham’s Hasegawa who had the first chance of the game when the ball was won in the middle of the park, the Japanese international shot from distance but her effort was over the bar untroubling Korpela in the Tottenham goal. Tottenham should have had an early lead when in the 6th minute a miskick by Arnold was intercepted by Percival who found a Simon unmarked in the West Ham box but the Australian blasted over the bar from point-blank range to let West Ham off the hook.

Tottenham had another great chance in the 11th minute when after 2 corner’s Neville connected with the cross but headed just wide of Arnold’s goal. Tottenham came straight back at West Ham and in the 14th minute Graham played through Percival who rushed her effort from distance as her shot flew over Arnold’s bar as the West Ham stopper remained untroubled. The game then began to slow down and most of the play took place in the middle of the park as both sets of midfielders battled to dominate possession.

Things got bad for Tottenham in the 28th minute when play stopped as Kit Graham was stretchered off with a suspected broken leg after a heavy collision with Kate Longhurst. The setback didn’t knock Tottenham’s confidence, if anything it gave the Lilywhites more fight as they began to dominate possession. Simon was presented with a chance in the 33rd minute but she was unable to get the ball under control before it was taken off her. Tottenham came close again in the 42nd minute after a Tottenham attack drew a foul from Longhurst on Neville, Percival took the free-kick for Tottenham but the ball was knocked out for a corner just before Williams could attack the ball. After a minimum of 4 minutes of stoppage time was given, Tottenham came close again when an Arnold miskick came to Neville who found Williams with a pass but the linesman gave a late flag for offside to deny Tottenham the opener.

Second Half.

Skinner made a change at half-time with Addison coming on for Cho. The first chance of the 2nd half fell to Tottenham in the 54th minute when Tottenham broke with Simon who found Williams but she left the ball as she was offside and the ball came to Chi who turned the ball in past Arnold but the goal was controversially disallowed for offside against Williams even though she didn’t touch the ball. West Ham changed tactics and pushed their back-line further up to prevent Tottenham attacks as Tottenham found themselves offside more regularly.

Tottenham came close again in the 64th minute when Williams found Addison with a pass, but couldn’t find a way through. Addison cleverly played a 1-2 with Ale before finding Neville with a pass but Neville rushed her shot as her effort went just wide of Arnold’s right-hand post. West Ham came straight back at Tottenham with a counter, a Bartrip’s miskick fell straight to West Ham possession before Yallop shot from distance but luckily for Bartrip her effort went just wide of Korpela’s goal.

West Ham kept up the high line and in the 68th minute, the Hammers got their breakthrough against the run of play after some lovely play by Evans down the wing found Brynjarsdottir with a pass who shot past Korpela to give West Ham the lead. Tottenham was again denied a clear goal in the 75th minute when Bartrip took the Tottenham free-kick, Arnold missed the punch, the ball fell to Chi who put the ball away but the goal once again was disallowed for a foul on Arnold even though there was no touch on the West Ham goalkeeper.

Tottenham kept pushing forward looking for an equaliser and in the 82nd minute after the ball rebounded around in the West Ham box from a Chi effort the ball came to Williams who was denied at point-blank range by Arnold to keep the Hammers 1 up. The 4th official indicated a minimum of 4 minutes added time and Tottenham had a call for a penalty turned down in the 92nd minute when Neville’s shot was palmed away by Arnold, Addison latched into the loose ball and seemed to be brought down in the box. Tottenham had the final effort of the game in the 96th minute when Neville again in the attack took a shot from distance, her effort was palmed away by Arnold but the referee brought the game to an end before any Tottenham players had a chance to attack the loose ball.

Player of the match.

Tottenham had a difficult afternoon as West Ham played very physical and with a lot of holding players making it difficult for Tottenham to find their flow. Every player gave what they could to break down a stubborn West Ham but our player of the match goes to Ash Neville as she got forward on numerous occasions and was the one that threatened the West Ham goal the most.

Post match analysis.

We feel Skinner put out a pretty solid team but we would have liked to see Addison in the starting 11 but overall it was a solid, attack-minded side to face a solid Hammers side away from home. Unfortunately for Tottenham it just wasn’t meant to be, let’s not get things confused Tottenham didn’t play their greatest game but Skinner had to play a makeshift side due to injuries and to add insult to injury Kit Graham was stretchered off on 30 minutes after a horrid collision.

The game was a very scrappy and it wasn’t a pretty performance by any of the two teams, West Ham was solid and once they got the goal against the run of play everyone was back defending making it difficult to break the Hammers down. Tottenham did have some misfortune with 1 of the two disallowed goals definitely not offside but that’s what happens when you don’t have VAR in the WSL. Tottenham should have had a penalty in added time when Arnold spilt a Neville shot and seemed to have brought Addison down but realistically Tottenham did not do enough to win the game.

All teams have off days and Tottenham just weren’t good enough today, West Ham took their chance while Tottenham missed the few opportunities they were presented with. Maybe had their been a different referee things could have been different but this Tottenham team still showed heart despite having an off day. The team now needs to pick themselves up, learn from the defeat and go to Villa in December and take all 3 points no matter what.

Next match.

Tottenham’s next league match is away to Aston Villa on December 12th, the match will be broadcast live on the FA Player for those that are unable to travel.

Tottenham’s next home match will be on December 19th against Everton, tickets for the match can be purchased at https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/buy-tickets/women/match-tickets/. The game will also be broadcast live on the FA Player at 14.00 on December 19th.