Tottenham Hotspur Ladies -

First Team reports 2003-04

After battling heavy traffic and then understandably having to pass tight security at RAF Uxbridge, it was a welcome relief to be shown such fantastic hospitality and to be made so welcome by the women and support staff of the Air Force.

The game kicked off under the increasing threat of a blanket of freezing fog, which thankfully held off to allow the game to take place on what was a near perfect playing surface.

The condition of the pitch allowed the ladies to put together a wonderful display of passing football with Kenne Ogunneye playing some sublime and at times almost mesmerising balls to her team mates.

This was matched by an expected display of guts and determination of the RAF players which made for an exciting duel, helped by a superb set of officials - again all members of RAF - who time and time again made sensible decisions and allowed the game to flow, with the old football maxim coming to the fore that when you don't notice the referee is there, you know he is having a good game.

It took a freak effort for Spurs to open the scoring with Sparrow playing out of her normal position in the centre of midfield hitting a long speculative ball forward that dropped over the keeper and into the goal.

Soon after Spurs extended their lead with a well taken effort from in form striker Flintham.

Despite sustained pressure from Spurs, an inspired performance from the Air Force keeper kept them well in the game at the halfway point.

The second half saw several changes with the squad being made up of reserve and youth players as well as first team, this gave some younger players a taste of first team quality football.

There was no way our opponents were going to give this game up, pushing the ladies all the way to the final whistle and although Spurs had several good chances in the second half, it took until 10 minutes from time for Flintham to grab her second and put the game beyond the reach of the Ladies of the Royal Air Force.

It was an honour and a privilege to be asked to play this fixture and all at Spurs Ladies would like to thank the RAF for putting on this match, showing us such great hospitality and playing the game in a wonderful sporting spirit.

Spurs slowly started to pick up the pace and put in a couple of strong attacks but the London keeper was in good form and it was becoming apparent it would take something special to edge in front in this game.  That something special came from Ogunneye with a powerful drive that left the keeper with no chance.  That was the only goal of a tight nervous first half.

The second half saw Spurs playing down hill on this sloping pitch and this seemed to be the advantage they needed and it didn't take long for skipper Fearon to net with a similar effort to that from Sparrow in our midweek match with a high speculative effort that dropped in behind the stranded keeper.

Flintham then continued her amazing record scoring in all our last 10 games although this effort was only netted at the third time of asking after her first effort was saved the second came back off the post and third time lucky 3-0.

London kept battling and were rewarded with their tenacity with a goal late in the second half before Johnson put the game beyond them with a close range side foot in last few moments.

Overall a good team performance and a superb first team debut for youth team starlet Alice Oake playing the full 90 at centre back in place of Lucy August.

Manager Pete Skinner said "I was particularly pleased for Alice, who had a solid game and didn't put a foot wrong against a very strong and pacy opposition frontline."

With defender Lorraine Sparrow playing in a more forward wide midfield role, Spurs threatened from the off when Sparrow shot over the bar from close range following Gill Blackmore's blocked shot in only the second minute of the game.

Spurs only had to wait another four minutes to break the deadlock when Samrawit Bereket crossed and a clever pass from Sam Farnum found Leah Flintham six yards out and she buried the ball into the back of the net.  Jackie Fearon then went close with a header, but it was straight at the keeper.

Despite more pressure from Spurs it took until the 20th minute for Spurs to increase their lead when Samrawit Bereket played a neat one two with Sam Farnum before burying her shot.

On 24 minutes Hendon brought a fine diving save from Toni Munro, before Gill Blackmore shot over the bar from the edge of the area.  The Hendon keeper needed lengthy treatment following a clash in amongst a crowd of players following an in-swinging corner.

Leah Flintham squeezed off a 39th minute shot following good work by Sam Farnum and Handan Djoshkoun that found Lorraine Sparrow sliding in at the far post to force the ball over the line from a matter of inches to make it 3-0 at the break.

Spurs started the second half in the same determined mood when Lorraine Sparrow surged into the box and shot from 14 yards across the keeper and into the roof of the net for her second of the day only three minutes after the restart.  Sam Farnum then had a shot palmed round the post by the Hendon substitute keeper and eight minutes into the half a free kick from Kelly Herrett 25 yards out was well gathered by the visiting keeper under pressure.

Gill Blackmore again threatened the Hendon goal when she had a shot from 15 yards pushed out for a corner with 57 minutes gone.  Four minutes on from that effort, following a short corner from Lorraine Sparrow, Kerry Daniells planted a fine lob into the far top corner over the despairing jump of the keeper.  Another four minutes later, Spurs were awarded a free kick wide on the right and Kelly Herrett found skipper Jackie Fearon who headed home from around 10 yards.

Toni Munro was called into action in the latter part of the second half and made a couple of good saves, while Jackie Fearon went close twice, once with a clever attempted lob that just missed the post and again with a shot blocked on the line following a corner kick.

Despite piling on the pressure only one more goal was forthcoming when Sam Farnum shot from the edge of the area through a crowd of players into the bottom corner.

Manager Peter Skinner was pleased with a good performance following the Christmas and New Year break with some good passing football played on a rather difficult surface.

Spurs could have had an early goal as Abidemi Andero's far post header to a deep cross went across the keeper, but also the back post.  The play shifted to the other end in the ninth minute and Lucy Auguste brought down an Orient foward in the area as she bore down on goal to hand Orient a penalty.  The ball was well struck towards the left of Toni Munro, but her dive tipped the ball onto the post and away.

With 19 minutes gone, Orient moved the ball from left to right across the Tottenham area and then it was slipped past Munro to make it 0-1 to the visitors.  It was four minutes before another chance came along and gill Blackmore's pass through to Leah Flintham saw her low shot beat the goalie, but slide just the wrong side of the post.  However, a repetition in the 24th minute saw Leah bury her drive to make it 1-1.

Spurs lost Kerry Daniells with injury, but still pressed on, with Jackie Fearon producing a long lob that just went over the top.

The second half was to contain more incident than the rest of the season put together !!

57 minutes gone and a 35 yard Lucy Auguste free-kick was missed by everyone in it's path and it entered the net to give Spurs the lead.  Then on the hour, Leah was through on goal, but was tripped by the goalie and a penalty to Spurs was given.  Flintham stepped up to take it herself, but the keeper fell on the effort to keep it out.

Orient hit back straight away with a shot that went over at the far post and another which Toni Munro did well to push away.  With 68 minutes on the clock a long shot by an Orient player looped over Toni, hit the bar and then her back before going into the net to luckily make it 2-2.  but as in most of the game, the play flowed to the other end straight away and Alice Oake, on as a substitute, played Leah in inside the area.  She turned and hit a shot that flew narrowly wide.  The Orient keeper had to be substituted after suffering an injury diving trying to stop Tottenham's second goal.

Munro pulled another good save out, pushing the ball onto the post as a shot threatened to creep in at the near post, but with twelve minutes left, Kenne Ogunneye skipped through the Orient defence with a great dribble and finished clinically past the goalie to restore the lead for Tottenham.

Orient did not give up and had a period of pressure at the end, resulting in a cross going into the penalty area, where a scramble ended with Toni injured on the ground and the ball bouncing off a Spurs player on the floor and going into the net to tie it up at 3-3.

With a substantial amount of injury time to be played because of treatment to both keepers during the second half, both sides had late opportunities to win it with each keeper producing a vital save to leave the scores level at the end.

Unfortunately, no one bothered to read the script to the Spurs Ladies and to say their first half performance was lack-lustre would be the understatement of the year.

To give the visitors credit they were up for this game, but Spurs showed none of their recent form and it didn't take long for the speedy Dagenham forward to cash in on a double mistake by Munro in the Spurs goal; firstly failing to hold onto a soft shot, then not picking up the spilled ball being shielded by Djoshkoun, allowing the opposing forward to nip in and put the visitors ahead.

Although Dagenham enjoyed large periods of possession they failed to capitalise on this and the half time score was 0-1.

The second half saw a more resolute and fired up Spurs and also saw Farnum replaced by Johnson returning after a long winter break and this seemed to be the signal for an onslaught on the visitors goal in the second period with a virtual reverse of the first half.  But try as they might, the Daggers showed that not only can they take their chances, they can also defend doggedly at times, sometimes outnumbering the Spurs frontline by four to one making it almost impossible to find the space to get that all important effort to draw level.

The game finished with a flurry of Spurs chances and the visitors, having had virtually no shots on target, were unlucky to hit Munro's crossbar with a long range effort, but all to no avail the score remained at 0-1 and Spurs were left wondering if a lack of effort in the opening period may finally have put paid to this seasons title challenge.

The first was more down to Bushey's misfortune as their keeper dived bravely at the feet of Flintham injuring herself in the process leaving the goal un guarded for Flintham to tap in her opener.

Within a minute Leah had tapped in a cross for her second and then in the seventh minute she completed what must be one of the fastest hat-tricks with an unstoppable drive into the top corner of the Bushey goal.

The Ladies didn't have things all their own way as stand in keeper Keshe Heaven made a brilliant save tipping the ball over the cross bar only to concede a softer effort minutes later.

This was the signal for Spurs to roll their sleeves up and on a heavy pitch and in very windy conditions really started to play some good possession football and only a tight opposition offside trap kept them out.  This was countered by Mel Berry making her first team debut, keeping the ball and dribbling through the defence before laying the ball back for Blackmore to score.

Leah then made a similar run to again beat the offside and set up Gill for her second.

Leah then added to her tally with a headed goal from an Auguste corner; the Ladies taking a convincing 6-1 lead into half time.

The second half saw the Ladies continue with similar tactics knowing the best way to beat the offside was to make surging runs before laying the ball back, it was Auguste making the run to set up Gill's hat trick then Kerry Daniells took her turn to beat the defence before playing the ball wide to Gill who crossed for Sarah Green, another youth player making a first team debut, to finish coolly, probably to her relief as she had missed a gaping open goal just minutes before !

Gill then added her fourth with a cross come shot that the keeper failed to hold onto and Sam Farnum got her reward for a battling effort up front.  After having several efforts blocked and hitting the woodwork twice, she rifled home her first and Spurs tenth.

The only sour point was Spurs finishing the game with 10 men due to Leah picking up a knock to her already damaged ankle in the dying minutes of the game lets hope with the form she is showing at the moment it isn't serious.

PETER SKINNER

It took two first half goals from captain Jackie Fearon to break the Essex side's resistance, the second right on the stroke of half-time.  Even though Spurs had early pressure with Leah Flintham going close and Fearon just not quite getting her head to a Kelly Herrett free-kick, their best chance came when Sam Farnum blocked a Thurrock pass and raced away, but she could not keep her shot down.

In the 13th minute, Toni Munro had to be sharp in the Spurs goal to stop Thurrock going ahead against the run of play.  A free-kick was played into the box and a header came in, but Toni was alert enough to grab it as it headed towards goal.  On the quarter hour, Kenne Kehinde broke away to face one-on-ones with the keeper, but both times, the visiting custodian kept her out.  

It was only after half an hour that Tottenham broke the deadlock.  A great run from the halfway line by Fearon left players in her wake and her shot left the keeper no chance.  The Thurrock goalie was instrumental in keeping Tottenham at bay and she made a fine double save from Kenne and Leah, even though there were claims for a foul from the visiting supporters.  They were even more incensed when the referee pointed to the spot for a 36th minute penalty after the goalie had brought Leah Flintham down as she ran into the box with the ball, getting there just after the ball had gone.  Having picked herself up, Leah stuck the spot-kick away leaving the keeper rooted to the line.

It looked as though the sides would turn around with the score at 2-0, but with seconds left of the half, Jackie Fearon got the ball on the left corner of the penalty area and hit a low effort that crept under the goalie at the foot of the post for Tottenham's third.

With the comfort of the three goal cushion, Spurs were happier to push forward, but their finishing let them down when the chances were created.  In fact, within a couple of minutes of the restart, Thurrock might have pulled one back, breaking away through the middle of the pitch, but Lucy Auguste produced an exquisitely timed tackle to take the ball off the visitor's foot, just as she was about to shoot.

Kenne was enjoying a lot of the ball and ran at the T&T defence, but her two early efforts were unsuccessful, but her 53rd minute cross was punched out by the keeper straight to Jackie.  The Spurs captain produced a low shot on goal, which was touched in by Leah for Tottenham's fourth goal.  It looked like another goal in the next attack, when Jackie followed in Leah's saved effort, but she was ruled offside in a controversial interpretation of the new reading of the law by the ref.

Spurs only had to wait a couple of minutes more for it to be 5-0, as Kenne's right wing cross was met with a 56th minute header from Leah Flintham that looped over the goalkeeper's head.  The keeper was soon in action again, saving high up to palm away Kelly Herrett's free-kick, but in the 62nd minute, she was picking the ball out of the net once more.  A neat pass by substitute Keshe Heaven put Leah through on goal and her finish was clinical.

The Thurrock goalie stopped further one-on-one attacks from Jackie and Leah and when she was beaten, the linesman's flag ruled the goal offside.  It had followed a tricky run by Samrawit Bereket, who passed to Kenne, who had strayed beyond the last defender.  Kenne had another chance, as did Leah before Tottenham again breached the Thurrock and Tilbury defence.  With twenty minutes remaining, Mel Berry was fouled 30 yards form goal, but as we know, that is just about the right distance for Lucy Auguste to deliver one of her special free-kicks.  This one ripped in at the top left hand corner, leaving the goalkeeper helpless.

There was still time for a T&T defender to rob Leah of the chance of another goal with a timely tackle, while Lucy grazed the crossbar from a corner kick and in the final minute, Samrawit crossed for Jackie to slide the ball wide when right in front of goal.

Manager Pete Skinner said the side struggled to find the fluency they normally display, but at the end of the day the team were in the hat for the next round.

Spurs had the wind behind them for the first half and this meant even the gentlest of taps forward needed chasing hard and it was on the back of one of these passes that Flintham broke for Spurs' first goal inside five minutes.  Then a slick move from Spurs resulted in a Kehinde cross that Leah headed in to double the lead, while Leah then played a major part in our third goal putting in a decent cross in from deep for Latoyah Johnson to volley home.

That was all the scoring for the first half, despite some strong pressure from the Ladies with Kehinde amazingly failing to convert a through ball that seemed to miss defenders the keeper and the goal.

Leah then completed yet another hat trick for the Ladies with a clever chip at the start of the second half that seemed to put the game beyond Brentford.  Despite some resolute play and a well worked goal from the home side the result was never in doubt and despite injuries to Johnson, Daniells and Munro in the Spurs goal, an outstanding debut from Kat Spencer and another solid performance from the youth team pairing of Oake and Berry meant three points came home with the Ladies.

PETE SKINNER

Spurs had the bulk of the possession in the first half and dominated the play, making an early breakthrough when Kenne Ogunneye played a ball into Leah Flintham, who finished with a shot across the keeper in the third minute.  Despite a lot of pressure on the Raiders goal, Spurs struggled with their finishing and with Leah having a header float just wide, Lorraine Sparrow forcing the keeper to touch her low drive around the post and Kenne's sliced shot drifting just wide of the post, the Redbridge keeper was relatively untroubled.   The only other incident of note came when Lucy Auguste hit a speculative shot from fifty yards, which almost bounced over the visiting keeper's head !!

Having lost Kelly Herrett with a bad ankle injury after a quarter of an hour, the side had to settle with the introduction of Di Gardiner in her place and the presence of Louise Cooper in goal gave the defence confidence and the benefit of her communication skills.

Further shuffling of the pack by manager Pete Skinner at half-time was designed to strengthen the formation and capitalise on the speed of our front two.  However, a one goal lead is always a tenuous one, as it proved in a rancorous second half.

Shortly after half-time, one of the Redbridge players was given a yellow card for a late aerial charge on Kenne, after the ball had gone and then the goalkeeper took Leah's legs from under her when she ran into the area to concede a penalty.  Leah stepped up to take it, but hit the ball against the bar and it bounced away.

The lead slipped away when Redbridge notched an equaliser in the eleventh minute of the half and Tottenham had to start all over again.  Jackie Fearon put in a neat cross for substitute Kat Spencer to run in at the far post, but her header just flew wide of the post, but in the 68th minute Tottenham did regain the lead.  Kerry Daniells played a ball in from the left wing that found Sam Farnum, who controlled the ball and lobbed the ball over the goalie from the edge of the box to make the score 2-1.

Two minutes later and the lead was further extended when Sam made inroads down the right, producing a low cross along the six yard line that found Kenne running in at the far post to tap in number three.  Ten minutes from the end, the game looked sealed fro Tottenham when Lucy played a short corner to Kenne on the left wing and her cross was met at the far post by Gill Blackmore's head making the score 4-1.  But the visitors hit straight back with a goal from the kick off, breaking on the right to fire in a shot across Louise to complete the scoring at 4-2.

Tottenham were given a thorough work out by Redbridge, who they meet again in a fortnight's time after the Cup game against Edgware next Sunday.