Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC -

First Team match reports 2006-07

Spurs started the game very slowly and were not getting into their passing game as quick as we would have liked.  It was not until mid way through the first half that we started to dominate Horley Town in terms of possession.  It started with Carly Snell making a fine run down the right flank, which lead to her putting a great ball into the box which fell to Katie Taylor, who somehow managed to blast her shot over the bar.  Not allowing her head to drop, she continued to put in a real team performance battling hard for every ball.  Shortly after that missed chance, Chanel Breen found herself in space just out side the box.  She then heard me shout, "Top corner" and to my surprise she did exactly that with a sweetly curled shot into the top corner to put Tottenham ahead. 

With literally minutes left of the first half, Spurs went looking for a second goal which saw us getting caught on the break.  Horley passed the ball out wide, then played it into the box, where it bounced up onto Kelly's shin and flew into the back of our net to make it 1-1 at the interval. 

Horley Town came out second half just as we expected, all guns blazing we managed to with stand the early pressure but some how found ourselves 2-1 down.  Changes were made in order to get something out of the game Jade Perrin came on for the injured Katie who suffered a nose-bleed when she was struck in the face challenging for the ball, Kat came on for Geena to add some fresh legs in the middle of the park.  

Mid-way through the second half, Kelly sustained a head injury, which saw her suffer from concussion for about five minutes, but in true Kelly style she battled on and put in some brave last ditch tackles.  Spurs just would not let their heads drop and kept on pushing for the equaliser.  Chanel hit a shot which saw the Horley Town keeper make a fine save tipping the ball round the post.  From the resulting corner, Carly made a run to the edge of the box and hit a superb volley which sailed just over the bar.  

Shadine Mars kept on getting hammered by the Horley defence, which meant she had a few missed chances.  She could have easily scored a hat-trick, but, to her credit, she showed real resilience and managed to score her last chance by rounding the goalkeeper and slotting home for the much deserved equaliser with only a few minutes left on the clock. 

Well done girls; keep creating those chances.  It's nice to know that we have have goals in the team.  Stick to our game plans and we will have a successful season.

Hendon  1     Woking  1    
Bexhill United  1     Long Lane  3    

Firstly, I would just like to thank two players for showing up, despite their injuries, to support the team.  Rosi Webb and Geena Gordon both showed first class attitude and set an example as real team players.

The first half was filled with a lot of half chances for both teams although we had the lion's share, but the teams were deadlocked 0-0 at the break with the girls having given everything, but looking around at their faces I knew they still had a little left in reserve.  So we went out and started the second half very positively, still sticking to our game plan.  Once again our defence was very solid and organised hence the clean sheet, along with the goalkeeper who looks to be getting better with every game.

Midway through the second half we had to make some tactical changes as we just could not break down the Horley Town defence who seemed to well organised, so Jendayi Castillo came on for Katie Taylor to add some pace and power up front as Katie had given it her all.  Having Jendayi on kept the opposition's defence on their toes which allowed Chanel Breen to join the attack to make it three up front which took some of the attention from Shadine Mars.

Once again it was a battle that we wanted to win.  As the game entered into the final ten minutes, it was looking like another draw, which Spurs did not deserve as we were playing the better football. Just as I predicted, Chanel received the ball in the final third, played a sweet through ball over the top of the Horley defence, which Shadine latched onto to find herself facing a one on one with the goalkeeper.  After taking on board what had been said to her at the the interval, Shaz showed great composure to slot home what looked like the winner with only a few minutes to go.

I would just like to thank the girls for putting in 110% effort and this is just the start for us.  Now we can push on from
here and all those games that we know we should be winning, we will win now we have the belief.  Onwards
and upwards for us now ... let's climb that league table and have good go at the cup.  Every single player that
played this game can be extremely proud of themselves.

DARREN JOHNSON

Long Lane  0     Gravesend & Northfleet  3    
Woking  2     Lewes  1    
London Women  2    Hendon  0    
Bexhill United  1     Crowborough Athletic  5   

Spurs hosted Petts Wood in the London County Cup Third round at Fred Knights in what turned out to be an epic cup tie.

Petts Wood started the game much more brightly than Spurs  and they had scored two goals within the first 20 minutes.  Spurs failed to learn from the first goal, as the second one was identical to the first.  The visitors played one ball over the top with their striker one on one with our goalkeeper on both occasions and to their credit they took them well.

For the majority of the first half the Spurs Ladies were unrecognisable from the way they have been playing over past few weeks and they did not look like a team who wanted to win the match.  There was limited communication from some players and there was a lack of players sticking to their tasks. 

Apart from a few half chances Spurs did not impose themselves on the game and they went into the break 0-2 down.

With half the team performing and the other half being carried I made some changes in terms of personnel and tactics.  It seemed to have the desired affect because it was a different team that went out in the second half.  We dominated the game with good passes and teamwork and it started with a through ball from Lucy Auguste into Chanel Breen down the left, who cut back onto her right foot to cross the ball to Samrawit Bereket, who could only manage to shoot the ball straight at the goalkeeper but that was a sign of things to come.

With only ten minutes left, Lucy was once again instrumental in the great come-back.  She unleashed a defence splitting pass for Shadine Mars to latch onto it with her blistering pace, but her shot was saved by the goalkeeper at the near post.  This only served as a motivation for the team, as they could sense that they were getting closer. 

Straight after that, they were at it again.  This time Shadine slotted the ball home to make it 2-1 with only a few minutes left.  Just as it looked like Petts Wood were about to win the match, Spurs had one last push, which saw Shadine break down the defence with that lightning pace of hers.  It lead to the Petts Wood defender bringing her down in the box.  Lucy then coolly converted the resulting penalty kick to level the scores at 2-2 right at the death. Shortly after that the final whistle and the game went into extra time.  No goals in extra time meant that the match would go to a penalty shoot-out, which saw Spurs lose 2-1.

Unlucky girls maybe next time certain players will take on the instructions they have been given by management and coaching staff and enjoy success.  Better luck next time now we can focus on climbing the league table.

DARREN JOHNSON

Horley Town  4      Bexhill United  0    

London Women  2    Long Lane  2    
Woking  v  Bexhill United  -  Match postponed  
Horley Town  v  Hendon  -  Match postponed  
Lewes  v  Gravesend & Northfleet  -   Match postponed 
Acton Sports Club  v  Crowborough Athletic  -    Match postponed

Long Lane  v  Horley Town  -      Match postponed
Woking  v  London Women  -    Match postponed
Hendon  v  Crowborough Athletic  -   Match postponed
Lewes  v  Acton Sports Club  -     Match postponed

Tottenham started the game very sluggishly, with most of the midfield coming back from injury and some players suffering from flu.  It was no surprise that they were soon 0-1 down as London Women coolly converted a penalty awarded for a push and it soon became 2-0 as the Spurs heads dropped.  

After 30 minutes it was 0-3, but the Ladies managed to pull one back before half time when Shadine Mars latched on to a through ball and poked the ball past the keeper to make it 3-1 at the interval. 

The second half was just as frustrating, as London women scored two more goals to make it 5-1 and the Spurs players will need to show more resilience in future games when things are going against them.

Manager Darren Johnson said, "this is the worst result that I have experienced since I took over last January.  It will be back to basics for a lot of these players and they must realise that they need to show resilience when things are not going your way.  As a coach, I have a
thirst for knowledge and I am always looking to improve.  With time I just hope the majority of the players that I work with share the same attitude.  On a final note London Women played well as a team.  Let's hope that will be a lesson for these girls that it is not just a matter of turning up and putting on a spurs shirt and thinking that's all it takes.  They should realise by now that we are a big name club and everybody wants to beat us they will always raise their game."

DARREN JOHNSON

Gravesend & Northfleet  2     Horley Town  1      
Acton Sports Club  5     Hendon  2    
Bexhill United  v  Lewes  -  Match postponed  
Crowborough Athletic  0    Long Lane  3    

A point from a goal-less draw at Hendon was a better performance than it might look on paper for the Spurs first team.

Once again another gutsy performance from a very young new look Spurs side and the ladies started the game in a very positive manner with Rosi Webb and Carly Snell controlling the midfield.  All throughout the first half Tottenham had most of the possession, but could not put the ball in the back of the opposition's goal.  However, new girl Shadine Mars looked very lively up front causing the defence all sorts of problems.

At the back, we looked solid with the back four, who seem to be established and comfortable with each other working as unit all the way through the game.

0-0 at the break and into the second half Spurs started strongly, but the young side could not get the break we were looking for, even after numerous goal-mouth scrambles when the ball some how stayed out of the Hendon goal.  The home side had a few half chances, but nothing to worry our goalkeeper, who was in outstanding form with some very acrobatic saves to keep us all entertained.

Apart from a free-kick from Kat Clifton that just skimmed the crossbar, we were just missing that that final edge in and around the box.  Hopefully we can get that right in training, so we can transfer it to match days.

All in all, it ended being a hard fought draw away from home and the girls really raised the standard compared to their last performance.  It is nice to see that they have bouncebackabilty, especially after their team bonding session down at the Lane watching the men win in Europe. 

Well done girls ... that was more like a team performance.
 

DARREN JOHNSON

Long Lane  v  London Women  -   match postponed
Acton Sports Club  2     Lewes  3    

Match postponed - waterlogged pitch.

London Women  v Gravesend & Northfleet  -  Match postponed  
Lewes  v  Hendon  -     Match postponed
Crowborough Athletic  v  Acton Sports Club  -     Match postponed
Horley Town  v  Long Lane  -     Match postponed

Spurs started the game in a very positive manner with Rosi Webb and Geena Gordon controlling the midfield.  All the way through out the first half Tottenham had most of the possession, but some how Crowborough scored the first goal through a defensive error.

Shadine Mars had a new strike partner in Lucy Auguste, who acted as a foil for her to get in behind the defence.  This seemed to be working well because it was not long after Shadine latched onto a Lucy through ball which took the defence by surprise to see Shaz slot the ball home for the well deserved equaliser.

At the back we looked solid with the back four, who seem to be established and comfortable with each other, working as unit all the way through the game with the Chanel Breen playing down the left and Claire Singh playing down the right, we were causing all sorts of problems for the opposition.  We looked favourite to score again and it was 10 minutes before the break that the chance came.  Again, it was Carly Snell breaking an opposition attack to pass the ball to Rosi, who got her head up nice and early and played a sweet through ball into the left hand channel for Chanel to meet and scored what was to be the decisive goal at 2-1 at the interval.

Second half we played with the sun in our faces but were unable to add to our lead, once again we had the majority of possesion at times played some good football considering the playing surface one touch two touch stuff it was nice to see from the coaching staffs point of view.  Chances went amiss when Kat came close with a 30 yard free-kick, Lucy had a few shots which just skimmed the post and Shaz knows she should have scored at least 3 or 4 goals, but with all that aside it was a good team performance.  Well done girls.

DARREN JOHNSON

London Women  2    Horley Town  4      
Gravesend & Northfleet  3     Bexhill United  1    
Lewes  1     Woking  1    
Acton Sports Club  7     Long Lane  2    

The Ladies turned their possession into goals in the first half of this game, which has not always been the case this season.  Being three up at half-time helped their game, but the second half became a scrappy affair with Bexhill grabbing a late goal resulting from a free-kick knocked on into the area, but it was nothing more than a consolation.

There had been little to trouble goalkeeper Lacey Amato in the first period, apart from one rush from her line to thwart a forward and then the ball was played back in and another Bexhill player reacted first, but could only lob wide of the goal.  But by then Spurs should have been a goal to the good already, as Claire Singh had made a great right wing run and her cross found Shadine Mars in front of goal, but her shot squirmed wide.

It was on 20 minutes that Tottenham opened the scoring.  A straight ball through the middle opened up the Bexhill defence and Shadine was onto it like lightning to slot it past the oncoming keeper to make it 1-0.  Two minutes later, Ebony Heath had a great chance to double the lead, when Claire and Shadine worked a good move on the right and the low ball into the box was fired just too high by Ebony.

It wasn't long before it became 2-0 as Kat Clifton's 25th minute corner was headed out at the near post, but it only went to Kelly Herrett, who nodded it back past the keeper into the top corner of the net.

Spurs were playing some neat football, trying to keep the ball on the floor despite the gusty wind and they created a host of chances, with Rosi Webb hitting the post and Kat's low free-kick was well-saved by the keeper, with Chanel Breen hitting the rebound over the bar.  In between, Spurs Ladies took a three goal lead when Ebony made a run on the left and pulled the ball back for Claire Singh to run in and hit the ball high into the roof of the net in the 40th minute.

The second half was a scrappier affair with much of the game battled out in midfield.  Tottenham still played some nice football, but lacked the cutting edge of the first half, although Shadine released Chanel down the left and she cut inside to curl a shot a foot wide of the right hand post.

The only blemish on the performance was the concession of a goal to Bexhill, but it was a confident and impressive performance by the young Spurs side, gaining a useful three points and taking their haul to seven pints in the last three matches.

Hendon  v  Crowborough Athletic  -   match postponed

Long Lane  1     Lewes  5    
Acton Sports Club  3     London Women  0   
Gravesend & Northfleet  v  Hendon  -   match postponed - Hendon did not have kit
Bexhill United  0     Woking  6    
Crowborough Athletic  0    Horley Town  1      

Crowbrough came with the right intentions and they were positive from the start.  They were attacking with a purpose which lead to us conceding a goal early in the first half with a mix up from Lacey Amato, who seemed to be miles outside her box enabling the Crowborough striker to toe poke the ball into an empty net.

Their second goal was a 30 yard screamer which left the goalkeeper with no chance and the third came from a sliced clearance from Kerry Daniells, which somehow sailed over the goalkeeper head to leave Tottenham 0-3 down at the interval. 

The second half was different affair with Spurs controlling the game.  Apart from coming close with some set-pieces we had a good chance on goal when Shadine Mars hit the crossbar.  The only goal of the second half came from a corner when Kelly Herrett met the ball at the near post and flicked it on for Mel Berry to force it in to make it 3-1.

For all the possession we had we could not find the goals we needed to get us back into the game and Spurs were hampered by losing Chanel Breen to a red card in the 65th minute.

DARREN JOHNSON

Long Lane  1     Horley Town  0      
Woking  1     Gravesend & Northfleet  2    
London Women  1    Acton Sports Club  0    
Bexhill United  0     Lewes  5    
Lewes  7     Bexhill United  0