Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC -

Reserve Team reports 2005-06

The first game back after a long Christmas break saw the Reserves travel South of the river to meet Corinthian Casuals in the League Cup.

The conditions were poor, to say the least, but in the freezing rain, Spurs started positively.  It was easy to see that the ball would not run free on the soggy turf and that made the normal passing game very difficult.  With a number of chances going wide, it took Spurs 10 minutes to get their first goal, which was converted confidently by Jessie Richards after a flick on from Faye Callaway.

Spurs continued to build the pressure on the home side, but the Casuals broke away and Hannah Charman made a challenge on the edge of the area, bringing down a Corinthians player resulting in a free-kick.  From the resulting shot, keeper Lisa McCabe made an excellent save.

Good pressure from Spurs came from a gritty performance and this led to the second goal, scored by Faye Callaway.  At 2-0, Tottenham were comfortable, but a break by the home players kept them reminded that the defence had to be strong to repel any further attacks.

Still in the first half, Spurs took the initiative to break away when Lillie Chapman fed the ball through to Faye, who chipped the ball over the keeper and into the top corner to make it 3-0.

In addition to the conditions, Spurs faced playing uphill in the second half, on a pitch the game was switched to, after CC's home pitch was deemed unplayable after a game on it the previous day.  The Corinthians had a break that saw Jenny Curtis reading the situation well to clear the ball off the line.  Although the weather got even worse (hard to believe if you were there), Spurs still tried to play good football and negotiated the remaining time left to go through with a professional team performance.

JUNE CLARKE

Other results : - 

Harpenden Res.  -      
Long Lane Res.  -      
Hendon Reserves  -     
Brentford Res.  -     
QPR Reserves  -     
Enfield 3rds.  -      
Hackney Reserves  -    
West Ham Youth  -     

Other results : - 

Long Lane Res.  8      Enfield 3rds.  0      

Tottenham started this visit to Hendon brightly and applied early pressure on the home goal with Jendayi Castillo and Faye Callaway hitting shots to worry the keeper.  A neat move involving Lillie Chapman and Sam Garner saw the ball played into the area, but there was not a Spurs shirt to meet the ball.  Hendon hit back with an attack and Lisa McCabe was forced to save at the cost of a corner.  The ball came in from the set-piece and a shot from a home forward forced Dom Clarke into a clearance off the line.

While this period of sustained pressure on the Spurs goal continued, Hendon broke away and finished well to give them a 1-0 lead.  Spurs were determined to get something out of this game though and with Lillie pulling the strings in midfield, they exerted some pressure on the home side.  A free-kick just inside the Hendon half was struck with venom by Dom and the keeper just about managed to tip the ball past the post for a corner.

It was another dead ball situation that brought Spurs their equaliser when Faye floated in a free-kick and Lillie got her head to the ball to float it over the keeper to make it 1-1.  

As the game got tougher Faye received a yellow card for a number of fouls and Dom also got booked after a clash with a Hendon player.  As the game edged towards the final whistle, Spurs had a last chance when substitute Jessie Richards went close, but was foiled by the Hendon goalkeeper's stop.

JUNE CLARKE

Other results : - 

Brentford Res.  1     Long Lane Res.  6      
QPR Reserves  0     Harpenden Res.  4      
Enfield 3rds.  1      West Ham Youth  3     

Spurs Reserves started off this top of the table clash slowly and Lisa McCabe had to make a good save when the home side broke through on goal.  The first effort on goal for Tottenham came from a Dom Clarke free-kick that resulted in Jendayi Castillo having a shot on goal, which was saved by the Harpenden keeper. 

Neither side were able to hold onto the ball for long as possession changed regularly, but a long through ball from the home side was finished with a volley into the net to put them 1-0 up.  The same tactic was used to put pressure on the Spurs defence, but a great sliding tackle from Jenny Curtis prevented goal number two for Harpenden before the break.

Spurs started the second half better and got their passing game working.  A Faye Callaway corner ended with the keeper saving right on her line, but they broke upfield and the Tottenham defence worked hard to rob them of the ball and knock it back to Lisa to clear.  Another corner taken by Faye produced a shot by Jenny that was kicked off the line.

However, a replay of the first goal's approach play saw Harpenden through one-on-one with Lisa and the shot beat her effort to save it to leave the home side 2-0 ahead.  Spurs almost got back into the game when Kerry Daniells put in a great cross into the six yard box, but there was nobody there to finish it off.

The score-line was a disappointing on for Spurs, but the home side used their long ball well and Tottenham had little luck on the day.

JUNE CLARKE

Other results : - 

Hendon Reserves  0     QPR Reserves  3     
Enfield 3rds.  0      Long Lane Res.  5      

The team were in high spirits and made there way to Regents Park to meet First Division Camden Town, but before they arrived spirits started to dwindle as the convoy got stopped by the Police - and one of the squad received a fine.

The start of the game was very scrappy and Spurs did not make use of the full pitch, as is their normal game.  The ball was ping-ponging from one end to the other  without much pressure on either goal, until one of the Camden players ran through and put the ball back in the net.  Spurs did try to get on even terms straight away with a shot from Mel Berry that went over the bar.

Half time came and there were no changes to the Spurs side, which came out fighting and looking the better side.  The play was finally spread out wide and the girls started to use the space available.  With more of the game it was not long before Faye Callaway was rewarded with the equaliser.

With 20 minutes to go, Spurs knew that they needed at least another goal and pressurised the Camden defence. With the better use of the wide areas, there was good runs down the wings from Sam Garner and Hannah Charman.  With this tactic being maximised, the second goal came from a cross into the box to Jessie Richards, who planted it into the net for the winner that takes Spurs through to the Fourth Round.

June Clarke

Other results : - 

Harpenden Res.  1      Hendon Reserves  0     
QPR Reserves  8     Brentford Res.  0     

League Cup    
Wembley  0     Garston  2  [Round 2]     
Hemel Hempstead  1     Staines Town  2  [Round 2]   
Hampton and Richmond Borough  1     Belmont United  1  [Round 2]     
West Ham Youth  6     Pitshanger Lane  0  [Round 3]   
Hillingdon Borough  3     Metropolitan Police  2  [Round 3]     
Joybabe  0     Luton  3  [Round 3]   

Other results : - 

Harpenden Res.  6      West Ham Youth  1     

Spurs rounded off their league season as it had begun, with a loss to Harpenden (albeit back in September it was in the the Sue Sharples Trophy).

Spurs started well and looked positive in the early stages.  Jessie Richards went close with the first Tottenham attack, but the visitors hit back with an attack of their own and the defence was sharp to close down any danger that might have arisen.  Spurs never settled into a rhythm that suited them and there was a tendency to find themselves chasing long balls, which resulted in Harpenden's first goal 30 minutes into the match.

At the start of the second half, Tottenham started in much the same vein as the first.  Captain Mel Berry moved forward to strike a firm shot that just cleared the crossbar, but Harpenden broke away to fire a shot past Lisa McCabe to make it 2-0.

Once more, Spurs took the game to unbeaten Harpenden, but another long ball lead to the third goal to see off the Ladies in a match that was only the second time this season when they have failed to score ... the first, that first match against Harpenden Reserves.

It was a disappointing way to close the league programme, but the ladies will need to pick themselves up quickly for next week's League Cup quarter-final.

Other results : -

Hendon Reserves  2     Long Lane Reserves  2