Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC -

Reserves match reports 2006-07

Spurs faced Watford Youth in the League Cup semi-final on a bobbly and dry pitch Spurs, which did not suit their  game, but they triumphed to reach their second final of the season.

ROSI WEBB & CARLY SNELL

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A fine display of football on a difficult, hard pitch saw Spurs sweep away the challenge of Hackney Women to take the Sue Sharples Memorial Trophy, aided by a four-goal haul from ace markswoman Jessie Richards.

It was a real team effort though and every player who participated played their part as the team took an early lead and went on to win despite a rally from the opponents in the second half.

Tottenham attacked from the start and Hannah Charman fired in a first minute effort that brought a diving save from the Hackney keeper.  It was only a couple of minutes before Spurs beat the goalie, when Sam Garner's right wing run ended with a pass to Faye Callaway, who took the ball in and slipped it low into the corner of the net as she was closed down by the keeper.  It was just the start the team had hoped for and a well-worked goal gave them the ideal opener.

With the ball being played in the air by Hackney and with a hard playing surface, the play became a little scrappy, but once Spurs got the bal on the ground, their inter-passing was the key to opening up the opponents' defence.  Sam forced another low save from the Hackney goalie in the 15th minute and following a goalmouth scramble from a corner at the other end, a shot by a Hackney defender bounced back off the crossbar.  However, bringing the ball down in the middle of the pitch, Faye picked out a delightful through pass to Jessie Richards to slide home as the goalkeeper came out to meet her.  2-0 up with 24 minutes on the clock.

Two minutes after the second goal, Faye won a header and directed it to Jessie on the edge of the area.  She turned quickly and struck a shot that went just a yard wide, while a little after that, Hannah struck a high shot that the keeper saved by the angle of post and crossbar.  Then it was 3-0 after 31 minutes.  A high ball up to Jessie was nodded on to Sam, who returned to the forward inside the area.  With another turn an instinctive strike with her left foot, the ball was still rising when it hit the back of the net, with the keeper unable to do anything about it.

The remainder of the half was fought out in midfield, with the ball bouncing high off the hard pitch, but Faye managed to curl a shot just too high with ten minutes to go until the break.

The second half was a replica of the first.  Hackney tried to out-muscle Spurs, but the girls stuck to their roles and played the ball around well.  Dom Clarke and Athena Yennaris were bringing the ball out of defence well and Jenny Curtis was playing the anchor role at the back, while Spurs had to replace the hard-working Lizzie De Asha after she took the ball full in the face and sustained a heavy nose-bleed.  Lisa McCabe came on to fill the right back position.

With Gill Blackmore playing a captain's role in midfield and Lillie Chapman battling away alongside her, the forwards had a ready supply of the ball.  But somewhat against the run of play, Hackney seized on a clearance from Laura May in the Spurs goal and the ball came in from the left to be netted and the Spurs lead was pegged back to 3-1 on the hour.

It was typical of Tottenham's play that they set about restoring the gap and with a well-weighted pass from Lisa through the right hand channel to Jessie, she got there ahead of a defender and the keeper who came to the edge of the area and lifted the ball over her and into the net to make it 4-1 in the 64th minute.

Hannah had worked hard down the left wing and she was replaced by Beth Richards, whose fresh legs saw her tracking back, as well as moving the ball forward.  The game ebbed and flowed in midfield, with Hackney winning a succession of free-kicks, of which only one troubled the Tottenham defence, with Laura getting a touch to divert it onto the bar and as it dropped right in front of goal to a Hackney forward, it looked as though they might reduce the score further, but an air shot allowed Tottenham to clear the ball and the danger was averted.  The only other fright Tottenham had was from a corner, when Laura put the ball out for a Spurs player to get attention and rather than return the ball, Hackney played in into the penalty area and tried to score from it.  Fortunately, the ball was cleared without the Spurs goal being troubled.

As the game came towards the final whistle, Spurs were breaking away and had a few chances to add to their total.  Twice players were queuing up to score and failed to make the chance count and Sam burst into the area twice - once to clash with the keeper and the second time, she hit her shot just wide. 

However, when a Faye cross from the right wing was left by three of the Hackney defenders, it was Jess who was there to flick the ball up and volley home past a stranded keeper to make the score 5-1.

Louise van Hamme came on for Jessie, who had done all the damage at the sharp end of the team.  Within a minute, Louise almost got on the score-sheet when she touched Lisa's free-kick on in the area, forcing a low save by the goalie, when a yard either side would have resulted in a goal.  When the final whistle came, the Spurs players were elated, as a Double was in the bag.

The girls showed the sort of football that they have been playing can bring success and that they are also able to deal with the physical side of the game.  The development over the season has been marked and while all the players put in their share of the effort to bring about this result, the team performance was the key to this win.

Awaiting match report.

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Awaiting match report.

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