Tottenham Hotspur Ladies -

Under-10's reports 2004-05

This was always going to be a tense and close affair, as the teams at the top of the league table came face to face. 

Both teams started brightly and Tottenham very quickly knew that they were up against the strongest team that they had faced to date in the league.  Both midfields battled it out and the normal passing movement seen between Bobbi Cubberley, Laura Newby and Charlotte McLucas, was not as visible as it had been in previous games. 

The defence of Hollie Watson and Vicki Blake were dealing with the pressure being applied by Hemel and then suddenly a ball was threaded through to a Hemel player who went for goal and let a shot fly, which was pushed away by keeper Lily Tyrimos, unfortunately to the feet of the Hemel player who then scored on the stroke of six minutes. 

The whole team were a little tense and Gerry, the manager, made a substitution between Katie Bell and Marva Kreel to try and change the formation and encourage Charlotte McLucas further up the pitch.  Tottenham continued to push the Hemel team back into their own half and some encouraging runs by Vicki Blake and Bobbi Cubberley kept the spectators guessing what would happen next. 

Laura Newby had a few longer-range shots in the first half, which unfortunately went wide of the mark, but Tottenham had a majority of the possession in the first half, which they couldn’t capitalise on. 

Just before half time, Shoshana Field made her debut performance, coming on for Marva Kreel.

The manager Gerry gave the girls some encouragement during the break and urged them to play their normal passing game and relax on the ball. 

Tottenham kicked off for the second half and almost immediately started to pass the ball around and make their way through the Hemel midfield and defence.  Unfortunately they couldn’t quite produce the final finish. 

One memorable attack was started by Vicki Blake, who moved the ball up the pitch to Bobbi Cubberley who then ran on to a squared the ball to Laura Newby, who unfortunately couldn’t quite deliver the complete finish, although she should be commended for finding the necessary space. 

Spurs camped themselves in the Hemel Hempstead half for most of the second half and Hemel were reduced to some long passes to their strikers, which were dealt with time after time by Hollie Watson and Vicki Blake.  

At one stage Spurs took five corners in a row and the Hemel Hempstead girls were pushed back on to their own goal line.  But to the great credit of Hemel Hempstead they held firm and they were quick to close the Spurs players down and get themselves in front of the ball to save shots by Vicki Blake, Hollie Watson and Laura Newby. 

One last chance came near towards the end of the game, when after some clever movement, Bobbi Cubberley, found herself face to face with the Hemel goalkeeper, with the defence bearing down on her, she kicked the ball firmly, but the keeper managed to hold onto it and the danger passed. 

The final whistle blew and despite all the possession that Tottenham had enjoyed and a number of attempts on goal, they were beaten by a Hemel Hempstead team, who put away the only shot they had in the whole game and then defended so well thereafter. 

Player of the match was a popular choice of Vicki Blake who had run her heart out and showed real class up front as well as in the defence, with her teammate Hollie Watson, who was also thanked.

All the girls should be proud of how they played and there were some good lessons learnt out of the fixture. Also there was more than enough evidence to suggest that the return match at the Spurs ground will be a very interesting affair. Well done. 

Other results :
Bedwell Rangers  1    Denham United  2    
Luton Town Belles  1     Hoddesdon Owls  0    
Garston Purples  2    Bushey Rangers  0     
Hemel Hempstead Town Girls  0    Garston Blues  0    
Hitchin Town Belles  0    Stevenage Borough Vixens  0    

Match postponed.

Other results :
Denham United  2    Garston Purples  2     
Bushey Rangers  3    Hitchin Town Belles  2     
Hemel Hempstead  6    Hemel Hempstead Town Girls  0     
Garston Blues  0    Hoddesdon Owls  1    
Stevenage Borough Vixens  7    Bedwell Rangers  0    

The weather, however, wasn’t going to put off either side as the match started in a lively fashion, with the midfields of each side battling it out.  It wasn’t long before Hitchin were defending with all their might and a shot from Vicki Blake, who had pushed up from the back, was well saved.

Further chances were being created by Bobbi Cubberley, Laura Newby and Charlotte McLucas, but try as they might, the Spurs attacks couldn’t quite make the final finish tell.

The break-through came when Marva Kreel had a shot at goal from about 10 yards out, which went through a crowd of players and found it’s self in the back of the net after six minutes had gone.

This was the signal that the Spurs Hot shots had been looking for and it was only two minutes later that Bobbi Cubberley, made it two nil, following a passing move involving Vicki to Laura, who slotted the ball to Bobbi to finish it in style.

Laura, who is battling it out with Bobbi for top goal scorer, made it number three after 12 minutes, following a rebounded shot by Charlotte and she wasn’t finished there, as she scored number four for the team four minutes later, following an excellent pass from Katie Bell who had come on as substitute.

The pressure on Hitchin was constant and they found themselves defending en masse in their own half.

Hitchin’s top goal scorer found Hollie Watson sitting on her shoulder constantly throughout the first half and despite a number of attempts, the Hitchin player didn’t manage to get past Hollie once.

Bobbi had a near miss, as the half was coming to a close and the Hitchin keeper made some excellent and timely saves to keep the score down.

After the break, the Hitchin girls came out with renewed vigour and Vicki and Hollie were called into action to make sure that their new goal keeper for the second half Shoshana Field, wasn’t put under any pressure, which they duly did.

It wasn’t long however that the up front partnership of Newby and Cubberley were in action again.  Laura passed a good ball through to Bobbi , who used her strength and determination to take the ball forward and score the 5^th goal of the game after 24 minutes.

Manager Gerry McLucas was keen to use all of his squad and Lily-Anna Tyrimos, the normal keeper for the team who only touched the ball a few times in the first half, was sent into a midfield position, with Paige McHenry joining her.

The defence of Hollie and Vicki continued to cope with any forward attacks and Vicki started to push herself further up the pitch to get into attacking positions.  She let one shot fly, which was well saved by the Hitchin keeper and Hitchin’s number 11 also did a sterling job in defence to keep the Tottenham players at bay.

Goal number six was a very special affair, given that it was Lily-Anna first goal of the season and was well struck by her after the ball was crossed to her on the right hand side of the goal.  The Tottenham crowd produced the biggest cheer of the day and her very proud Dad was jumping for joy.

The final goal of the game was scored after 34 minutes and it was a firmly struck shot by Vicki Blake from 12 yards out, which on this occasion found it’s self in the back of the net.

The Tottenham players, weren’t finished in terms of attacks and Katie had a very good shot saved, with Charlotte making some forging runs on the right hand side.

Paige McHenry nearly made it number eight after she just couldn’t quite finish off an excellent cross from Laura Newby.  Paige, however, was like a terrier in the middle of the park and nearly got through onto goal after she had tackled and battled her way past three Hitchin players.

It was good to see the girls return to the sort of football that they were playing a month ago.  Lily-Anna Tyrimos was rewarded with the player of the match nomination, which was a very popular choice.

The whole squad played very well together and the spirit in which the whole match was played should be commended, on all sides, including both sets of supporters and the referee.

David Watson

Other results :
Bedwell Rangers  3    Garston Blues  0    
Hoddesdon Owls  1   Hemel Hempstead Town Girls  1       
Garston Purples  1   Hemel Hempstead  1       

An impressive performance by Gerry McLucas' Under-10s saw them maintain their good form, despite a spirited second half display from the visiting Vixens side.

Vicki Blake had a fine game in midfield, covering a lot of ground and it was her eighth minute pass that lead to the shot by Bobbi Cubberley from inside the box, that hit the bar and caused panic in the Stevenage defence.  As the ball was cleared, Laura Newby got in a tackle that took the ball into the goal to give Spurs the lead.  Spurs pressed forward and Katie Bell had a shot go just wide, then she fed Laura in the area and her shot was well saved by the goalie.

Spurs were moving the ball about well and Vicki's perceptive pass to an unmarked Bobbi Cubberley saw the forward shoot home the second Spurs goal in the 11th minute of the match.  

Shoshana Field in the Spurs goal had a nervous moment when a 13th minute cross-shot saw the Vixens have their best chance of the first half, with the ball going narrowly wide of the far post.  

The Blake-Newby combination almost paid off again, but once more Laura drew a good low save from the keeper.  Marva Kreel was also getting through a lot of work in midfield and her pass to Bobbi saw her shot pushed onto the post and as she blocked the clearance, the ball ballooned over the top in the 15th minute.

Right on half-time, Spurs extended their lead with a fine shot by Katie Bell who received a clearance outside the area and hit it back past a crowd of players to make it 3-0.

Lily-Ann Tyrimos replaced Shoshana in goal and the team began the second half with attacking intent, as Laura and Bobbi combined through the middle and the move was only halted by a brave dive at Bobbi's feet by the goalie.  Play switched straight to the other end and still in the first minute of the half, Lily-Ann brought down a Stevenage forward and the ref pointed to the spot.  Converting the penalty past Lilly-Ann's dive, the score was pegged back to 3-1.

However, Bobbi was not to be denied, as she made a fine solo run from the halfway line to score a well-taken goal and restored the three goal margin.  That was after nine minutes and then a minute later, Bobbi turned provider with a left wing cross that Laura tucked away for the fifth.

The ball was being made to do the work, with some crisp passing and good movement, with Laura having two efforts - one off target and the other saved by the keeper, who juggled the ball on the line, but did not let it creep over.  Paige McHenry entered the action and produced a shot that warmed the keeper's hands, while Charlotte McLucas was industrious in midfield when she came on.

With Hollie Watson having to mop up through balls into the Spurs half, she moved up to take a late free kick, which was drilled in low and caught a deflection past the unlucky Stevenage keeper to make the final score 6-1.

The girls played a very solid side in Stevenage, but broke them down with good moves, making it a good win that was harder than it looks on paper, as the Vixens were determined not to be over-run in the second half.  

To view match photos click here.

Other results :
Hemel Hempstead Town Girls  0     Luton Town Belles  4     
Hoddesdon Owls  1    Hemel Hempstead  2     
Garston Purples  11     Bedwell Rangers  0    
Bushey Rangers  1     Garston Blues  0    
Hitchin Town Belles  1     Denham United  2    

As in previous games, the girls started brightly and were one nil up within a minute following a pass to Laura Newby on the right hand side, who tucked the ball nicely in the back of the net. This was followed up two minutes later by an excellent throw in by Charlotte McLucas to the feet of Vicki Blake who lined up the shot and blasted into the goal for number two. 

Number three came from a left footed long ball by defender Hollie Watson in to the feet of Laura in attack, who then took the ball towards the goal and scored her second for the day on the stroke of nine minutes. 

The pressure from Tottenham was relentless, with Bobbi Cubberley, Marva Kreel and Charlotte pushing the Bedwell players into their own half, strongly supported by Laura and Vicki, who also pushed up from defence. 

It was Bobbi’s turn to get on the score sheet, following a timely pass from Marva Kreel; she sprinted towards the goal and slotted home the fourth after 14 minutes. 

Bobbi now had the bit between her teeth and tucked goal number five away, after a big goalmouth scramble, using her strength and determination.  The Tottenham players continued with much of the possession and Shoshana Field, who had come on for Vicki Blake, had a strike at goal, which was saved. 

Not to be out done, Laura came up with number six at the end of the first half, when the ball went in after it hit the crossbar, following her short range strike, to deliver her hat-trick for the day. 

At half time, Shoshana Field went in goal, replacing Lily-Anna Tyrimos, who had seen little of the ball in the first half and was allowed to come out to undertake a midfield role. 

Manager Gerry McLucas had said to Bobbi at half time, that he wanted to see a hat-trick from her as well as Laura and he didn’t have to wait very long, as Bobbi made a great individual run past a number of players to score her third within 30 seconds of the re-start to make it 7-0.  This was quickly followed by number eight, when Paige McHenry struck the ball very firmly into the net from the middle of the goal area, after 22 minutes had elapsed. 

The last goal of the game to make the score 9-0, came four minutes later, when Bobbi secured her fourth, following a long throw from Hollie, into the goal area, with Bobbi turning and drilling the ball past the keeper. 

The attacks continued, with Laura hitting the post, Vicki nearly tucking the ball away, Charlotte and Lily having some good shots saved and Marva nearly scoring following a great passing move with Bobbi. 

Once again this was a good squad effort, with everyone playing her individual part.  Paige McHenry was awarded player of the match for her determination and willingness to get stuck in, when the situation demanded it. 

Well done, here’s to Round Two !!

David Watson

Other results :
League
Bushey Rangers  0    Stevenage Borough Vixens  0    
Garston Purples  8    Hemel Hempstead Town Girls  0     
League Cup - Round 1
Garston Blues  0      Luton Town Belles  4     
Denham United  2     Hitchin Town Belles  1     
Hoddesdon Owls  0    Hemel Hempstead  6     

Tottenham started brightly, with Charlotte McLucas going on some early runs and with some timely passes, one of which went to Bobbi Cubberley, who had a shot and the ball went wide. 

This was followed by some further attacks by Katie Bell, Laura Newby and Vicki Blake who pushed up from defence.  Regrettably the final pass wasn’t delivered to the forwards and the goalkeeper remained untested. 

Denham United concentrated on delivering long balls to their attackers and Hollie Watson produced a number of important clearances, ably supported by Vicki. 

The best shot of the first half came from Charlotte, who ran into space and let fly with her right foot.  This produced a solid save from the Denham keeper, who in the end would prove to be their saviour.  Denham had defended well in the first half and they did an even better job in the second half as they came under fire from all directions. 

The girls continued to push up the park and once again were in sight of the goal, but couldn’t quite either make the final pass count or beat the keeper, who was starting to get called into action more. 

Lily-Anna Tyrimos, the Tottenham keeper, had little to do, other than shout encouragement and call for the midfield to assist Hollie and Vicki when necessary. 

Marva Kreel came on as substitute for Katie, within a few minutes of the re-start to try and break the dead lock.  Laura had a couple of shots on target, which the goalie saved and Bobbi had at least three runs, where, using her skill, she went past a number of the defenders, but couldn’t quite squeeze the ball passed the keeper, who was using every part of her body to keep it out. 

A number of corners in a row were earned by Tottenham and chance after chance were available in goalmouth scrambles, but Denham held firm and the girls couldn’t deliver the final knock out. 

Bobbi created a chance, when she was one on one with the goalkeeper, just before the final whistle, but, once again, the keeper remained composed and it was just going to be one of those days. 

Vicki Blake was voted player of the match by the team for her excellent enthusiasm both ends of the pitch. This is the girls first season together and there will be times, when despite having all the play, it doesn’t go there way, which will be valuable lessons for the games ahead. 

Well done, keep smiling. 

David Watson

Other results :
Hoddesdon Owls  1    Bushey Rangers  0     
Garston Purples  1     Stevenage Borough Vixens  0    
Hemel Hempstead  7     Bedwell Rangers  0    
Garston Blues  0    Hemel Hempstead Town Girls  1     
Luton Town Belles  0     Hitchin Town Belles  0     

Other results :
Bedwell Rangers  1    Hoddesdon Owls  1    
Hemel Hempstead Town Girls  -     Hitchin Town Belles  -     
Stevenage Borough Vixens  0    Luton Town Belles  1    

Tottenham lined up for their first game after the Christmas break with a changed team for the friendly.  With four key players missing Tottenham called up the under 11s goalkeeper Daisy O'Sullivan and Jacqueline McLucas, playing her first match for Tottenham aged seven.

The match kicked off and under one minute later Tottenham were a goal down.  The goal was well worked with a run down the left, then the player cut inside and shot for the first goal of the match.  Minutes later the Minors were back attacking again, but this time they were met by Daisy, who collected the ball from the Minor player's feet.

The team from Essex kept the pressure on, but Tottenham started to gradually claw themselves back into the game, with timely tackles by Hollie Watson and Charlotte McLucas in defence. 

Manager Gerry made a slight tactical change and moved Charlotte up the pitch, with Shoshana Field dropping back into defence.  The only real chance for Tottenham to draw level in the first half fell to Bobbi Cubberley, after some midfield pressure, but unfortunately for Spurs, the keeper saved it.  Tottenham finished the first half more spiritedly than they had started it. 

The second half began much brighter for Tottenham with an inspirational run by Hollie Watson, who ran the length of the pitch, but to no avail. Bobbi Cubberley kept on trying her luck at goal with Laura Newby, but the Writtle Minors keeper did well to keep them out.  Tottenham camped in the opposition’s half with many chances at goal, where they came close to scoring.

Daisy came out on pitch in the second half, with Shoshana  going in goal.  Charlotte McLucas made sure that Shoshana didn’t see too much of the ball, with quick closing down, something the manager Gerry had talked about at half time.  Some excellent and timely tackles also came from Paige McHenry, Laura Newby and Daisy.  

The team gave their all and despite a late substitution with Jacqueline McLucas, Tottenham couldn’t quite create the much needed break through.  Daisy helped Tottenham in defence tackling and passing the ball up field to Laura Newby the striker. 

The player of the match went to Charlotte McLucas who played very well. 

Well done a good way to run off the Christmas pudding. 

BEN WATSON

Tottenham Ladies started their 2005 campaign with a tough game against Bushey Rangers, who have a very good defensive record in the league, having only conceded 12 goals in their 12 previous games. 

On a very windy and cold day, the girls kicked off, with some strong tackling on both sides from the start, which continued throughout the game.  Bushey Rangers marked the Tottenham players well, but gradually Spurs started to string some passes together, lead by Katie Bell on the left hand side of the pitch.

The first goal came after six minutes from a well worked move on the left, which saw Bobbi Cubberley cross the ball to the feet of Laura Newby, who drew back her right foot and let the ball fly into the back of the net. 

Laura followed that goal up with her second, from a move, which started with Hollie Watson who kicked the ball half way up the pitch to Katie and she then drilled the ball to Laura, who made no mistake in beating the goalie. 

Bushey Rangers weren’t detered and continued to press the Tottenham midfield of Charlotte McLucas, Katie Bell and Paige McHenry, who had come on for Bobbi.  Charlotte was busy looking for the break through and made a number of runs down the right hand side, ably supported by Paige who was terrier like in her tackling.

Suddenly the Bushey girls found a way through and produced a shot on goal, which was well saved by Lily-Anna Tyrimos, but the ball bounced out to a Bushey player who shot again and Hollie Watson kicked the ball off the line.

This near miss, seemed to spur the Tottenham girls on once again and Vicki Blake started a run on the left hand side from the half way line and danced her way down the pitch, beating a number of players with her pace.  She then coolly slotted the ball passed the keeper into the bottom right hand side of the goal after 19 minutes.

Lily-Anna was called into action once more in the first half, but once again produced a solid save to keep a clean sheet.

Manager Gerry, encouraged the midfield to mark tightly at half time and come back when the defence was under pressure.  In addition given that the wind was now in their faces, it was important that they passed well and kept possession of the ball.

The girls started the second half with a spring in their step and Bobbi and Katie both had attempts on goal very early on, which were well saved by the keeper.  Marva Kreel had started the second half and was soon in the thick of the action, delivering some passes to her team-mates.

After Bobbi was tripped in the area, a penalty was awarded to Tottenham.  Bobbi stepped up to the ball, which promptly blew away on a gust of wind.  The referee re-positioned the ball and once again, Bobbi ran up to the ball and it just squeezed under the diving keeper's body after 24 minutes.

Katie who had a great game was rewarded a minute later when she blasted the ball passed the keeper to score number five for Tottenham.

To their credit Bushey never gave up and the defence of Vicki and Hollie were called into action a number of times.  Indeed, Hollie made a number of timely tackles and clearances to ensure that the opposition didn’t let fly with any goal attempts.

Shoshana Field came on as a substitute and straight away got involved in assisting the defence.

The second penalty of the day, came after 27 minutes when a Bushey player handled the ball in the area and once again Bobbi stepped up to this time blast the ball into the top of the net to make it 6-0 to Tottenham.

Vicki had another attempt on goal after 29 minutes, but unfortunately she couldn’t quite find the back of the net.  After 33 minutes however, following a Bushey corner, Marva, with Shoshana’s assistance, brought the ball up the pitch and then delivered a good pass to Bobbi, who took the ball on to beat the keeper and score her hat-trick for the day and remain the team’s top scorer of the season.

The whole squad was used and had played well in very difficult weather conditions and against a tough determined opposition.

The player of the match was awarded to Hollie Watson, who had been a tower of strength at the back.

Well done, a game, which blew the cobwebs away !!  

David Watson

Other results :

Garston Purples  1     Luton Town Belles  0     
Hoddesdon Owls  3     Denham United  1