Tottenham
Hotspur's Under-11 side played their first friendly of the pre-season at
Mayesbrook Park against the always tough to play Barking Ladies.
A five goal haul for striker Lindsey
Cockle and a further goal by Eleanda Taladianou wrapped up a convincing
victory for a Tottenham side that included a number of Under-10 players.
A return friendly
was staged at Frederick Knights against Barking Ladies Under-11s and it
proved to be a much closer affair than last time.
For long periods it looked as though the
game would remain scoreless between these two evenly matched sides, but
it took two cracking goals to win it for Spurs in the second half.
Spurs exhibited some expansive play, with
Belinda Sugarman opening up the Barking defence in the first Tottenham
attack with a long cross-field pass. It landed at Lindsey Cockle's
feet and her first time shot was well saved by the keeper. Lindsey
had two other opportunities in the opening quarter of an hour, but
failed to find the net, while Barking had a great chance when the ball
fell in the area, but it was spurned as the ball flew over the
bar. After 20 minutes, Jodie Fenn crossed for Tessa Osborne to hit
a volley narrowly wide and the same margin separated Zoë Jackson's 15
yard shot from going in.
The return after the break saw Tottenham
continue to take the game to Barking, with Lindsey forcing the keeper to
a save at the foot of her post and then fire two other efforts wide when
through. Eight minutes into the second half, captain Zoë Jackson
opened the scoring for Spurs. Intercepting a goal-kick, Zoë
strode forward and hit a 15 yard shot that the keeper could not stop
bulging the net.
Jodie had replaced Eleanda in goal after
the interval and she was kept busy by the Barking girls as they tried to
get back into the match. She was forced to rush out to close down
an approaching forward, who lobbed over her and over the bar, before
having to throw herself at opponent's feet three times to save
one-on-one situations.
Halfway through the second period, Paige
Barnard from ten yards and Eleanda from eight, both went close, while
the Barking keeper made a great reflex save from a close in Tessa
volley, which rebounded back to the Spurs midfielder, who hit the post
before Eleanda's shot was kept out again by the goalie. Eleanda
was desperate to score and flicked the ball up in the box to create her
own volley that flew over the top.
A well worked corner routine between
Tessa and Paige produced a cross that was missed by the Spurs players in
the area, but in the final action of the match, Eleanda finally got on
the score-sheet. Taking the ball off a defender on the half-way
line, she ran through and despite attempts to pull her back, she
shrugged off the challenge and blazed a shot past the goalkeeper.
Both sides played some good football and
two flashes of power gave Tottenham the win, but both teams will take
positives form the match to begin their League programmes.
The Tottenham
players were greeted with the news that skipper Zoë Jackson had
sustained an injury and was unavailable for action, but the Tottenham
girls provided the tonic that she needed with a well-deserved victory
away from home against a lively Stevenage Vixens.
Stevenage had the better start, but the Tottenham defence stood firm
with Olivia Rodney getting in some early tackles. Stand-in
goalkeeper Tessa Osborne looked a 'natural' as she was first to the ball
on several occasions and keen to get the ball down the pitch as quickly
as possible.
Laila El Haddad replaced Jodie Fenn (suffering from a sore throat)
midway through the first half and impressed with a solid display at
right back.
Just when Tottenham seemed to be getting a foothold on the match
Stevenage scored the opener.
It would have been easy for heads to drop, but this Tottenham team are
battlers and really wanted this win. With half time approaching Lindsey
Cockle latched onto a pass and hit the corner of the net to make it 1-1.
Tottenham stepped up a gear and nearly took the lead, when stand in
skipper Aimee Rose curled a free kick which landed at Lindsey's feet and
her effort was saved well by the alert goalkeeper.
Stevenage came back at Tottenham in the second half but the defence
stood firm with Paige Barnard giving another mature display.
Jodie Fenn made some important tackles to thwart the advances of the
opposition before being replaced by Belinda Sugarman, who added another
dimension to the Spurs midfield.
It was after the substitutions that Spurs took the lead when Aimee Rose
fed Lindsey Cockle and she buried her second goal of the match.
It was important that Tottenham kept concentrating as Stevenage were
more than capable of pulling back the lead and it was Tayla Goodman in
an unaccustomed role in defence making some fine tackles and clearances.
Lindsey Cockle has a taste for goals and was causing the Stevenage
defence problems throughout this match. She finished off her hat-trick
in fine style converting from another through ball.
Belinda Sugarman made a couple of clever passes towards the end of the
match which caused the opposition defence concern but Tottenham were
content to hold onto their two goal cushion.
Managers Kevin Fenn and John Goodman was very pleased with the winning start for the U11s
said "the players can be proud of themselves after a very
satisfactory performance".
Get well soon Zoe !
Kevin Fenn
Tottenham
: - [7-a-side - rolling subs used]
7
Tessa
Osborne (gk)
23
Jodie
Fenn
4
Tayla
Goodman
5
Laila
El Haddad
15
Olivia
Rodney
10
Aimee
Rose (Captain)
9
Lindsey
Cockle
25
Belinda
Sugarman
14
Paige
Barnard
Other
results :
Garston Blues 0 Barking A 0
Hitchin Belles Purples 0 Harvesters 1
Stevenage Borough Vixens 0
Watford A 4 Enfield 1
Potters Bar Crusaders 1 QPR 7
Tottenham U11s
celebrated their second victory in a row with a 3-0 home win over
Garston Ladies.
Tessa Osborne resumed goalkeeping responsibilities and made a couple of
important early clearances to keep Garston at bay.
A defence permutation of Olivia Rodney, Paige Barnard, Zoe Jackson,
Tayla Goodman and Laila El Haddad performed strongly, coping well with
the persistent long ball threat from an impressive Garston keeper.
The midfield pairing of Aimee Rose and Jodie Fenn was paying dividends
and it was Aimee who opened the scoring after being fed by Lindsey
Cockle.
The second half saw Eleanda Taladianou take the goalkeepers jersey, a
new midfield of Belinda Sugarman and Tessa Osborne with Tayla Goodman
starting up front.
Tottenham persistently threatened to score, but the elusive second goal
did not arrive until after the substitutions midway through the second
half. Aimee Rose decided to take responsibility and her clever
footwork culminated with a great strike for her second goal of the game.
With Garston tiring Tottenham pressed forward relentlessly. Lindsey
Cockle made another foray into the box and was promptly fouled by a
Garston defender. Paige Barnard converted the penalty, thundering
the ball into the back of the net.
Spurs took the
points in this difficult away fixture at Watford with a well deserved
win.
Captain marvel Zoë Jackson had an inspirational game keeping the teams'
confidence high by making some crucial saves between 'the sticks'.
Once again it was some solid defending by Tottenham with 'woman of the
match' Olivia Rodney, Tayla Goodman and Paige Barnard challenging well.
Spurs had many chances in the first half, but only one was converted.
'Livewire' Lindsey Cockle latched onto a pass by Aimee Rose and her
crisp shot hit the back of the net.
The Aimee Rose/Lindsey Cockle double act was giving the Watford defence
problems sending them frantic with some neat interchanges and shooting.
Tessa Osborne showed her worth on the pitch with some fine tackling and
passing but returned to goalkeeping duties in the second half showing
the importance of her versatility.
Tottenham hit the woodwork in the second half but kept their composure
when Watford stepped up a gear. Jodie Fenn was a dynamo in
midfield, supporting attack and getting back to shore up defence.
She made a crucial clearance in the dying minutes to deny Watford an
equaliser.
This was an important result for Tottenham and the girls rose to the
occasion.
In an epic top of
the table clash third placed Tottenham took a giant leap up the table
with a glorious 3-0 away win against a strong Harvesters team.
The two halves contrasted greatly with some strong defending in the
first half and some wonderful attacking play in the second half.
Captain Zoë Jackson rallied the defence in the first 25 minutes with
Spurs frustrating the Harvesters early attacks and setting up many
counter attacks.
A foray into the box by Lindsey Cockle resulted in a cross across the
Harvesters defence that fell to Jodie Fenn whose instant shot span away
from goal.
Belinda Sugarman became our fifth goalkeeper this season showing the
range and versatility of this squad. She performed well intercepting a
cross by palming the ball clear of danger.
The goals came in the opening minutes of the second half when Spurs
pushed forward and took the game to Harvesters.
On target were Laila El Haddad, who helped herself to a brace and
Eleanda Taladianou who scored in between.
Spurs had ample opportunities to increase the lead with Aimee Rose and
Lindsey Cockle making memorable efforts with defenders Paige Barnard and
Zoe Jackson keen to get in on the act.
When the final whistle blew the players were greeted by some
well-deserved applause from the Spurs base and as the whole team
performed so well the woman of the match award was shared by all.
In a tough, top
of the table clash, Spurs edged victory against a strong QPR side, who
were stung by their defeat at the hands of Watford last week.
The visitors took the first half spoils
with a good display of passing that had Tottenham on the back foot for
most of the 25 minutes. It was only the safe handling of crosses
and excellent shot-stopping by first half keeper Lindsey Cockle that
kept Spurs level at 0-0 at the break. The only time she was beaten
was when a lob bounced off the top of the bar, but Linds had the shot
covered if it had dropped a bit lower.
Into the second half, Tottenham became
more enterprising in their attacks and caused the QPR defence some more
anxious moments. Aimee Rose ran through the middle forcing the
keeper to make a save and Lindsey went close, hitting the side
netting. With six minutes remaining in the match, Tottenham
grabbed the decisive goal that brought them the win.
A corner was played into the Rangers box
and a defender cleared the ball into the air. The keeper came for
it, dropped the ball and Lindsey hit the post with a shot.
However, Aimee Rose was the quickest to react and steered the ball home
into the corner of the net from close range.
Spurs survived a scare when QPR played a
free-kick across the face of the box without anyone getting a touch on
it and Eleanda Taladianou, between the sticks for the second period,
made a save with her feet to prevent the away side equalising. As
the game ended in a frantic finish, Lindsey had a shot cleared from in
front of the goal and hard-working midfielder Jodie Fenn was thwarted by
a last ditch challenge by a Hoops defender.
Rangers had played a good match and the
result might have just flattered Tottenham, but good work in defence had
shut the door on any QPR threat and the midfield all worked hard to
close down the skillful Rangers players.
Other
results :
Barking A 1 Stevenage Borough Vixens 0
Harvesters 0 Watford A 2
Hitchin Town Belles Purples 0 Enfield 0
Potters Bar Crusaders 1 Garston Blues 1
In this top versus
bottom clash it was Spurs who continued their unbeaten run with a 6th
straight league win against Potters Bar Crusaders.
Although Spurs enjoyed
plenty of the play in the first half they found it hard work in breaking
down the defensive strategy applied by the Crusaders. That breakthrough
appeared to be on the cards when Spurs were awarded a penalty but the
goalie saved well from an Aimee Rose spot kick.
The game gave a chance
to utilize the whole squad and there were good first half performances
from Tayla Goodman and Nicola Davey, making her debut in goal.
Spurs seemed to be
frustrated when attempts by Lindsey Cockle, Belinda Sugarman and Aimee
Rose went wide but it was the cool head of Tessa Osborne who eventually
found a way through, drilling the ball into the corner of the net from a
tight angle.
Zoë Jackson had another
inspirational performance playing a deep defensive role in midfield and
Belinda Sugarman was very effective on the wing, finding space and
feeding good crosses into the box. She deserved the praise at the end of
the match for her unselfish play.
The second goal came
from Laila El Haddad who found space after a short corner from Aimee
Rose and squeezed the ball between the goalie and the post. This
signalled a frenzied final quarter of the match with Spurs launching a
series of attacks with players keen to get on the scorecard.
Spurs finally scored
the third when Lindsey Cockle fired in from close range after getting
close on several occasions.
A draw saw Tottenham's Under-11s drop
their first League point of the season and it was a disappointing
performance, although they maintain their unbeaten record.
Hitchin pegged Spurs back at the start of
the game, but an early breakthrough was not built on, as the girls had
done in recent outings. A ball was fed into the heart of the
penalty area, where Tayla Goodman saw her effort smothered by the
keeper. However, the ball came out the other side of the goalie's
dive and Tayla tapped home for her first goal of the season.
In a tightly contested first half,
Tottenham only created two more clear opportunities, with Belinda
Sugarman shooting narrowly wide and captain Zoë Jackson lobbing a shot
at goal, which the keeper dealt with well.
Spurs began the second half brightly and
produced close efforts from Paige Barnard and Lindsey Cockle, who also
was just beaten by a good ball into the area by Laila El Haddad.
Aimee Rose and Lindsey linked up ten minutes into the half to produce a
chance for Zoë, but it went just off target. The Hitchin keeper
was brave to dive at Lindsey's feet half-way into the second period to
produce a save which inspired the away side.
They moved forward and Tessa Osborne in
goal was brought into action with a good diving save to stop Hitchin
equalising. Two shots by Lindsey - one a neat volley from Laila's
cross - could not beat the Hitchin defence and it was with just minutes remaining
that the Purples nicked a late equaliser. A long ball downfield
squirmed past Tessa and the Hitchin forward slotted home to make the
final score 1-1.
There
was a determination in this performance that was missing from
Saturdays’ below par performance against Hitchin Belles and it was
clear that the girls had a point to prove.
Crystal
Palace came prepared to play football and were extremely dangerous on
the counter attack. However, the Spurs defence of Jodie Fenn, Paige Barnard, Ryah Vyse and
substitute Olivia Rodney were marshalling well and closing down the
persistent threat.
It
was Ryah who made the breakthrough in the first half, when her strong
surge forward was eclipsed by her powerful shot that flew past the
Palace goalkeeper.
This
was soon followed by the second goal that was somehow looped in at the
far post by Eleanda Taladianou after a shot from a Spurs player flew in
her direction.
There
was a confidence in Spurs' play and it was Paige Barnard who took the
initiative striding across the face of the penalty box before unleashing
a powerful drive that the goalkeeper had little chance of saving.
The
Spurs goalkeeper Tessa Osborne had a superb game, rushing to clear the
ball to safety when a Palace counter attack saw four opposition players
advancing against just one defender.
However
there was little she could do for the Palace goal when an excellent half
volley brought them temporarily back into the game.
Lindsey
Cockle helped ease any tension by tucking away the fourth goal.
Kevin Fenn
Tottenham
: - [7-a-side - rolling subs used]
7
Tessa
Osborne
2
Zoë
Jackson (captain)
15
Olivia
Rodney
14
Paige
Barnard
7
Ryah
Vyse
10
Aimee
Rose
8
Sophie
Petros
23
Jodie
Fenn
18
Eleanda Taladianou
9
Lindsey
Cockle
For more match reports from
this season, click here.
