Depleted by injury, illness and absences due to holidays, the Spurs Ladies Under-11 Whites side took to the field with seven girls, including Izzy Lewis who wasn’t feeling well at all and who felt every knock and crunch but bravely soldiered on.  Luton sensed that the Tottenham side weren’t at their strongest and played better than their seventh place position in the league belied and were soon challenging a very commanding Joely Harris-Tharp in defence with team mate Emily Tibbs in front of keeper Elianne Mahay Goodrich.  

It took the Tottenham side 11 minutes to score when Izzy Lewis made a clearance from the Tottenham goalmouth straight to top goal scorer Ronnell Humes, who took the ball down the left channel slicing a shot into the corner of the Luton goal. The Tottenham side then regained their composure and took command of the game for the rest of the half looking comfortable.

The Tottenham side came back on to the pitch still looking confident and Kally Ann Westgarth nearly upped the score when she ran down the left wing where she was being given acres of space and let fly with shot that just missed the target as it flew into the side netting.

10 minutes into the second half Luton breached the Tottenham defence and evened the score with a goal from a throw in breaking a run of nine games played with clean sheets going back to November 2009.  Unlike the Luton Town team, the referee wasn’t sponsored by ‘Specsavers’ and missed that the ball had gone in the net directly from the throw.  However, the ref’s decision is final and other than that his officiating was fair and he allowed the game to flow.

After the initial shock the goal served as a wake-up call to the Tottenham side that rallied together trying to regain the lead, whilst Luton buoyed by the goal battled to compete against the league leaders.  The Tottenham girls showed their grit and determination to win and much to the relief of the Tottenham faithful after a series of corners captain Flo Donald finally got her foot on a loose ball and buried it into the net with seven minutes to go.

Boosted by the goal the Tottenham girls really started to show their quality pulling off a string of superb passes that came close to them furthering their lead but in the end there was relief to hear the final whistle and know that only three more points are needed to clinch the title.    

Injured Immy Lancaster turned up to support her team mates and a pre match run out confirmed that she was not fit to play. Watching from the sidelines Immy selected team captain Flo Donald as ‘player of the match’.  A good effort from all the girls’ special praise to an under the weather Izzy Lewis.

laura farningham

enfield rangers  -    
enfield town a  -    
enfield town b  -    
harvesters  -    
luton town  -    
whetstone wanderers  -    
st. albans city youth  -    
denham united  -    
hampstead  -    
thlfc blues  -   

Both teams were up for the game and the support on the sidelines was tinged with cup atmosphere. The Tottenham Under 11s Whites started strongly and on three minutes Ronell Humes shot just inches over the bar.  Four minutes later Immy Lancaster’s shot produced a parry from the Enfield keeper before they cleared their lines.

Both sides had their chances but solid defending from both teams kept the score sheet clean until 18 minutes into the game when Ronnell Humes picked up on a through ball, breaking clean and working her way between two Enfield defenders to just get the space she needed to shoot beating the keeper and to put the Tottenham side into the lead.

The Tottenham girls remained calm after their celebrations and got straight back into the game. Half time came early when the referee blew after 20 minutes and the jelly babies had to go back in the packet, as the sides were recalled to the pitch for a tense five minutes when it looked like Enfield might get even, but Tottenham held out and went back to the jelly babies and jaffa cakes a goal to the good.

Tottenham continued to keep their shape in the second half with captain Flo Donald controlling the centre midfield supporting the defence and providing opportunities to push forward. As the game progressed Flo naturally dropped further and further back to thwart the Enfield attacks.

The Enfield team pushed forward and were quick particularly on their forays down the right wing, but the defensive duo of Joely Harris-Tharp and Carlota Franques were too strong for them and left few opportunities for the Enfield strikers to break. Even though as the game progressed and time was running out for the home side they pushed more players forward and virtually stood in the goal. However this proved fruitless as the strength of the Tottenham midfield meant that the Enfield strikers were isolated.

In midfield Izzy Lewis put pressure on the Enfield defence as her long throw ins floated into the box and her runs down the right with excellent link up play with Flo Donald challenged the Enfield defence.  Kally Ann Westgarth worked well on the left tracking back and pushing forward and created an excellent chance towards the end of the first half that only just went wide.  Ronnell Humes worked hard up front and as the game progressed did a great job to cut out the threat from the Enfield right before it could it even could get started.  Rosie Johnson was a target to aim for either from the midfield or from some long range shots that came from the defence but the Enfield defence was strong and hard to beat.

The Tottenham girls were impressive all round, rising to the challenge and staying calm under considerable pressure, but the player of the match went to goal keeper Elianne Mahay Goodrich for the second week running as she commanded and repelled several very close calls to ensure that the Tottenham side march on and booked their place in the next round. 

laura farningham

enfield rangers  -    
thlfc blues  5    enfield town b  1    
harvesters  -    
luton town  -    
whetstone wanderers  -    
st. albans city youth  -    
denham united  -    
hampstead  -    

As was to be expected third in the league side Hampstead turned up and proved hard to beat, as Spurs Ladies Under-11s lined up at Fred Knights on Saturday morning.

Both sides were strong in all areas and a real battle took place in midfield, where Captain Flo Donald lead the push forward and worked hard with Emily Tibbs to block the Hampstead attacks.  Joely Harrris-Tharp and Carlota Franques worked tirelessly to cut out the Hampstead advances and dealt well with the pressure from the Hampstead forwards with the main pressure came from their attacks down the right. 

12 minutes into the match Immy Lancaster connected with a flick on from Ronnell Humes and powerfully volleyed the ball into the back of the net from 15 yards, much to the relief of the Tottenham faithful.  

The Whites got close to increasing the score with shots from Flo Donald, Ronell Humes and from goal-scorer Immy Lancaster but it wasn’t to be.  Wingers Kally Ann Westgarth and Izzy Lewis put pressure on the Hampstead defence with runs down the respective wings, but forwards Rosie Johnson and Ronnell Humes weren’t able to make the final connections to finish the game off.   

As the game went on the pressure was at both ends with Tottenham and Hampstead having opportunities to break away.  However, both keepers were impressive and competently cut out any further scoring opportunities. Tottenham keeper Elianne Mahay Goodrich proved to be a safe pair of hands racing out to smother any loose balls and dealing competently with any spin on the ball in the wet conditions earning herself the player of the match award as the Tottenham side marched ever closer to title glory and their seventh clean sheet in a row.      

laura farningham

enfield rangers  -    
enfield town a  -    
enfield town b  -    
harvesters  -    
luton town  -    
whetstone wanderers  -    
st. albans city youth  -    
denham united  -    
thlfc blues  -   

It only took Ronnell Humes three minutes to convert from an Immy Lancaster cross that had been cleared from the defence by Emily Tibbs, but it felt a long three minutes as Enfield came at the Tottenham side strongly in the initial stages.

Rangers continued to push forward and it took several close calls before Immy Lancaster put the side two goals ahead. In the 22^nd minute captain Flo Donald, who had who had earlier come close when her shot when inches over the bar, got on the end of a corner floated in by Ronnell Humes to see the girls finish the half three goals to the good.

Ronell and Immy both doubled their tally in the second half when Ronell got on the end of a corner delivered by Immy five minutes in.  It took a further 15 minutes before Immy slotted home from a well worked pass between Kally Ann and Rosie to score the final goal of the game making it 5-0.

The defence had fairly quiet time of it but dealt well with any Rangers attacks and ensured another clean sheet.  Goalkeeper Elianne Mahay Goodrich pouncing quickly on several loose balls and at one point racing out to clear with a well timed kick.  Joely Harris Tharp was strong in defence and showed good awareness in coming out to clear the lines and with the strength of her kicks starting the midfield off on their way forward.  Carlota Franques dealt well with any potential danger and as ever was first to the ball.

Kally Westgarth exerted good pressure down the left and came close to getting on the score sheet.  Izzy Lewis worked the right wing effectively and got some excellent crosses both from her runs and throw ins.  Rosie Johnson looked sharp upfront and only just missed out on adding to the goal tally with several break away moves. 

The player of the match was awarded to Emily Tibbs who excelled in defence and then later in the central midfield role.  Emily went in strongly on the ball, winning battles all over the park, also making some great runs through the middle to make her presence felt in attack.        

laura farningham

enfield town b  0     enfield town a  3    
st. albans city youth  3     luton town  2    
whetstone wanderers  1     thlfc blues  8   
hampstead  2     denham united  0    

Whatever the final score Tottenham Hotspur Ladies Under-10 Blues gave the Whites a run for their money, coming strongly at them from the off in this HCGFL match at Fred Knights. 

Kally Ann Westgarth started up front with Immy Lancaster but soon had to revert to the left wing, as the Blues pushed the Whites back, Kally Ann continued to run the wing offering support up front and in defence. For much of the first half there was little between the sides with a strong midfield battle. As the half progressed it looked more and more like it would be one of those days when nothing would go in.

Shots from Immy Lancaster, Ronnell Humes and Rosie Johnson hit the post, hit the bar and skimmed inches wide. The teams left the pitch at half time with all square. The Whites keen to keep up the pressure at the top end of the table were soon back on the pitch and ready to make their mark not letting the game drift away from them. They wasted no time and from the kick off pushed forward with Ronnell Humes having a clear shot on goal and with a clinical precision slotted home. A wave of relief was felt throughout the team and by those on the side line.

Imbued with a new confidence, two minutes later Ronnell broke away again and hit home her second.  Under pressure from a revived Whites team, a Blues player handled in the area and the ref blew for a penalty.  Immy Lancaster grabbed the ball and with determination placed it on the spot stepped back and blasted into the back of the net.    

Feeling assured at 3-0, the Whites looked confident and played some good passing football.  Flo Donald who sat out the first half not feeling well joined the team in the second half and she and Izzy Lewis got into a passing rhythm that saw Flo slot through the ball for Izzy to hold up and shoot decisively home from 15 yard and score the goal of the game.

Vice captain Joely Harris-Tharp took the armband for the match and looked impressive pushing up and had several shots just off target from outside the box.  Carlota Franques worked hard all game sticking doggedly to the Blues striker, making it impossible for her to influence the game and her commitment saw her earn the player of the match award.   

Although there was little direct attack for keeper Elianne-Mahay Goodrich to deal with she was positive and strong and dealt firmly with anything that came her way.  Rosie Johnson threatened the Blues defence getting close to a break away on several occasions and Emily Tibbs had an excellent game finding herself in several different positions, right mid, centre mid and finally in defence managing to make her mark across the pitch.

laura farningham

enfield rangers  -    
enfield town a  -    
enfield town b  -    
harvesters  -    
luton town  -    
whetstone wanderers  -    
st. albans city youth  -    
denham united  -    
hampstead  -