Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC -

Under-12  match reports 2005-06

It was a rainy and breezy day where Spurs Ladies were looking forward an easy win against Northwood Girls, if past performance was anything to go by, but it wasn't quite to be that way. 

All 14 players were ready to do battle and the Spurs Ladies first half squad was without Georgia Bruce, Charlotte Dean and Olivia Keown.  

From the kick off, Spurs Ladies were put pressure by the Northwood Girls, who took the lead after 10 minutes of the game.  Some good solid defending by Shianne St. Louis stop Northwood from extending their lead two minutes later where a through ball from her found Ayse Mustafa with a one touch play to Whitney Tango.  Whitney turned the Northwood defender and hammered the ball high into the Northwood goal.  This was quickly followed up by some one touch passing between Ayse, Taylor O'Leary and Hannah Lyons on the left wing, which ended with a shot at goal from Hannah, only to see the keeper produce a good save.  

From the kick out by the Northwood keeper, the ball was collected by Ayse who squared it to Nikki, who ran at the Northwood defence down the right wing before crossing the ball to Whitney, where she nudged the ball in to give Spurs Ladies a 2-1 lead.  Rosie Kmita showed courage against the big Northwood attackers where her determination won her the ball on the left wing which was quickly passed to Ayse in midfield.  Renata made a run to a central position, collected the ball from Ayse and went on to score goal number three in the 17^th minute of the game.  

Three minutes later, Renata and Hannah were substituted by Georgia and Charlotte.  Straight away Georgia was in action with a determined run down the left, but her shot was saved by the keeper.  From a free kick taken by Shianne in the 25^th minute of the game, Nikki latched onto the ball from the halfway line, headed for goal, but did not make good contact with her final kick of the ball.  At the end of the first half, Spurs Ladies left the field leading 3 goal to 1.  

The second half kicked off with a more determined look about the Northwood Girls team.  Spurs were caught flat-footed on a few occasions and sometimes played the opposition on-side when the ball was pumped high into their half of the pitch.  There are lessons to be learned for the return match and the future against teams like Luton .  

Whitney completed her hat-trick driving in a shot after winning a tackle and this was followed by a high dipping drive by Ayse to put Spurs Ladies on a 5-1 lead.  Molly Kmita blasted a low left foot shot into the net for number six after Katie Mills shot at goal was blocked by a defender in the penalty area.  

Northwood girls pulled back two goals within a space of three minutes, but with five minutes of the game remaining, Spurs kept control to hold on to their winning streak.  

RICARDO INNISS

Enfield Town Ladies  5     Bushey Rangers  1
Luton Town Belles  14     Hatfield Legion Belles  0
St. Martins  2     Garston Ladies  5
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Spurs Ladies kicked off the first half without Whitney Tango, Hannah Lyons, Nikki Hunnable and Taylor O'Leary.  Rosie Kmita opened the scoring within the first three minutes, followed by a second goal scored by Charlotte Dean two minutes later.  Whitney and Taylor substituted Molly Kmita and Ayse Mustafa after 20 minutes play whereby Whitney scored two goals in the 25^th and 28^th minute.  It wasn’t long after that Charlotte got her second goal to put Spurs in a comfortable position of a 5-0 lead.

Not a great deal of exertion required by Spurs Ladies to keep the Hemel Hempstead attackers away but goalkeeper Daisy O'Sullivan was called into action a few times to keep her on her toes.

Spurs dominated the second half with Whitney adding four more goals to complete a double hat-trick.  Two goals from Molly and other goals from Renata, Nikki and Rosie - including a header (the first team member to do this) - was just too much for the opposition.  The 14-0 score line may have been worse if shots from Ayse, Katie Mills, Georgia Bruce and Taylor, wasn’t blocked by the Hemel keeper, who did well despite the big scoreline.  

RICARDO INNISS

Group A
Luton Town Belles  16     Hatfield Legion Belles  0
St. Albans City Youth  11     Hemel Hempstead 0     
Group B
Buntingford Cougars  0     Hoddesdon Owls  2     
Northwood  2     Denham United  5     
Group C
Potters Bar United  0     Bushey Rangers  5     
Stevenage Borough Vixens  1     Letchworth Garden City Eagles  3     
Group D
Bedwell Rangers  0     QPR  2     
St. Martins  2     Enfield Town Ladies  3     

The first few minutes were an even contest in midfield as both teams tested each other out and the first corner for Tottenham saw the Hemel keeper make a good save from Ayse Mustafa up front.  The Spurs Ladies did not seem to relish the conditions of the pitch since it dampened their style of play.   

Spurs Ladies were having majority of the play but then Hemel made a few charges at the Spurs defence to which Harley Keenlyside was more than equal to the challenge.  After the first 15 minutes of play Rosie Kmita opened the scoring with a low drive into the right-hand corner of the Hemel goal.  Twenty minutes into the game Renata Inniss and Charlotte Dean substituted Whitney Tango and Nikki Hunnable.

Spurs set about the task trying to wear down the Hemel defence, which was breached in the 29^th minute when Renata latched onto a clearance from the Hemel defence to make the score 2-0.  

From the kick off of the second half, Spurs looked more alive and set about their business in a manner that they are accustomed to.   A great deal of pressure was being applied by Spurs and Renata scored her second goal following a string of passes between Ayse, Whitney and Renata.  More chances were created when Harley battled down the left hand side with a through ball to Ayse, who won a free kick outside the Hemel penalty area.  Nikki drove the ball high and hard over the Hemel wall and into the top left-hand side of the goal.  A minute later Charlotte added Spurs fifth followed by goal number six scored by Whitney with only 10 minutes of the second half played.  At this point Daisy O'Sullivan had taken to the field with Shianne St Louis taking over as goalkeeper.  

Spurs Ladies had the measure of Hemel, but the home side was not prepared to roll over despite being down 0-6.  Two quick breaks kept Spurs on their toes and again Harley was there to deny them any opportunity of a goal.  Nikki scored her second goal when Harley stole the ball from the Hemel attacker on the left wing and threaded it Nikki on the right wing.  The Hemel keeper came out to close Nikki down but her shot was low and went under the diving keeper for 0-7.  

It was new territory for Daisy playing up front instead of being in goal to which, she rose to the occasion and almost scored.   Rose Kmita was substituted by Georgia Bruce after 15 minutes of the second half.  

Spurs recorded their eighth goal when Olivia Keown pumped the ball up field from a Hemel attack that was flicked into Ayse’s path.  Ayse produced a through ball to Whitney who shot low with her left foot and Charlotte followed up for the rebound after the Hemel keeper made an initial good save.  

The remaining 13 minutes saw some good passing skills from the Spurs Ladies, but the Hemel keeper denied them with four good saves.  

Hemel were keen to get at least one goal but did not reckon on the strength and determinate of Harley.  Daisy and Charlotte were also keen to add more goals but they were caught offside each time.

RICARDO INNISS

Group A
Luton Town Belles  -     Hemel Hempstead  -     
Hatfield Legion Belles  2     St. Albans City Youth  2     
Group B
Hoddesdon Owls  1     Northwood  4     
Hitchin Town Belles  1     Denham United  5     
Group C
Stevenage Borough Vixens  -     Bushey Rangers  -     
Letchworth Garden City Eagles  0     Potters Bar United  0     
Group D
Enfield Town Ladies  3     Bedwell Rangers  0     
St. Martins  1     QPR  4     

Hatfield Legion Belles  1     
Denham United  1     QPR  5     
Garston Ladies  4     Bedwell Rangers  0     Enfield Town Ladies  2     
Bushey Rangers  0     Luton Town Belles  11    

Spurs Ladies had the first 10 minutes to themselves in which Whitney Tango drilled home a low shot only to find the goal was disallowed for an alleged foul on the Enfield player.   Georgia Bruce showed good pace down the wing and the Kmita twins held their nerve against the bigger players in the Enfield side.  Nikki Hunnable substituted Georgia Bruce after 10 minutes, whilst Charlotte Dean substituted Renata Inniss who had a slight eye injury after 20 minutes of the match.

Shianne St Louis and Harley Keenlyside were thorns in Enfield ’s side every time they mounted an attack into the Spurs half of the pitch.  The midfield was busy as usual with Taylor O’Leary and Ayse Mustafa gunning to win every ball from the opposition.  Spurs could have created more opportunities had they not dwelt on the ball too long at times – something they cannot afford to do in matches to come.  The team as a whole had a good half, which was closely matched by Enfield in the last 20 minutes.

A typical second half start by Spurs Ladies saw Whitney Tango scoring after two minutes of play, as she netted at the second attempt after the keeper saved her first shot.  Enfield Town began to apply the pressure which the Spurs defence was equal to.  Spurs Ladies had a couple of chances before Whitney Tango claimed her second goal after fifteen minutes for a 2-0 lead.  

Again the wingers were there to mop up any clearances from the Enfield defence, whilst the midfield players were feeding the ball through the middle to Whitney to create chances to extend their tally but Enfield held their ground.

Enfield were up to the challenge and their determination rewarded them with a goal in the 25^th minute.  In the end the strength of the Spurs defence denied Enfield Town any chance of sharing the points and I am sure the Spurs Ladies manager was proud of their performance.

RICARDO INNISS

Bushey Rangers  1     Bedwell Rangers  0     
Garston Ladies  8     Denham United  0     
Luton Town Belles  4     Northwood  1     

Match postponed because of a major fire in the area.

Group A
Denham United  6     Buntingford Cougars  1    
Group C
Bushey Rangers  1     Stevenage Borough Vixens  1    
Potters Bar United  0     Stevenage Borough Juniors  2    

Match postponed because of a frozen pitch.

Bedwell Rangers  0     Enfield Town Ladies  3     

Spurs Ladies were without their goal keeper Daisy O’Sullivan so Taylor O’Leary took the gloves.  St. Martins Girls got off to a flying start by scoring in the first minute of the game with a high dipping ball driven from about 15 yards.  Spurs Ladies were caught a bit flat footed in conditions that do not suit their style of play.

A few determined runs down the right wing by Nikki Hunnable reaped rewards when she blasted the ball into the left side of the goal outside the penalty box after 10 minutes for the equaliser. 

Spurs Ladies had a battle on their hands from a determined St Martins team who were far from being underdogs.  After 20 minutes Renata Inniss substituted Katie Mills and eight minutes later, she increased the Spurs tally to 2-1.  Harley Keenlyside and Shianne St Louis worked hard to stop the St Martins attackers who were gunning for goal.  Spurs looked more alive at the half time whistle knowing that they had to work harder in the second half. 

Ayse Mustafa substituted Taylor O’Leary in goal for the second half, which Spurs kicked off with a sharper look to the side.  Nikki Hunnable tested the St. Martins goalkeeper with a low drive from inside the penalty area only to see it fumbled over the line for a Spurs 3-1 lead after five minutes of the second half.  Five minutes later Georgia Bruce shot from the left side of the penalty box into the top right hand side of the goal for Spurs fourth. 

Whitney Tango substituted Charlotte Dean after 15 minutes and Ayse Mustafa felt unwell and was substituted in goal by Shianne St Louis after 19 minutes of play.  In the 20^th minute, St Martins were awarded a penalty to make the score 4-2.  There was some good ball control in the St. Martins penalty area by Georgia and Renata, but they could not find the back of the net.

Good flashes of play were shown by the team in general, but it will be harder work for them if the playing conditions are the same next week at QPR.

RICARDO INNISS

Bushey Rangers  1     Hatfield Legion Belles  1     
Denham United  1     QPR  5     
Garston Ladies  4     Enfield Town Ladies  2     
Luton Town Belles  11     Bedwell Rangers  0