Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC -

Under-12 match reports 2006-07

Tottenham  started with the early pressure with Charlotte McLucas and Tianna Carrington pushing forward down the left-hand side.  Harvesters however also got into the game quickly and Hollie Watson was called into action in the middle of the defence.  The first shot on goal came from Harvesters and was well saved by the stand in goalkeeper Shoshana Field.  Spurs were having a fair amount of possession, but weren’t able to deliver the final pass up front, so it became a battle in midfield, between the likes of Saskia Collins, Charlotte, Bobbi Cubberley and Tori Tripp. Harvesters broke again down their left and Shoshana produced another good save with her feet to deny their striker. 

Spurs however were still creating opportunities with possession in the middle of the park and Bobbi Cubberley had a long range shot on goal, which was comfortably saved by the Harvesters keeper.  Tori was finding some space on the right and was running quickly down the right side looking for the cross, but Harvesters were defending well.  A ball came to Laura Newby on the edge of the box and she turned sharply but couldn’t quite get the power behind her shot to trouble the keeper.  Tottenham were finding themselves in the Harvesters half, but were unable to make their share of the ball pay. 

Vicki Blake and Libby Lovick were working hard in defence and making sure that no Harvesters striker had any free shots on goal.  Charlotte delivered an excellent cross-field ball to Libby who chipped it on to Bobbi through the middle and she was just run off the ball, before she could unleash a shot.  Harvesters however continued to press Spurs and Shoshana was called upon again to produce a good save, after a scrambled attempt by the opposition.  Both sides were evenly matched and you had the feeling that it would take a special goal to break the deadlock, which came in the 22^nd minute when Tori saw that the keeper was slightly off her line, she cracked a high looping kick over her head from outside the area and into the back of the net to make it 1-0. 

Both sides started evenly in the second half, with the sun beating down on the pitch.  It was end to end stuff and both teams were looking for the breakthrough.  Harvesters were putting a lot of pressure on the Spurs defence and Tianna was magnificent in defence, with her speed, agility and determination.  Time after time Harvesters tried to outrun Tianna and were found wanting.  Spurs had a good chance to go 2-0 up when Hollie delivered a long range through ball to Ruth Collett, who ran onto it and couldn’t quite beat the keeper on this occasion. 

Harvesters however didn’t give up with the pressure and after a sustained period they managed to draw level when a ball was bouncing in the area and was drilled into the back of the net.  Tottenham however went straight up the other end and Bobbi had a long range shot, which bounced over the keeper and just went wide of the post.

Harvesters were pushing harder and harder to find the winner, but once again the defence of Vicki and Tianna was holding firm, aided by Saskia and Libby.  However the constant pressure from Harvesters finally paid off when after three attempts on the goal, the ball wasn’t cleared and Harvesters made Spurs pay five minutes from time. 

Spurs tried very hard to find the equaliser, with Marva Kreel getting into the thick of things and helping push Harvesters well back.  Tottenham had a great chance when Ruth was put through but was held back so a free kick was awarded which Bobbi took.  The ball unfortunately was cleared off for a corner and the girls couldn’t quite make their pressure pay. 

Player of the match was undoubtedly Tianna who must have seen nearly every blade of grass on the pitch and kept on running and running all the time.

Both teams should be proud of the quality of football that was played and whilst it was at times a passionate affair, on and off the pitch, in the cold light of day, there is no doubt that both teams will be battling at the top of the table, with the return match no doubt going to be a good footballing spectacle. 

I am glad that I put a hat on today with the old sun cream otherwise a would have looked like a tomato that had been placed on a BBQ.  Good luck to both teams for the rest of the season.

DAVID WATSON

Hemel Hempstead Town A  2     Enfield Town Ladies A  15    
Luton Town Belles  1     Garston Ladies  1    
Stevenage Borough Vixens  2     Lea Valley United  3    
Belmont United  2     Denham United  1    

Denham pushed down the right, but was met by Libby Lovick, with some covering play from Vicki Blake, which pushed the ball back into the Denham half.  The first goal came within five minutes of the start when Charlotte pushed up from the middle of the park to pass the ball onto to Ruth Collett, who delivered a nice ball to Laura and the Spurs striker smashed the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0. 

Denham came back at Spurs after the goal and Tianna Carrington, with Vicki and Saskia Collins were called into action to keep the danger away from Lily-Anna Tyrimos in goal.  Amy Woff, along with Bobbi Cubberley, was delivering some long balls into Ruth and Tori both on whom were running at the Denham defence and causing them a number of problems.  Tori had a good shot on the right but it just went wide of the post.  The second goal arrived when Charlotte was putting pressure on the Denham defence and delivered a good ball to Laura, who leaned back and her shot went sailing over the goalie's head to make it 2-0 after 12 minutes.  Tottenham were pushing forward constantly and Amy had a firmly struck shot well saved by the opposition keeper.  Hollie Watson delivered a well timed pass to Tori who ran on at speed and her shot went just wide.  The pressure from Spurs paid off when Ruth slotted the third goal away, which went under the keeper’s body after 22 minutes. 

Amy was taking control of the midfield and produced another good ball to Tori on the right who crossed the ball to Ruth who after some battling found the net again to make it 4-0 after 25 minutes.  Tottenham’s pressure paid once again just before half time when Laura bagged her hat-trick.  After Ruth’s shot was parried out by the keeper, Laura pounced on the rebound to make it 5-0. 

The Tottenham girls started the second half with a spring in their step and it was 6-0 within 45 seconds of the restart when Charlotte drilled a ball to Tori, who managed to slam the ball past the keeper to score her first of the day.  This was followed up a minute later when Laura got on the end of a ball that was bouncing in the area and delivered a sweet shot to make it 7-0. 

Amy produced a good ball through to Ruth who was running at full tilt when unfortunately her boot fell off.  Spurs were piling on the pressure with four corners in quick succession.  However, nothing came of them this time.  Denham hadn’t given up and the defence of Vicki, Tianna, Saskia and Hollie made sure that they weren’t breaking through their line of defence. 

Tori continued to push up the right hand side and once again had a couple of good shots well saved by the Denham keeper.  Tianna produced some good defending down the other end and she was well covered by Vicki.  Charlotte had a break-through run and was one on one with the keeper, but unfortunately she didn’t beat the keeper on this occasion.  Marva Kreel was creating some trickery down the left hand side and working well with Amy. 

Denham continued to push on and this did result in an excellent save by Shoshana Field, who raced out of her goal to cut the angle down and deny their striker.  This was followed a few minutes later by another save from Shoshana as Denham broke through the defence.  The girls continued to try and beat the Denham offside trap, which they finally did in the closing minutes, when Bobbi ran down the right and her shot was well saved by the keeper, but Tori was on hand to deliver a final blow to make it 8-0. 

The midfield and strikers seemed to have a more settled game and showed what they are capable of, with the defence holding firm.  Needless to say with her four goals Laura quite rightly was named player of the match.  

It’s a good job I have got sat nav.  I thought I might need my passport we travelled so far !!

DAVID WATSON

Harvesters  5     Hemel Hempstead Town A  1    
Garston Ladies  1     Enfield Town Ladies A  4    
Stevenage Borough Vixens  0     Luton Town Belles  6    
Lea Valley United  6     Belmont United  7    

The ball however was back off down the other end and Lea Valley won an early corner.  It was very well struck, went through the Tottenham area and two Lea Valley players were quick to react and deliver the ball past Lily Tyrimos in goal to make it 1-0 after four minutes.  The girls did not panic, because they had been in this position before to the same team in a friendly during the summer, even if some of the supporters were biting their finger nails. 

Tori Tripp was starting to pick up some real pace down the right hand side and was proving to be a handful to the opposition defence.  Tottenham won a couple of corners, but were unable to capitalise on them.  Tori had a good long range shot at goal which was well saved by the keeper and the midfield of Bobbi Cubberley, Saskia Collins, Amy Woff and Charlotte McLucas were pushing hard for the equaliser, with Laura and Tori darting around the front line. 

However, Lea Valley also pushed forward themselves, but were met by a very active Vicki Blake and Tianna Carrington in the middle, with Libby Lovick and Hollie Watson guarding the flanks. 

Amy made a very good pass through to Tori, who burst through the line and her shot just went wide of the target.  A handball was awarded to Spurs on the edge of the area and Bobbi strolled up to take it.  She struck the ball sweetly and it ricocheted off the post into the back of the net to make it all square at 1-1 after 10 minutes.  Tottenham now started to put even more pressure on the Lea Valley defence.  Laura had a long range shot which went wide and Bobbi had a great one on one chance, which unfortunately was disrupted when she thought the whistle had gone, but it came from the other pitch. 

Lea Valley were still pushing forward and won another corner, but this time it came to nothing.  It was after this incident that a very bizarre moment occurred when a debate started between the Managers and the Referee over the colour of the Spurs goalkeepers’ shirt.  It seemed to have been resolved and play commenced again, when on came the rule book and it was like watching an episode of “What not To Wear."  I thought Trinny and Susannah would appear any moment.  Anyway it turned out that black isn’t this season’s colour in the fashion world of football and both goalkeepers had to change into nice green numbers, which I was personally concerned about as that was the same colour as the referee's shirt, but no one seemed to mind and play commenced.  

Both sides battled away and once again Tottenham got back into their stride.  Tori very nearly scored before the break when she burst through the defence once again, slotted the ball past the keeper and it bounced off the post and ran along the line, where the keeper recovered it.  

Spurs started the second half brightly with Hollie creating some space down the left and crossing the ball into the box, where Laura got on the end of it, but the keeper made a good save.  A few minutes later after some more Spurs  pressure, the ball went out to Tori on the right and she produced a nicely lofted shot that went over the keeper and nestled itself into the back of the net to make it 2-1 after three minutes of the re-start. 

The visitors were still having pushing forward and Lily had to be quickly out of her goal to cover a ball drilled through the middle by Lea Valley.  Tottenham’s midfield were starting to produce more and more pressure as the game went on and Amy had a long range shot which went wide, with Charlotte finding some space down the right, where she was making some very good runs.  Some very solid defending by Vicki especially was keeping Spurs right in it and Lea Valley were struggling to find a way through. 

Bobbi had a good shot saved by the keeper and you just knew that this sort of pressure would finally pay off.  The third goal came when Laura forced a Lea Valley defender into a mistake under pressure.  She was on the ball like a panther and smashed the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-1 after 40 minutes. The Lea Valley keeper made a couple of important saves when balls that were threaded through, intercepting them before Laura could get there.  Tori had swapped her position to cause problems up front and on the left hand side, the pairing of Saskia and Hollie were holding firm against some Lea Valley pressure.  

An excellent move was put together when Vicki broke out from the middle of defence and sprinted towards goal.  She delivered an outstanding pass to Amy, who lent back and walloped the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-1 after 44 minutes. 

Shoshana Field came on and battled hard down the left, with the girls being very dominant and Marva Kreel was showing her tricky footballing skills on the right.  Lea Valley had their best chance of the second half when their striker burst through on the right, but Lily made an excellent save by parrying the ball onto the post and away. 

Spurs were now in command of the game and the final whistle blew.  No individual player award this week as it was very much and team performance in a closely fought contest at times. 

I am off now to go onto to e-bay to see if I can sell a slightly worn black goal keepers top !!  

DAVID WATSON

When we have played Hemel in the past, it has normally rained and today it excelled itself, but more of that later ! 

Spurs started with some early pressure in the guise of Ruth Collett and Tori Tripp down the Tottenham left.  Hemel Hempstead were very much up for the challenge today and Lily Tyrimos was called into action fairly early on to collect the ball following a Hemel Hempstead attack through the middle.

The first ten minutes were an even affair.  The break through came however when Charlotte McLucas broke on the right and let fly with a strongly struck shot, it bounced off the post and Tori was quick to follow up and make it 1-0. 

Spurs were now piling on the pressure and had three corners in a row and despite the best efforts of Bobbi Cubberley, Laura Newby and Amy Woff they couldn’t capitalise on the pressure.  Hemel Hempstead themselves started to battle back and it took some strong defending by Vicki Blake, Tianna Carrington, Hollie Watson and Libby Lovick to keep them at bay and despite Hemel pushing forward, they weren’t able to find a way through either flank. 

Tottenham however were starting to stretch out the Hemel play and Tori had a run down the left which saw her shot fly across the face of the goal, Amy managed to pick the ball up on the right and slot a good pass through to Ruth, who calmly beat the keeper to make it 2-0 after 20 minutes.  Goal number three came soon after the re-start when Amy found Tori with another through ball and she slammed it into the back of the net at speed. 

The rain then started to come down, slowly at first but it then got heavier and heavier, I don’t know about raining cats and dogs it was more like cows and sheep.  I am sure I saw one float by as the ground started to get saturated !!  Still play went on and Bobbi produced a good cross which Tori nearly turned towards goal.  I was now struggling big time to take any notes as the rain was throwing itself across the pitch, I think I would have been less wet if I had jumped in a swimming pool.  Anyway, the whistle went for halftime and everyone headed for shelter, just as the lightening and thunder arrived.  Oh great !! 

Anyway, the second half started, with the rain now easing off.  Tori started strongly on the left and Hollie was defending solidly on the left, slamming the door shut in the faces of the Hemel Hempstead strike force a number of times.  The pressure from Spurs paid off when after a goal mouth scramble Tori forced their defender to make a mistake and score an own goal to make it 4-0 after five minutes of the second half.

However, Hemel didn’t give up and they broke down the Spurs right, with Lily making a solid save from the resultant shot.  Amy retaliated quickly and she had her shot saved by the Hemel keeper.  After more battling in midfield, Bobbi made it 5-0.  Vicki and Tianna were strong in the middle of the park and were keeping the Hemel strike force at bay, with Saskia Collins also getting stuck in on the right of defence. 

Hemel then scored the most bizarre goal of the day, the striker broke through on the right and let fly with a shot, which Lily had well covered, instead of the ball bouncing it slid along  the ground - I thought it had got it’s water skis on - anyway it nut-megged Lily, and skidded into the back of the net. 

Tottenham battled on and Marva Kreel joined the party, with her normally skill and trickery.  Tori had another shot on goal which wide of the post and this was followed shortly afterwards by a great shot from Bobbi from outside the area, which saw the ball just whistle over the bar. 

Shoshana Field came on in the midfield and was confidently moving the ball around the park.  The last goal was a great move, which started when Vicki ran out of defence and passed a great ball to Tori who had swapped over and crossed to Ruth who slotted the ball away to make it 6-1. 

Tottenham were now defending way up the pitch and putting a lot of pressure on Hemel, with shots from Amy and Ruth just being beaten to the ball by the keeper. 

The girls had started slowly, but had worked hard given the conditions and in the end had run out as comfortable winners.  Player of the match went to Amy. 

Well done to Paul, who had stepped into Gerry’s shoes for the weekend (personally I think Gerry had seen the weather forecast and given that Paul has a hair style more suited to wet weather conditions let him get on with it !!). 

DAVID WATSON

The game started fairly slowly with Saskia Collins getting into the action down the right hand side.  Amy Woff had a shot at an early stage, which was well saved by the keeper.  Luton had certainly turned up to make a game of it and had a couple of early corners which were well dealt with by the Tottenham girls.  Libby Lovick was pushing up from the defence and Laura Newby was making some runs from the middle.  Laura had a shot which was well saved by the keeper and this was quickly followed up by a strike from Bobbi Cubberley from outside the area, which was also well covered by the keeper. 

Tottenham were pushing further and further forward and putting the Luton defence under a great deal of pressure, but to their credit they held firm and despite some good moves from Charlotte McLucas and Ruth Collett the girls couldn’t find away through.  The defence of Hollie Watson, Vicki Blake, Tianna Carrington and Libby were standing strong and dealing with any pressure from the Luton attacks which were spasmodic. 

Vicki delivered a great pass to Laura through the middle and she went on a long run which unfortunately was curtailed by a Luton defender.  Amy had another shot and this sailed over the top of the goal. 

Tianna dealt with a ball that was lofted over very coolly at the back and laid it onto the midfield who delivered it to Amy, who let her shot fly, this time the Luton keeper couldn’t hold it and it was 1-0 after 20 minutes.  The girls were now camped in the Luton half for the rest of the half, but they couldn’t make the possession pay.   Saskia had a shot which went wide and Bobbi had another shot saved by the keeper.  To be fair Luton still tried to break forward and Libby and Hollie had to be on their toes on the flanks, with Charlotte sweeping across the middle of the park.  Despite a great deal of pressure the score remained 1-0 at half time. 

The second half started brightly with Hollie threading a good ball through to Ruth who couldn’t quite get the shot away on this occasion.  Laura was very busy up front and she had a shot that just went wide of the goal. 

Luton were pushing through the middle, but Tianna, Vicki and Charlotte were keeping them away from the Spurs goal.  The girls charged back up the other end and Amy let fly with a shot which was headed away from the goal by a Luton defender. 

Luton broke through the middle and Lily Tyrimos rushed out of goal to kick the ball out of play.  Marva Kreel came on for Ruth and she straight away was weaving herself across the left hand side.  Laura switched to the right and was trying hard to find a way through.  Bobbi was working hard both sides of the pitch and she won a free kick on the edge of the area on the right hand side.  She stepped up and delivered a well weighted shot which was flying towards the back of the net, when a Luton defender headed it off the line into the hands of her grateful keeper.  Shoshana Field came on for Charlotte and she was soon in the thick of it.  Luton were battling very hard and started to push Spurs back further and further.  Lily pulled off a good save from a Luton player, when she had to dive on the ball quickly to stop the striker dancing around her.  Luton broke again through the middle and their striker only had Lily to beat.  Lily  saved the shot, but the ball bounced away from her and amazingly with a striker breathing down her neck, Tianna stretched out her long legs and smashed the ball away to save a certain goal. 

The final whistle blew and whilst Tottenham weren’t at their best today, nothing should be taken away from Luton who probably played their best match against Spurs over the last three seasons.  Player of the match went to Libby, well done. 

This game at the end did nothing for my nerves or blood pressure, what a week to give up drink !!

DAVID WATSON

There was an early midfield battle and the first corner went to Spurs.  The ball was kicked out and it fell to the feet of Charlotte McLucas, who delivered a shot goal-bound, which was cleared and then dropped for Amy Woff, who blasted the ball just over the bar on this occasion.  Whilst Spurs were having the best of the early ball, Enfield were very dangerous on the break although Libby Lovick was keeping a careful eye on them, intercepting the ball and clearing it away.  Charlotte was also battling in the middle of the defence with great support from Vicki Blake and Tianna Carrington. 

In goal, Lily Tyrimos was called into action fairly early on to come out of her goal and collect the ball.  Vicki made a good solid clearance with her head and the midfield of Bobbi Cubberley, Amy, Tori Tripp and Ruth Collett were pushing the Enfield team back into their own half for long periods in the first half.  Laura Newby was battling up front to find the final through ball pass, which just didn’t fall for her. 

However, Enfield were still lively on the break and Lily pulled off a good save from a long range shot.  Tianna was using her blistering pace to good effect and keeping the normal Enfield goal scorers quiet, but the home side were pushing down the Tottenham left and won a throw in, which was delivered to one of their strikers.  She unleashed a well struck shot and Lily managed to save it, but it bounced out of her hands into the path of an Enfield player, who slammed it into the back of the net to make it 1-0. 

To the Spurs girls’ credit, they put more pressure on the Enfield defence with Bobbi pushing forward in the middle with support from Ruth and Saskia Collins on the left.  Tori was finding some more space down the right and was trying hard to find the ball to cross over, which just didn’t quite fall to her. 

Charlotte was making sure that Enfield didn’t break through again and when they did, Lily pulled a fantastic one handed save to tip the ball over the bar.  The first half ended with both sides looking to produce another scoring chance. 

Enfield were quickly out in the second half and Vicki made some excellent clearances with her head and feet.   An early corner to Enfield saw the ball fly across the box after a deflection and Tori brilliantly cleared the ball off the line. 

Bobbi had a shot down the other end but it was saved comfortably by the keeper.  All the defence of Vicki, Tianna, Libby and Saskia were battling hard to keep Enfield at bay.  Tianna had to make some truly amazing runs back to clear the ball away from danger and she wasn’t beaten once either for skill or pace.  When they did break through, Lily managed a couple of really brave saves by diving at the feet of the opposition to retrieve it.  Tottenham were trying to find the breakthrough themselves, via the midfield, but despite some very good attempts by Bobbi to Tori and Amy to Laura they couldn’t quite make the final pass count.  Lily was called into action once again from a well struck shot which she hung on to with all her might. 

Tottenham very nearly found the equaliser when Tori broke through up on the right, their keeper hesitated and Tori couldn’t quite manage to squeeze the ball through the gap into the back of the net. 

Hollie Watson came on late into the second half to take over from Libby at the back.  Enfield still continued to push forward but the Tottenham girls worked as a team and made sure that no other goals went in. 

Whilst I know that the girls are disappointed with the result, they should be proud of how they played and the spirit they showed throughout the game.  Whilst a number of people could be named player of the match, the honour went to Tianna who was truly magnificent at the back.  

I am really looking to the return leg as I am sure that it will once again be a good football encounter. 

DAVID WATSON