Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC -

Under-13 Whites  match reports 2005-06

The Spurs U13 Whites side took initial control of this game by producing three goals in the opening fifteen minutes.

Rhiannon Kelly scored the first two, scoring number one after a neat through ball by Aimee Rose and the second after tackling a Palace defender and dribbling the ball home.  It was then Aimee's turn to score as she side-stepped a defender before slotting past the goalkeeper.

Crystal Palace then stepped up their game and were rewarded by two goals in quick succession to bring them back into the game.  However the three goal cushion was restored when a loose ball was turned into the Palace net by a defender (4-2) and Aimee fired the ball home (5-2) after some good work by Rhiannon.

Skipper Zoë Jackson was tremendous at the back using her strength against some pacy attackers and the partnership she has with Paige Barnard is a very valuable one for this team.

Crystal Palace kept up the offensive and were rewarded with a penalty when Chloe Gunn brought down an attacker in the area.  The penalty was dispatched into the top right hand corner, which gave goalkeeper Sian Osmond no chance of saving.

Andrea Edobor was proving a handful up front and was unfortunate to have a good goal ruled offside when she was first to the ball and rounded the goalkeeper.  She did however get the goal she deserved when she drilled home from inside the area.

Rhiannon finished off her hat-trick to score number seven when she cleverly lobbed the goalkeeper.

Special thanks go to Eleanda Taladianiou and Gemma Good who were called in to help out due to the unavailability of certain players.

KEVIN FENN

This was a difficult match in which to start to the season and made more difficult with just eleven players being available from the squad and goalkeeper Sian Osmond being used as emergency striker.

Spurs started on the back foot with Watford firmly entrenched in the Tottenham half and always looking the more likely to break the deadlock.  The two goals came in quick succession after their forwards reacted more quickly inside the box to punish some pedestrian defending. Spurs had to thank Nicola Davey for a string of fine saves that kept the score-line respectable and Zoë and Paige had to deal well with the quantity of aerial attacks.

The girls spent the rest of the game trying to make a breakthrough against some tough defending and although chances were created no-one could find the final touch or shot to put the ball in the back of the net. With no substitutes available the players were clearly tired towards the end of the game and resigned to defeat.

Hitchin Town Belles  2     Luton Town Belles  3      
Harpenden Colts  2     Enfield Town Ladies  0      
Cambridge City  1     St. Albans Youth  3      

An early shock put Spurs Under-13s on the road to victory against a well-drilled Harpenden Colts side at Fred Knights in the HGFL.

A seventh minute chance for the visitors saw the ball kicked off the goal-line and it spurred Tottenham on to tighten up at the back and move into attack.  A great ball from Zoë Jackson freed Andrea Edobor, who raced through to hit her shot wide in the very next minute.  A good save from the Colts keeper prevented Aimee Rose reaching Lindsey Cockle's low cross on the quarter of an hour, while Chloe Gunn put in a good run from halfway to set up Rhiannon Kelly for a shot, which missed the target.

Chloe went close herself with a 19th minute lob that went wide, but it took until the 24th minute to break the deadlock.  Having been caught offside a number of times, Spurs broke from a Harpenden corner with Aimee Rose taking the ball from the halfway line into the visitor's penalty box and unleashing a rising shot just into the top corner to make it 1-0.

Andrea recovered a loose ball on the left wing and swung over a cross to the far post, where Chloe hit a shot just over the top.  With Spurs pressing on the Harpenden defence, the 28th minute attack saw Katie Goodland pitch a high ball that bounced on the edge of the Colts area. The ball caused confusion between their keeper and one of their defenders, leaving Aimee to put the ball into the net.

With a ball lifted over her own head, Andrea sprinted away from the centre circle and ran on to hit a fierce shot, but it flew wide of the mark in 33 minutes.  And it was Andrea who almost added to the lead after the break, when she latched onto Zoë's through pass and her lob went just wide of the goal.

Stephanie Smith played an astute pass through the middle and Aimee took the ball to her left to slide the ball low past the keeper to complete her hat-trick on 47 minutes.  With 15 minutes of the second half gone, Chloe Gunn got on the Spurs scoresheet for the first time, when she made a run into the left hand side of the area and her low shot hit the net to make the score 4-0.

Spurs were using the flanks well and the fifth goal came from the other side.  Rhiannon took on the defender on the right wing, rounded her and closed in on the keeper before netting at the goalie's near post with a clinical finish on 53 minutes.

Andrea went close twice in a minute, with a rising shot that went over the bar and then throwing herself at a Chloe cross, with her header flashing across the face of goal.  Aimee brought a good save from the Harpenden keeper with a high shot and with the game coming to an end, Spurs put on a strong finish.  Rhiannon's low right wing cross caught out the keeper and unfortunately the ball ended up in the net off a defender's knee.

Wrapping up a 7-0 win, Leila El Haddad broke into the left hand channel and shot powerfully in with full time almost up to seal a match that Tottenham improved in as it went on, with Katie Goodland named as the Spurs Player of the Match.

Hitchin Town Belles  0     Cambridge City  7       
Enfield Town Ladies  1      Watford Ladies  5     
St. Albans Youth  0      Queens Park Rangers  13       

This was an exciting end to end game, played in a good spirit and a fair result that reflected an evenly fought match.

In the absence of Andrea Edobor, it was Stephanie Smith who spearheaded the attack, playing a pivotal role in a match where chances were few.

Cambridge were always a threat with the front two quick to the ball and looking for the pass from deep. However the defensive quartet of Laila El Haddad, Zoë Jackson, Paige Barnard and Katie Goodland did well to thwart that route with Zoë, in particular, inspirational.

With 25 minutes gone, it was Cambridge who made the breakthrough, coming at a time when Spurs had looked comfortable.  A ball into the box caused confusion and was eventually bundled over the line to give the home side the advantage.

Spurs kept their composure and got back to work pressing Cambridge back in their own half.  Paige rallied the team forward and a period of sustained pressure was rewarded with a succession of corners.  It was from a corner that Spurs equalised, right on half time, when the ball fell to Lindsey's feet and she scrambled the ball home.

The second half saw Spurs play against the wind and Cambridge used that to their advantage with Spurs on the back foot for long periods.  However, Spurs did have their chances and almost took the match when Stephanie Smith found space and hit the woodwork with a shot that had looked destined for the top corner.

Lindsey Cockle had a very good game in midfield using her array of trickery to gain an advantage and was well supported by Chloe Gunn, who drove the midfield, pushing the game forward at every opportunity.

KEVIN FENN

Queens Park Rangers  -     Hitchin Town Belles  -     [Home win awarded]
Luton Town Belles  6      Enfield Town Ladies  2      

A keenly contested match between Spurs and Luton Town Belles ended as a 2-2 draw at Fred Knights this afternoon.

The autumnal sunny weather provided the ideal playing conditions and both sets of girls put together some good moves, with the forwards hitting on the break.  It was Spurs who had the first scoring opportunity with Aimee Rose firing in a shot that was blocked for a corner.

Despite some determined work by both midfields, it was Luton who went ahead in the 20th minute, when a straight ball into the area unlocked the Tottenham defence and although the ball was slipped past Sian Osmond, it was forced over the line by a Belles forward as Zoë Jackson tried to clear.

Spurs tried to get back into the game, but their passing game was not up to it's usual standard and they had to wait until three minutes before the break to equalise, when Rhiannon Kelly took a high ball down in the penalty box and shot past the Luton keeper to make it 1-1 at the interval.

Having been boosted by the half-time team talk, Tottenham started the second period with more desire.  In the first minute, Lindsey Cockle tricked her way to the by-line and pulled the ball back to Andrea Edobor at the near post, but the Luton defence managed to coax the ball behind for a corner.  Three minutes later, a long ball was directed into the area between the goalkeeper and the defenders in the Luton area by Andrea and Rhiannon nipped in to have a shot that was blocked, but she followed up to net her second goal of the game from close range.

The bursts from deep were troubling the Town defence and Rhiannon appeared on the edge of the area to hit another shot that the keeper saved well with 11 minutes of the second half having elapsed.  But two minutes after this save, Luton were level, when the flight of a free-kick eluded Sian and snuck in at the near post to make it 2-2.

As the game pressed on, both defences coped better with the breaks and the best chance Tottenham had to win the match came when Aimee Rose broke down the right wing and crossed for Andrea to rise and head powerfully but just over the bar.

The final result was probably a fair one on the balance of play, but both sides will be ruing the missed opportunities they had to score what might have been a vital goal.

Watford Ladies  0     Queens Park Rangers  3     
Enfield Town Ladies  1      Hitchin Town Belles  1     
Harpenden Colts  1     St. Albans Youth  2     

Matches against QPR are usually exciting encounters and this was no exception with Spurs bouncing back from a two nil deficit at half time to earn a deserved draw.

QPR began as expected using their pace to test the Spurs defence, particularly down the right flank, with Jodie Fenn and Paige Barnard very busy trying to quell these attacks and Nicola Davey in inspired form in goal.

Offensively Spurs were reduced to two chances with Aimee Rose and Stephanie Smith shooting wide as QPR dominated the first 35 minutes and eventually the pressure told as the home team eventually took the lead. The goal was particularly disappointing as a call lead to confusion between defence and goalkeeper and QPR reacted quickest to take the lead.  Soon after a free kick was dispatched to the top right leaving goalkeeper Nicola Davey with no chance of reaching it.

The second half started brightly for Spurs as they camped in the opponents half putting the home team under pressure from the start.  Lucky Di Biasio found space to drive a shot that the goalkeeper saved and Chloe Gunn started to carve out chances for others that almost resulted in a goal for Andrea Edobor who put the ball in the net only for it to be ruled offside.

Captain Zoë Jackson was given a more offensive role and she started to drive the team forward forcing the play upfield.  It was her long ball to Rhiannon Kelly that eventually gave Spurs the breakthrough they deserved and Rhiannon promptly fired the ball into the net.  There followed a period of sustained pressure as Spurs tried to claw back the second goal with efforts from Andrea and Chloe going close as Spurs searched for the equaliser.

It was Chloe Gunn who conjured up the goal and it was well worth waiting for as she created space on the edge of the QPR area before letting fly with a ferocious shot that flew over the goalkeeper into the back of the net.

Stephanie Smith was put on for the last four minutes and almost carved out a chance that would have given Spurs the game but it remained frantic to the end with QPR having two clear chances to seal the match with one going wide and the other superbly saved at the near post by Nicola.

KEVIN FENN

Watford Ladies  0     Cambridge City  1     
Hitchin Town Belles  6     St. Albans Youth  4     
Harpenden Colts  5     Luton Town Belles  2     

Spurs eased into the next round of the London Youth FA Cup with a win over newly formed Flamingoes FC.  The home team have only been playing together for four weeks, but played with big hearts and a good attitude that will stand them in good stead for the future.

Spurs played a patient game in the first half and carved out three goals with the first two being created by Sophie Petros and executed by Rhiannon Kelly and the third was a Chloe Gunn special after wriggling between two defenders and drilling the ball home.  Laila El Haddad had a good first half with some spirited runs down the left flank.

In the second half Spurs found more space and started to pass well with Lindsey Cockle and Chloe instrumental with a move that saw a Stephanie Smith drive hit the crossbar with the ball appearing to cross the line only for the referee to wave play on.

As the home team began to tire Spurs played some possession football that created openings and Lindsey took advantage of space to tap in number four.

Andrea Edobor came on as sub and was soon making inroads into the Flamingoes defence and was unlucky with a volley that screamed over the bar.  However, she soon had her name on the scoresheet when she chased a lost cause and then beat the advancing goalkeeper with a sweet finish.

Lindsey Cockle produced some wizardry to conjure up goal number six by wrong footing the goalkeeper to score and then followed that up with a slick volley from a Chloe Gunn cross for number seven and her hat-trick.

Sophie completed a hat-trick of assists for Rhiannon by beating the goalkeeper to the ball to leave Rhiannon with a simple tap in for her third.

Five minutes from the end Stephanie Smith opened her goalscoring account with Spurs when she drove the ball from the edge of the area and shrilled with delight as the net bulged.

Spurs defended well throughout with stand in captain Paige Barnard very vocal and supported well by Katie Goodland, Lucky di Biasio, Jodie Fenn, Ryah Vyse and goalkeeper Nicola Davey.

KEVIN FENN

Marathon Junior B  -     Crayford Arrows  -     
Tottenham Hotspur Blues  -     New Town Tigers  -     [Home win awarded]
Junior Reds  -      Long Lane Lions  -       

Other Results :

Hitchin Town Belles  2     Harpenden Colts  4     
St. Albans Youth  3     Watford Ladies  0     
Luton Town Belles  1     Cambridge City  4     
Queens Park Rangers  13     Enfield Town Ladies  0