Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC -

Under-13 match reports 2006-07

Shianne St. Louis wore the number 1 shirt in the absence of goalkeeper Daisy O’Sullivan. 

As the match got going, Georgia Bruce (left wing) and Nikki Hunnable (right wing) were busy getting into the face of the St. Albans defence in the first twelve minutes of play.  Ayse Mustafa and Taylor O’Leary busily won the ball in midfield with support from Charlotte Dean. 

Spurs drew first blood in the shape of Laura Smith, whose vision was keen to spot the St. Albans keeper off her line and the striker delivered the perfect lob from 25 yards out.  A second chance came begging when Nikki Hunnable charged down the right wing and delivered a timely cross into the penalty area in the 22^nd minute.  Renata Inniss slightly over ran the ball and instinctively tried to improvise with a flick, but the ball went wide of the goal.  Olivia Keown, Rosie Kmita and Katie Mills very busy trying to quell the odd attack from the St Albans offence.

After 25 minutes of the first half, Whitney Tango substituted Taylor O’Leary. Spurs had another chance in the thirty-first minute through Charlotte Dean who shot just wide of the goal post. St. Albans came close to getting an equaliser in the 34^th minute, but Olivia Keown denied their striker a clear shot on goal.  One minute later Renata swerved through the St Albans defence to give Spurs a 2-0 lead. 

Two minutes of play in the second half, Spurs extended their lead to 3-0 from Whitney Tango.

Stand-in goalkeeper Shianne had to make a save in the 13^th minute before giving up the No. 1 shirt to Charlotte Dean.  Katie Mills got in some strong tackles to thwart the St. Albans offence, whilst Hannah Lyons made some good runs down the left wing to keep the pressure on the St. Albans defence.

The visitors managed to mount a couple of attacks towards the Spurs goal, but their way was blocked by Olivia Keown on both occasions.  In the twentieth minute, Renata received the ball from Hannah Lyons on the left-hand side outside the18 yard box only to see her shot on goal just missing the far post.  The St. Albans goalkeeper showed good judgement in moving at the right time to deny the Hotspurs any more goals for the rest of the game. 

It was a good spirited match against a team who previously took the scalp of Luton Town and drew with Enfield Town.

RICARDO INNISS

Northwood  1     Enfield Town Ladies  3    
Letchworth Garden City Eagles  7     Denham United  2    
Luton Town Belles  0     Queens Park Rangers  1    
Garston Ladies  2     Hemel Hempstead Town A  1    

Spurs Ladies took the game to St. Martins from the kick off and was rewarded in the 10^th minute when Renata Inniss netted the ball from inside the 18-yard box. St. Martins tried in vain to grab the equaliser to no avail but the also manage deny Spurs Ladies any further goals in the first half as they failed to capitalise on their chances.

Molly Kmita tried to make inroads on the right wing but came up against the pugnacious St. Martins defenders. Katie Mills and Olivia Keown got in some solid tackles with captain Shianne St Louis doing the ‘mopping up’ when the St. Martins attackers tried to grab their share of goals. 

Spurs Ladies started the second half with more vigour and added a second goal when Whitney Tango shot through the St. Martins defence and into the net. Spurs Ladies looked a bit shaky at times in defence but always halt the St. Martins attackers when it really mattered. As usual, Taylor O’Leary and Ayse Mustafa worked hard in midfield to keep the pressure on the St Martins defence. Taylor O’Leary headed home the ball for Spurs third in the 15^th minute from a cross from Nikki Hunnable on the right wing.

Whitney Tango scored a peach of a goal in the 21^st minute when Renata drove the ball into the six-yard box from the right wing and Whitney rifled the ball in the net.  Nikki Hunnable made some fierce runs down the right wing to supply Laura Smith in attack where she saw her efforts go wide each time.  Daisy O’Sullivan was called upon to produce a good save in the twentieth minute when the St Martins attacker broke through the left wing from a throw in.  Whitney completed her hat-trick and Spurs fifth in the thirty-first minute. Spurs kept up their momentum in the St. Martins half where Renata capitalised on an attempted clearance from the St Martins defence.  Renata saw the opening between the defenders and the goalkeeper and directed a left foot shot into the net for Spurs' sixth goal of the match.

RICARDO INNISS

Northwood  -    
Letchworth Garden City Eagles  -    
Luton Town Belles  -    
Garston Ladies  -    
St. Albans Youth  -    
Enfield Town Ladies  -    
Hemel Hempstead Town A  -    
Queens Park Rangers  -    
Denham United  -    
Ridgeway Rovers  -    

Northwood  -    
Letchworth Garden City Eagles  -    
St. Martins  -    
Garston Ladies  -    
St. Albans Youth  -    
Enfield Town Ladies  -    
Hemel Hempstead Town A  -    
Queens Park Rangers  -    
Denham United  -    
Ridgeway Rovers  -    

Northwood  -    
St. Martins  -    
Luton Town Belles  -    
Garston Ladies  -    
St. Albans Youth  -    
Enfield Town Ladies  -    
Hemel Hempstead Town A  -    
Queens Park Rangers  -    
Denham United  -    
Ridgeway Rovers  -    

Garston employed the defensive tactics to stifle the Spurs attacks and trusted their attackers to deliver from quick breaks.  However, Spurs Ladies almost went ahead after eight minutes of play through Nikki Hunnable as she aimed for the top right hand corner from a free kick outside the Garston 18 yards box.  The Garston keeper was forced to produce an excellent save that would have beaten most goalkeepers. 

It wasn’t long before Spurs went ahead when Taylor O’Leary delivered the perfect pass from midfield to Nikki Hunnable on the right wing, who applied the perfect finish.

There were some good attacking and defensive work by Renata Inniss with support from Ayse Mustafa and Taylor O’Leary in midfield. Spurs Ladies had other chances to forge ahead, but they were missing that ‘edge’ they are so accustomed to as the game progress. 

It was level pegging in the first 20 minutes of the second half.  Then two minutes later, Garston grabbed the equaliser through some questionable defending.

The lack of a previous match and ground conditions began to take its toll on the Spurs Ladies.  Katie Mills got in some good vital tackles when it mattered and Daisy O’Sullivan did well not to make any mistakes.

Laura Smith was unable to strengthen the Spurs attack due to an injury she sustained earlier in the match.

Garston went ahead in the thirtieth minute of the second half to give them their second win against Spurs Ladies in four seasons.

RICARDO INNISS

Northwood  3     Luton Town Belles  5    
St. Albans Youth  1     Denham United  3    
Enfield Town Ladies  4     St. Martins  0    
Queens Park Rangers  11     Letchworth Garden City Eagles  0    
Ridgeway Rovers  2     Hemel Hempstead Town A  10    

Spurs Ladies had a better start than when the two teams met earlier in the season for the first time.  After six minutes Renata Inniss passed the ball from midfield to right wing in the path of Nikki Hunnable, who hammered the ball into the Hemel net.   A minute later Laura Smith sustained another injury and had to be substituted with Georgia Bruce. 

The next thirteen minutes saw both teams making good breaks, but was also equal in defence.  Hannah Lyons showed good determination on the left wing before she was substituted by Molly Kmita.  Seconds later, Hemel grabbed their equaliser and then forged ahead two minutes later 2-1 from a soft goal.  It wasn’t long before Charlotte Dean grabbed the equaliser with a quality strike outside the 18-yard box. 

Minutes later, Renata, who took the ball from inside her own half, weaved through the Hemel defence, only to be thwarted by the Hemel keeper in the penalty area.  The midfield managed to control the game occasionally and it was down to the defence to contain the Hemel attacks for the next twelve minutes of the first half.    

In the second half, Whitney Tango put Spurs ahead for the first time after five minutes, when a high shot from Taylor O’Leary was fumbled by the Hemel goalkeeper and Whitney stabbed home the ball for a 3-2 lead.

The next 15 minutes was full of excitement which included two great saves from Daisy O’Sullivan.  In the 20^th minute Ayse Mustafa put Spurs Ladies further ahead, just as Hemel were looking as though they might pull one back at any time.  Hemel mounted several attacks in the form of their No 11 striker, but came up against the determined Katie Mills who stemmed her flow each time.  Hemel's No 9 also tried to get into the action, but was prevented from making inroads into the Spurs area by Olivia Keown and Shianne St Louis in defence.

It was another thrilling game between the two teams where Spurs Ladies emerged as 4-2 victors.

RICARDO INNISS

Luton Town Belles  5     St. Albans Youth  1    
Letchworth Garden City Eagles  2     Garston Ladies  2    

Northwood  -    
St. Martins  -    
Luton Town Belles  -    
Garston Ladies  -    
St. Albans Youth  -    
Enfield Town Ladies  -    
Letchworth Garden City Eagles -    
Hemel Hempstead Town A  -    
Queens Park Rangers  -    
Denham United  -    
Ridgeway Rovers  -    

The full squad took part with roll-on and roll-off subs throughout the game.    

In the first half, Spurs Ladies eventually broke the deadlock when the Northwood goalkeeper fumbled the ball from a Whitney Tango’s shot on goal; Nikki Hunnable pounced to net the ball for a 1-0 lead in the 24^th minute.  A string of attacking passes led to the second goal being scored by Laura Smith in the twenty-ninth minute, followed by another through Whitney Tango a minute later.

Daisy O’Sullivan was very alert in goal as she positioned herself each time to either clear the ball or make a save from the Northwood attacks.  The first half ended with Spurs Ladies leaving the field with a three goal cushion. 

The second half had as much sparkle as the first with the players stringing together some attacking passes and when required, did the job defensively to ensure a clean sheet for their goalkeeper.  A good build up from midfield saw Spurs Ladies extend their lead to 5-0 when Renata Inniss and Laura Smith scored in the eighth and fifteenth minutes of the second half.  

A good performance on a pitch that was not foot-perfect, but a chance for the Spurs Ladies to adjust to conditions that may be encountered in their match against Luton Town next week.

RICARDO INNISS

St. Martins  -    
Luton Town Belles  -    
Garston Ladies  -    
St. Albans Youth  -    
Letchworth Garden City Eagles -    
Enfield Town Ladies  -    
Hemel Hempstead Town A  -    
Queens Park Rangers  -    
Denham United  -    
Ridgeway Rovers  -    

The playing conditions are the type the Spurs Ladies are learning to deal with at this time of the year and they had to manage without Hannah Lyons who is nursing an injury – speedy recover Hannah.

The first half kicked off with Molly Kmita, Harley Keenlyside, Laura Smith and Georgia Bruce on the bench, but within five minutes of the start of the game, Rosie Kmita left the field through an injury and was replaced with Laura Smith.

Spurs defence rose to the challenge through Olivia Keown, Shianne St Louis and Katie Mills.

The two teams were battling hard to get an advantage with Spurs having the edge in midfield through Aye Mustafa Taylor O’Leary and Charlotte Dean; Nikki Hunnable played right wing with Laura Smith on the left wing.  The Spurs strikers were Renata Inniss and Whitney Tango.

Spur Ladies took the lead with a Whitney Tango goal in the nineteenth minute only to see it cancelled out a minute later.  Spurs held their nerve and was unlucky not to come off at half time with a lead of two or three. 

The second half was just as exciting as the first with Spurs ladies kept the ball moving inside the Luton half.  The Luton defence stood firm when it mattered, but finally broke down in the 24^th minute when Whitney Tango turned and unleashed a thunderbolt from the left of the 18 yard box into the right hand side of the Luton goal.  

Spurs Ladies dominated the midfield where the long searching balls from the Luton goalkeeper were won on many occasions.  Any balls that got past the half way line, were dealt with by the Spurs defenders and goalkeeper Daisy O’Sullivan. 

It was a good contest between the two teams with Spurs Ladies leaving the field at full time as worthy winners.

A job well done by the manager, coach and players.

RICARDO INNISS

Northwood  0     Hemel Hempstead Town A  3    
Enfield Town Ladies  6     Letchworth Garden City Eagles  2    

Rosie Kmita scored the first goal from inside the 18 yard box after eighteen minutes of play, with an elapse of seven minute before Northwood equalized. 

In the second half, Nikki Hunnable took control of the right wing, whilst Taylor O’Leary and Renata Inniss battled in midfield.  Katie Mills stemmed the flow of the Northwood attacks, but the Spurs team, at times, appeared to lack motivation.  Whitney Tango grabbed Spurs second goal in the 28^th minute from the Northwood goalkeeper’s fumble and it took good saves from the Northwood goalkeeper to curb the Spurs attack for the next seven remaining minutes.

RICARDO INNISS

Luton Town Belles  6     Ridgeway Rovers  0    
St. Albans City Youth  0     Enfield Town Ladies  7    
Hemel Hempstead Town A  9     St. Martins  2