In this first competitive game of the season, the Under 13s  performed surprisingly well considering that last year's Under 12 teams were very strongly hit by the FA ruling that girls could not play for local teams as well as Centres of Excellence, leading to many players being lost to THLFC.

The match saw two girls hit by injuries, but a comfortable victory was secured in the second half.  Captain Alison Woodward played in goal in the absence of the usual keeper, but the game gave her little chance to perform  as Spurs dominated the first half, winning numerous corners with much of the possession.  Kathleen Jackson was hurt and went off, as the team struggled to find its best playing pattern.

One formation that did work well was Helena Scotland playing down the right wing.  Fed by passes from Shanai Jackson and Lucy Edwards, she often reached the by-line and centred the ball into the goalmouth.  The other forward to stand out was Rayian Brown, who troubled the defenders most of the match.  In the Spurs defence, the combination of Kathleen, Naomi Coulson and Dot Penders proved sufficient to defeat any attempts by Cheshunt to push into the opposing penalty area.  Rhiannon Bassett got several knocks, but bravely carried on playing.

The score at half time was 0-0 and in the second half Samantha Delves and Jade O'Brien joined the team who had added Melody Jones as a replacement.  With these players, Spurs renewed the pressure, with Sam in particular holding up the midfield.   It was only a few minutes before Shanai put the ball into the net to open the scoring with a deserved goal.

Others followed.  Jade scored from close in to double the lead and Sam scored probably the best goal of the match with a dipping long shot on 50 minutes.  Cheshunt took advantage of a goalmouth mix-up to pull one back, but soon after Jade scored her second goal to make it 4-1.  She was the most productive striker.

Spurs kept up the pressure - goalie Alison touched the ball only a handful of occasions.  Xelia Mendes-Jones played solidly in defence and Helena came up from the back to get round the defenders.  Shakira Waithe was a tower of strength in midfield, with not much getting past her tackles and Melody sent some clever passes forward.

At the final whistle, Spurs had won at least eight corners and celebrated the majority of possession.  The second half performance had been outstanding and the team can look forward to the League programme with increased confidence.  Manager Ivan Martinez must have been well satisfied with this showing.

alan woodward

headstone manor  -    
enfield town  -    
denham united  -    
cheshunt youth  -    
hemel hempstead  -    
qpr  -    
harvesters  -    

Spurs are on a fast learning curve that may last a few weeks until the side settles down.

alan woodward

headstone manor  0     enfield town  4    
cheshunt youth  0     harvesters  8    
hemel hempstead  0     qpr  7    

This away match, though played at Fred Knights, proved to be the second very severe test of the re-structured U13 team.  Enfield, similarly hit by the Centres of Excellence ruling, have also struggled to prepare for this season, but lost out in a closely fought match, for the first time in a few seasons.

Spurs are improving with every game and, thanks to a brilliant display by the veteran goalkeeper Naomi Coulson, won their first points of the new season.  The team had four substitutes and manager Ivan Colomer Martinez made numerous changes, at least one down to the injury to Lucy Edwards in the second half.

In the opening session, Spurs got off to a prompt start and dominated the midfield especially.  Kathleen Jackson and Rhiannon Bassett were prominent in holding Enfield while Samantha Delves and Xelia Mendes-Jones played consistently in the middle.  Helena Scotland proved capable of opening up the right wing, as she has in the past and  Alison Woodward sent in some dangerous centres from the left.

It was still slightly surprisingly that from this wing, the Spurs scored the only goal of the match.  Xelia received the pass, dodged round a defender and sent a high ball into the net after 30 minutes.  For the rest of the half, play was a bit more equal.

Yasmin Roudsari teamed up with Melody Jones to threaten the visitors.  Lucy won some important tackles to turn defence into attack,  Shakira Waithe was winning defensive tackles as Enfield retaliated but the half ended with honours, if not goals, shared.  0-1 at the break.

After that, the position was reversed.  Spurs were forced, under ever increasing pressure, to adopt a defensive strategy.  The team were just a bit slower at running back and Enfield sent in attack after attack on the battered Tottenham goal.  Corners mounted up to double figures, the post was hit at least twice and free kicks were won, but wasted, near the penalty area.

In this situation, the  Spurs goalie positively shone.  At least four "certain goals" were saved as Naomi held her ground.  Other defenders played just as well.  Alison, now in defence, directed the play as best she could.  Dot Penders stepped in to the back four and made two excellent last minutes tackles.  Jade O'Brien, more used to playing in attack, came back  to help out.  The defence was playing positional football with several free kicks awarded against the visitors, including one disallowed goal.

In occasional attacks, when the off-side rule was avoided, both Rayian Brown and  Shanai Jackson created chances  but had to shoot from too far out. They kept trying against the odds but to no avail. Sam again was a tower of strength in midfield and Kathleen  intervened repeatedly to cut out some of the relentless attacks.

In the last quarter, Lucy went off with her injury and it was all hands to the pump. The whole team responded energetically and shrugged off their tiredness to hold out.  It would be very difficult to pick out any stars as everyone played their socks off.   At the final whistle, there were congratulations all round, not least for Enfield who may consider themselves a little unlucky.

Summing up the match, Naomi noted the first half dominance but remarked on the defensive display.  Quite correctly, she thought she had played well personally.  Clive, the assistant coach said that some of the training was paying off but that more work was required in practice.  Ivan commented that the first half was good and the defence proved itself after that.  He thought it was a good overall performance  - and few would disagree with that.
 

alan woodward

denham united  4     hemel hempstead  0    
qpr  13     cheshunt youth  0    
harvesters  6     headstone manor  4    

With substitute goalie Alison Woodward and three available substitutes, the team began badly conceding two goals in four minutes, but the players got things together and had about equal possession for the rest of the half.

Though there were substitutions, the basic defensive players were Rhiannon Bassett, Lucy Edwards, Kathleen Jackson, Yasmin Roudsari and Dot Penders.  Harvesters hemmed Spurs in, with several of their players operating as a mass midfield, able to move quickly into attack.

The home team were not passive against this, Helena Scotland and Xelia Mendes-Jones made some excellent foraging attacks while Samantha Delves and Shakira Waithe held the midfield together.  All too often Jade O'Brien
and Melody Jones were left stranded up front.  However Xelia and Helena did benefit from forward passes and Jade and Mel went close.

Harvesters did manage to consolidate their position before half time with another goal that Ally could do little about, making the score 0-3 at half time.  At the break Spurs re-arranged their set up, Ally came out of goal to be replaced by Yasmin.

In the second session, the  Spurs again conceded a goal, though this time it was against the run of play  With their  re-structured team, Spurs began to dominate the midfield.  Rayian Brown and Shanai Jackson playing up front were perhaps the key to this change as they used their strength to force the ball forward.  Sam and Helena, despite an
injury, began to penetrate down their respective wings.

Alison was getting some form of order into the defence and going forward when the opportunity arose.  Shakira was winning more and more tackles and sending passes  over the retreating defence.  Lucy, Kathleen and Dot Penders   mopped up any attackers who did get through and Yasmin in goal scarcely touched the ball all half.  Mel was asked to play defence and made a good job of it as well.

In the end, the pressure paid off.  Rayian scored two goals in the last quarter, the second being a hard low shot that left the keeper stranded.  In this period more attacks  were coming from  the right wing, from Sam, and the left from Xelia.  Their centres troubled the previously confident Harvesters.  Rayian had three near misses.

As the match ended , Spurs were still going forward and the passing was a massive improvement on earlier performances.   In the corner count, they had twice as many as the visitors and they had the majority of possession in the second half.  The final score of 2-4  reflected the first half rather than the whole match.   Harvester had an established team, used to playing together and used their experience to their benefit.

Xelia commented after the game "We played much better in the second half and we were unlucky to lose."  Manager Ivan Colomer Martinez said "It was a tense game  and we didn't deserve to be defeated."

alan woodward

headstone manor  0     qpr  13    
denham united  0     enfield town  1    

alan woodward

enfield town  11     hemel hempstead  0    
denham united  9     headstone manor  0    
qpr  3     harvesters  1    

The match between THLFC Under-13s and Headstone Manor at Fred Knights began with a widespread mist, but quickly became unexpectedly hot.  The squad was unusually large with stand-in goalkeeper Lucy Edwards, but all players got a game in a closely contested match, at least in the first half.

Helena Scotland opened the scoring after 10 minutes from a cross and the lead was doubled minutes later as Rayian Brown converted another pass from Samantha Delves.  Spurs kept up the pressure with Yasmin Roudsari taking the throw ins down the left side and usually finding a player.  Helena and Georgia Miller were penetrating down the two wings and creating problems for the visiting defenders, as play went from end to end.

Headstone managed to cut the lead after a quarter of an hour with a goal, but Spurs opened the gap again within minutes when Shakira Waithe took advantage of an excellent corner by Helena.  The home team continued with the challenge as Alison Woodward went off and  Xelia Mendes-Jones took her place in midfield.  Yasmin also came off and Jenny Hunnable went on, as changes became rapid.  Just before the break, the visitors got a breakaway goal against the run of play and some indecisive defending.  The passing seemed to be improved, but still far from perfect.

3-2 at half time and on the re-start Spurs began a sustained attack.  Melody Jones and Jade O'Brien took their places as Georgia almost immediately tried a long shot from outside the box and found the corner of the net.  In this period both Jade and Rayian were chasing long balls that were unfortunately just too far ahead of them.

The Spurs defence was blocking most attacks, leaving keeper Lucy with little to do.  She was called upon to make one important save when a high ball came out of the sun but this was dealt with in an accomplished manner.  Otherwise defenders Kathleen Jackson and Dot Penders dominated the middle with Rhiannon Bassett assisting them until the former was injured and went off for a while.

The Spurs midfield was beginning to run the game with Sam getting everywhere.  She took a pass from Ally, ran forward and hit the post.  Next came what was probably the goal of the match with some pin point passing from Ally and Sam before Georgia again hit the target with a clever shot to make it five.

As the game drew to its conclusion, Mel and Shanai Jackson piled on the pressure as the passes became more accurate after many early failures Jade was chasing every ball and nearly caught the goal keeper out on three occasions.  Xelia had played a good game in support, while Kathleen was once again pivotal in defence.

5-2 at the whistle with Spurs having a majority of corners and possession.  Headstone had proved capable of quick counter attacking but the home team seemed fitter and able to last out better.  The players seemed  more aware of their positions than previously.

After the game Sam said, "We played well and took our opportunities.  I played throughout, without substitution, and  was tired at the end.  I also took a bang to the head that upset me."  Manager Ivan Colomer Martinez commented  "This was not the best of games, but we deserved the result in the end.  There's still a long way to go."

alan woodward

cheshunt youth  0     denham united  6    
enfield town  4     harvesters  1    
qpr  9     hemel hempstead  0    

Spurs Ladies Under-13s, making their annual trip to Hemel Hempstead, started slowly, despite having most of the play, but tightened up their game and in the end the margin of victory could have been greater. 

Subs at the start were Rayian Brown, Xelia Mendes-Jones and Shanai Jackson.   Alison Woodward started in goal for this half, as Spurs played uphill, but with the wind and the weather was overcast and getting colder.

The visitors began with some attacking moves, one notably after a long run by Georgia Miller from which Jade O'Brien got a good shot in.  Georgia was getting past the defenders with her usual speed and weaving runs on the left, and on the right Rhiannon Bassett, though nominally in defence made several good runs down the right wing and centred, supplementing similar excellent work by Helena Scotland.  Melody Jones was showing some delicate and clever touches to help the others.

One final point about the attack was the consistent effort put in by Samantha Delves in sending passes forward and the speedy runs made by Jade to chase every ball, however small the chance of scoring seemed

Meanwhile the Spurs defence of Kathleen Jackson, Dot Penders, Rhiannon Bassett and Yasmin Roudsari were keeping a solid line across the field, only occasionally being troubled by high kicks out from the keeper.  Alison was placing her goal kicks to waiting midfield players.  In addition, Yasmin displayed some speed to get back and save a possible corner.

Just before the break Spurs, in the form of Sam and Georgia, made serious attempts on the home goal without success.  During this half, Mel went off and Shanai came on, but it was still 0-0 at the whistle

In the second, Jade replaced Ally in goal, but reported that she only touched the ball five or six times.  Yasmin was taken off and during this period there was a quite a number of changes to the team.  Spurs began as they finished, Georgia running half the length of the pitch, and Rhiannon  sending in a long shot  into the goal area.  During one prolonged scramble in the Hemel goal area, at least four players, including Mel and Rayian Brown, tried to get the ball in but it was finally pushed out by the hard working defence.

It was not long before the scoring finally began.  Ally passed to Sam who sent Georgia away and after yet another run, she netted the ball.  For the next goal Xelia, who was running down the right wing with great energy, rounded the stranded keeper and put the ball home, a brilliant result.  The third and final goal came from a pass by Shakira Waithe.  The midfielder won the tackle - one of many - and sent Georgia on the way to goal, perhaps the most deserved one of the afternoon.

For the rest of the match Spurs kept up the pressure; Rayian made a strong run towards goal but was penalised for pushing, Shanai's shot was deflected for a corner and Xelia's effort went over the bar.  The game was won in the last analysis by the Spurs midfield.  For the second week, the passing again showed improvement, with Sam covering  most of the pitch.  Helena again proved a danger for the home team, with her well placed corners and fast runs round the opposition.

In the second half, the visitors defence, though changed by substitutions, proved capable of thwarting Hemel.  Rhiannon was again inured and out for a while.  Kathleen and Dot Penders held the middle of the field.  Yasmin who had practised her throw ins, did well with this task.

The home team did not stop trying despite the adverse score line.  However, Tottenham did record winning a majority of corners and possession.  After the game, Dot commented, "The team played well, overcoming some injuries and there was a good outcome."  Manager Ivan Colomer Martinez, after noting the team kept a clean sheet, said, "This was a well deserved result and the players are to be congratulated."

alan woodward

headstone manor  5     cheshunt youth  2    
enfield town  2     qpr  2    
harvesters  4     denham united  2    

With the Spurs Ladies Under-13s and Harvesters equal on points in the Home Counties Girls Football League, this promised to be a hotly contested game and so it turned out, at least during the first half.  Spurs were also seeking to reverse the early home defeat by Harvesters, but in the end the consistency of the home team secured the win.  Subs at the start were Xelia Mendes-Jones, Jade O'Brien and Shanai Jackson, with key defender Shakira Waithe absent.  It was wet throughout the game.

The match in the opening stages was fairly evenly balanced  The home team scored first after six minutes but Spurs equalised soon after when Samantha Delves put in a hard left foot shot from the edge of the box.  The Spurs midfield  was functioning well with Alison Woodward, Melody Jones and Sam making numerous decisive passes through the home defence.  Georgia Miller was troubling the home team with runs down the right wing.

In defence, Rhiannon Bassett and Kathleen Jackson were outstanding, with Rhiannon in particular making several  effective blocks and off the line clearances.  Keeper Naomi Coulson pulled off some good saves.  On the debit side, Rayian Brown, despite determined tackles, was not making much headway and some of the Spurs defence seemed content just to boot the ball out of play.

Play progressed in this manner.  Georgia headed a corner just over and Mel was sending in some excellent centres as well.  Sam was playing her usual energetic game and covered all parts of the pitch.

Just before half time Harvesters won a corner and from this a fine shot put the team unexpectedly ahead.  It was 2-1 at half time, but the match was balanced.  In the second half, playmaker Ally was taken off, Yasmin Roudsari went in goal and there followed in quick succession a number of other changes.

Harvesters went on the offensive.  Using the long ball down the middle, their forwards were getting past the defence,  though  Helena Scotland was valiantly kicking the ball away.   The home team then scored two goals in quick succession, one a long shot that evaded Yasmin in goal.  She made at least two good saves to make up for this.

The defence still depended heavily on Rhiannon and Kathleen plus Ally - now in defence - to relieve the pressure but even they could not clear the ball every time.  Lucy Jones and Naomi tried the stem the Harvesters onslaught.  Throw ins were still a technical problem for both sides, but this was a small consolation.

Meanwhile in the attack, Jade O'Brien was chasing every ball and Xelia Mendes-Jones helping out in the middle.  Georgia again headed over from a corner but Shanai Jackson and Rayian were consistently blocked from forward passes despite some powerful running. Shanai's sole chance was over the bar.  Mel was playing skilfully on the wing, Jade and Sam won corners while Lucy buzzed about the midfield.

By the end, Spurs were recovering the combination, despite changes and played as they had in the first half but it was too late.  Harvesters had seized their chance to get ahead and probably had a majority of possession and corners.  It was 4-1 at the final whistle.

After the match Helena said, "We seemed to play well but the goals didn't come."   Manager Ivan Colomer Martinez, commented, "The circumstances were difficult but we played as well as we were able."

alan woodward

headstone manor  1     hemel hempstead  1    

alan woodward

hemel hempstead  4     cheshunt youth  1    

Subs at the start were Lucy Edwards, Shanai Jackson, Alison Woodward and Melody Jones.

In the first half, play was evenly divided and it was not until just before the break that the visitors went ahead.  Before that, stand in keeper, Rayian Brown, had made a series of secure saves, but, equally, the home team also had numerous chances.  Helena Scotland had an excellent shot from beyond the penalty box, and Samantha Delves sent a clever centre over to Shakira Waithe, but the shot was blocked.  Georgia Miller made a dangerous through pass to win a corner, as the play went from end to end.

At this point Rhiannon Bassett was injured and went off, with Lucy Edwards taking her place.  Then Rayian was injured  and also went off, as this was a robust game.  Stand-in Mel Jones stood in for the original stand-in, as keeper and play resumed as exiting as ever.  After another commanding performance, Kathleen Jackson joined the walking wounded and did not re-appear for the rest of the game.  This heaped more pressure on Dot Penders, who stayed calm and collected at the back.

Xelia Mendes-Jones was making some important interventions in the midfield, but was on the end of a penetrating pass from another midfielder, Alison Woodward, but could not score.  Helena Scotland managed to get past the speedy Rangers defenders to get down the right wing and Jade O'Brien was unlucky to be judged offside when she ran through.  At this point QPR edged a goal and at half time they lead 0-1.

After the break, Ally was moved to the defence and her intelligent play as sweeper held off the foraging and confident west Londoners.  The back four - Ally, Dot, Yasmin Roudsari and Lucy - were not perfect; sometimes players turned inward instead of wing-wards and they did not always get up field quickly enough to catch the forwards offside, but
they did the job.

Spurs' equaliser came from a neat sequence of passes.  Georgia pulled the ball out of defence and passed to Ally, then Sam and eventually Xelia was in the centre to score.  This was a just reward for all the effort of the players and well deserved as well.

Spurs kept up the pressure.  Back on the field, Rayian's strength was enough to push her though and create chances, while Georgia and Helena were becoming more successful along their respective wings.  Sam managed to break through the best defence in the League, but like the others, could not get the ball in the net.

The match looked to have reached a stale-mate when the visitors unexpectedly got two more goals.  The first came when Mel, who had a brilliant game in goal, was adjudged to have fouled an opposing player and a hotly disputed penalty was awarded.  The second came when a tricky shot just sneaked into the corner despite her best efforts - unlucky and against the run of play.

Spurs renewed their game and peppered the visitor's goal.  Shanai Jackson, Georgia and Rayian all had shots saved.   Sam played herself to exhaustion,  Jade chased every half chance.   At the other end, Ally and the defence, especially Rhiannon and Yasmin, put the block on a few counter attacks, while Mel was very occasionally called on to equal
Rayian's bravery and rush out the stifle the attackers.  Before the final whistle, the ball was most often in the QPR half.

Possession was about 50-50, but the visitors had more corners in this well contested game.  All the Spurs players did exceptionally well and it would be difficult to pick out a Player of the Match, if one was needed.  The passing sequences were an enormous improvement on previous performances and often equalled the polished QPR performance.

After the match Lucy commented, "We played really well, but our chances did not come off, while theirs did."  Manager Ivan Colomer Martinez said, "It was a tight game, we were unlucky with injuries, but are getting better."

alan woodward

headstone manor  0     denham united  3    
cheshunt youth  0     enfield town  3    
hemel hempstead  0     harvesters  7    

headstone manor  1     hemel hempstead  1    

Today's match in inhospitable conditions was the semi final of the London Youth Cup and resulted in a narrow win for the visitors Crystal Palace. 

Played in the same week as the death of Councillor Fred Knight, after whom the ground was re-named, proceedings
began in freezing rain and signs of more cold to come.  Note taking was difficult and before long the girls were soaked.  All the goals were in the first half as the match was dominated by an opening period where three were scored, but Tottenham began the fight back with excellent one themselves.  Xelia Mendes-Jones played in goal first half with Melody Jones, Rayian Brown and Shanai Jackson as subs.

The goal blitz began at the kick off and two goals were quickly recorded.  The second looked suspiciously like off side but a third was added soon after, from a long shot that crept in.  Tottenham picked themselves up and gradually  worked their way into the game.

Before half time, Georgia Miller finished off a fine passing sequence with a powerful shot into the net on 25 minutes Helena Scotland and Samantha Delves also went close.  Alison Woodward was winning tackles and putting some clever moves together in midfield.  But the defenders who were combinations of Rhiannon Bassett, Kathleen Jackson, Dot Penders, Naomi Coulson and Yasmin Roudsari, soon began to interrupt the smooth flow of the Palace attack. The match was turning.

The scored remained at 1-3 at half time but the second half was another game entirely.  Ally went in goal, but kept a clean sheet and indeed only touched the ball a few times.  Before long, Georgia was taking on and beating defenders - in one run she got past four players.   Helena was adapting very well to the midfield and sent a series of threatening passes down the right wing.  Sam was also making some penetrating runs and fired in several shots that tested the goal keeper.  Jade O'Brien was, as usual, chasing every half chance and presented a constant danger  to
the south Londoners.

Tottenham had regained the initiative and kept most of the possession.  One player who stood out was Melody Jones who was robustly distributing the ball to others in white.  Xelia was playing energetically and covered a lot of ground, combining well with both attack and defence.  There were several injuries with Kathleen and Shakira Waithe, who was ruled out with an eye problem in the first half.  Mel also came off near the end.

In the defence, Tottenham were now dominant.  Rhiannon, Kathleen, Dot, Naomi and Yasmin were showing a new confidence, taking and winning tackles in a sharp change to the opening period where they were outplayed.

Spurs meanwhile kept up the pressure.  Up front, Rayian managed to power her way past the marking defenders, most notably after being sent away by a long throw in.  She kept trying to reach the goal.  Georgia ran cleverly  through several times and once put in a hard shot that was touched wide for a corner.  On the opposite wing Helena  reverted to her role as winger and got twice to the by-line before centring.  However much the attackers tried - and Jade certainly did - they could not beat the hard worked visiting keeper.  Several corners were thwarted, mainly from Sam, as the match concluded.

Afterwards Kathleen and Jade made a joint contribution, "We started off shakily, but then we improved and in the second half we had more chances than them."  Manager Ivan Colomer Martinez commented, "We refused to
give up and played outstandingly in the second half.  The players deserve congratulations." 

Medals too, I would add, in that rain and cold.

alan woodward

league
hemel hempstead  v  enfield town  -  match postponed 
qpr  3     denham united  0    
harvesters  10     cheshunt youth  1