luton town  -      hampstead  -    
cambridge city  -      southend united  -    

thlfc blues  v cambridge city  -   match postponed 
hampstead  0     southend united  2    

southend united  3     watford ladies  2   
luton town  11       thlfc blues  1    

The second half looked bright for the girls and the way they was playing we felt we could get the goal back and possibly go onto win the match, but it was completely the opposite.  The girls lost a lot of their shape which produced an onslaught of pressure from the away team.  The defence held on for as long as they could, but the second goal came from the edge of the box and looped over the goalkeeper into the far corner.

This seemed to drop the girls heads even more and they were not challenging enough in the midfield and in forward areas, which gave the visitors too much room to play football and put the girls under even more pressure, but the defence were working their boots off not to concede any more goals and with some great defending from Becky, Lucky Di Biasio, Tessa Osborne and Victoria Taylor (our new signing), they managed to keep the score down to 0-2. The break over Christmas was too long and fitness levels had dropped, so the girls will be working very hard in training to improve this. 

Managers Comments : -   The girls played superbly in the first half, but then some of them went missing in the second half which caused problems in certain areas on the pitch.  The defence were outstanding, especially Becky who seemed to be playing in every defensive position possible.  This is a difficult time with players missing with injuries etc, but this year is about preparing them for senior levels and we will be working harder at training to improve every aspect of their game.

Lady of the match Becky Shephard and the rest of the defence (Lucky, Victoria and Tessa)

dave shephard

luton town  -     
hampstead  -    
southend united  -    

luton town  -     
watford ladies  -   
southend united  v   thlfc blues  -  match postponed 

dave shephard

luton town  -     
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -    
southend united  -    

luton town  -     
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -    
southend united  -    

luton town  -     
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -    
southend united  -    

luton town  -     
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -    
southend united  -    

luton town  -     
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -    
southend united  -    

The girls battled well to start, but the away team scored two quick goals which seemed to knock their belief in the new structure, but they carried on until half time conceding another goal from a long range free kick, which made it 0-3 to the away team.

After a good team talk at half time with the girl’s new coach (dodo) and me, they seemed to come out fighting on all fronts with some of the best passing of the game coming from our girls.  With this new belief they scored to make it 1-3 and continued for about another 20 minutes to carry on putting pressure on the away team, but with no success on breaking through with some more goals.  But unfortunately with no subs for this game some of the players fitness levels dropped and they conceded another two late goals to make the final score 1-5 to the visitors.

The result probably flattered the away team a bit because we did not think they were five goals better than us.

Manager’s comments  -

As a new structured team the positives and negatives from this game are very encouraging to help develop the girls into a very good senior team.  As a management team, we now know what is needed to help the girls reach their goals within the senior set up.

One player shone above the rest for her tireless running and very strong tackling.  It was also her first ever game in a Spurs Ladies shirt which made it even better for the teams future.  This player was Kelly Boucher (lady of the match).

david shephard

league cup semi-final
luton town  4      watford ladies  0   

watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -    
southend united  -    

david shephard

league cup semi-final
watford ladies  1    hampstead  1     

The game started and the Spurs girls did not let the number of players affect them and they took the game to Watford with some early chances to take the lead.  But with about 10 minutes left of the first half, Watford got a free kick on the edge of the box, which they converted to take a 1-0 lead into half time.  The lead was not deserved as Spurs were by far the better team.

The second half kicked off and Tottenham continued to look for the goal to level the game, but a ball over the top from  a Watford defensive clearance found a player, who seemed to be in an offside position, but turned and shot home to make it 2-0.  Still the girls pushed forward to try and salvage the game when Watford attacked and with some brave defending from Spurs it ended with two Tottenham players going down injured ; one managed to finish the game with a severe groin strain and the other one's game ended there and then with a swelling bruise on the back of the leg.

With minutes left on the clock Watford crossed the ball which seemed to miss everybody and ended up in the back of the net.   Final score 3-0

Manager’s comments 

The girls did not deserve to lose this game as they were by far the better team and if they had a full team out, I am certain the result would have been in Tottenham's favour.
Moving on to next week, which will be our last game of the season, we will go to Hampstead with belief and confident of getting a result to finish the season on a high.  Our only concern is that the injured players make quick recoveries to strengthen the squad. 

My player of the match for this week was the whole team as they battled all the way to the end with only nine players. 

david shephard

luton town  -    
southend united  -    
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -     

With the UNder-16 Whites team down to nine players again for the away trip to Hampstead, the Spurs girls had to work extra hard like they have done for the past four matches. 

This was no exception, with the first twenty minutes of the match being competed evenly.  Hampstead took the lead from an own goal, but the nine players rallied together and a perfectly placed free kick by Becky Shephard found the head of Beth Brown Hunter Scott, who made it 1-1.

However, the lack of players on the Tottenham team gave Hampstead the chances and from two quick corners they made there lead extend to 3-1.  Then, just before half time, the Hampstead forward broke through and rounded the keeper to make the half time score 4-1.

The second half was a little different with the Spurs girls losing there way in the game and not putting in any tackles or winning any of the first and second balls which helped Hampstead to increase there lead and finished the game 9-1 winners. 

Manager’s comments
The girls in this team has shown true grit in the run up to the end of the season with our last four games only managing to field at best nine players, so they should be proud of the way they have played this season and as the manager, I have been proud of every one of them for the commitment they have shown; even with some of them carrying injuries. 

Next season is going to be just as tough, but with the summer trials and new players coming in we should compete each week and who knows, might even challenge at the right end of the table.

I would like to thank each player and their parents for the support they have shown me this season and I am looking forward to next season’s challenges.

A special "Thank you" to Beth’s mum and Kelly’s mum who we have nicknamed Hinge and Bracket, because of the comedy and fun they have shown at each match and training session.  It has helped to keep the girls spirits up and made a few of the parents laugh as well.

My lady of the match this week is Becky Shephard for her all round performance.

david shephard

luton town  -    
southend united  -    
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -     

It was a very wet day for the friendly with Peterborough United Ladies Under-16 side last Thursday and the girls started the game a little bit slower than the visitors, but it soon started to heat up with both teams playing some lovely flowing football, with attacks coming from both teams but to no avail.

After about twenty minutes Peterborough were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, which the visitors converted to take a 0-1 lead.  But Spurs were not put off by the set back and with some lovely flowing passing they opened the defence up for Beth Brown Hunter to slide in and put the ball beyond the advancing keeper to level the match.

Tottenham continued to press and with a shot from Sarah Andrade found Eleanda Taldaianou, who calmly slipped the ball into the net for a 2-1 lead at half time. 

The second half was just as the same with both teams playing good football, the attacks were flowing from end to end and it was the visitors who scored the next with a bit of confusion between the keeper and defender which allowed Peterborough to sneak in and score which levelled the match 2-2.

This game was not good for either manager's nerves as both teams pushed and probed for the winner, with the time running out and just a few minutes left Spurs were awarded a corner.  Becky Shephard ran across to take it with what probably would be the last attack of the well battled match between both teams.  If you require the ball to be put into any position from a corner it is right bang in the danger area which Becky did and with the Peterborough defence not clearing the ball, it found it’s way to Ryah Vyse who put the ball into the back of the net for a 3-2 victory for Spurs Ladies.

Manager’s comments

Both teams should be proud of the way they played, because they made this such an exciting game of football with strong tackling, flowing counter attacking moves and the visitors deserved to leave with equal spoils of the game but Tottenham's battling to the end just got them the win.

I would like to thank Peterborough U16’s ladies for the visit to Spurs Ladies today and being part of a very exciting game, which I know got the whole crowd involved in the match as well.

We wish them all the best next season and hope to replay them again in the future.

Players of the match the whole team.

david shephard

luton town  -    
southend united  -    
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -     

david shephard

luton town  -    
southend united  -    
watford ladies  -   
hampstead  -