After a long dramatic couple of weeks, Tottenham was back in WSL action. Our Lilywhites welcomed 10th placed Aston Villa to the Hive after a Covid outbreak caused Tottenham’s last two matches against London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal to be postponed. Tottenham’s last match was against Manchester City on March 13th, which ended with our Lilywhites suffering a 1-0 defeat. The last time Tottenham took on Aston Villa was back in December when our Lilywhites ran out 2-1 winners with goals from Simon and Williams after the hosts took the lead through Remi Allen.
News.
After the postponement of our last two matches, it has now been confirmed that Tottenham’s match with Chelsea will now take place on Thursday, April 28th at 19.45 and will be shown live on Sky Sport. This match will take place 4 days after Tottenham welcome Chelsea to the Hive on Sunday, April 24th and will also be broadcast on BBC One at 14.30. There is currently no news regarding the match against Arsenal which was also called off due to a Covid outbreak in the Tottenham Camp.
In other news, Tottenham will be returning to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in May. Tottenham will close the season on Sunday May 8th against Leicester. Tickets can be purchased at the following link https://www.eticketing.co.uk/tottenhamhotspur/EDP/Event/Index/9031?_ga=2.38092000.2114537288.1649178077-478475664.1649178077 season ticket holders will need to purchase a ticket and then a form will be sent out which will need to be filled out for a refund.
Lineups.
Tottenham 4-3-3: Spencer in goal, Neville in at right-back, Bartrip and Zadorksy in the centre of defence with Harrop in at left-back. The Tottenham midfield was made of Percival, Clemaron and Summanen. The Tottenham front there was made of Naz down the left, Simon down the right and Williams in the centre.
Aston Villa 4-3-3: Hampton in goal, Mayling in at right-back, Corsie and Asante in the centre of defence with Pacheco in at left-back. The Villa midfield was made of Allen, Littlejohn and Blindkilde-Browne. The Villa attack was made of Lehmann down the right, Petzelberger down the left and Gielnik in the center.
First half.
It took Tottenham just two minutes to register their first shot on target when Summanen got to a loose ball and shot from distance but Hampton made a comfortable save. Tottenham came close in the 10th minute when Neville found Williams with a pass before finding herself one on one with Hampton but hesitated the shot as Corsie managed to get back and make a last-minute challenge just before she got her shot away. Villa had calls for a penalty turned away in the 17th minute when Lehmann went for a Petzelberger cross and seemed to be pushed by Harrop but the referee waved play on.
The game began to slow down as most of the play took place in the center of midfield as both teams battled to find an opening. Despite the congestion, Tottenham was still the team that looked most likely to get themselves the opener and came close in the 37th minute when Clemaron got to a loose ball and shot from distance but her effort was just wide of Hampton’s left-hand post. Two minutes later Tottenham came close again when Tottenham broke with Simon before finding Neville with a pass, Neville got her cross into the Villa box but it was just too high for Williams who was unable to get her head to the ball.
The 4th official indicated a minimum of 4 minutes added time and it was Tottenham who looked the most likely to score. Tottenham kept passing the ball around trying to draw out the Villa defence and it paid off in the 47th minute when Naz got a cross into the box finding Williams who got a toe to the ball but was unable to turn the ball in as another chance was wasted for Tottenham before the referee brought the half to an end.
Second half.
Tottenham made a change at halftime with Ayane coming on for Naz. Tottenham started the second half strong again and took our Lilywhites just two minutes to create a chance. Harrop attacked the left and got her cross into Williams who fought with Corsie for the ball but is unable to get enough power behind her shot as Hampton made a comfortable save. Villa had a rare attack in the 60th minute when Arthur attacked down the right and got her cross in finding Petzelberger but Bartrip gots in a good block before the ball came back out to Littlejohn who shots from distance but her effort was deflected out for a corner.
Tottenham’s best chance of the game came in the 64th minute when Zadorsky played Harrop with a long ball before she centred into the Villa box finding Summanen who laid off Percival to get her shot away but somehow her effort was blocked on the line by Corise to deny Tottenham the opener. Tottenham made their second change shortly after with Addison coming on for Summanen as Tottenham looked to add some speed down the wings.
Both teams pushed forward in the last 10 minutes as they looked for an opener whilst Tottenham looked the most likely to get the goal. Tottenham had a claim for a penalty turned down in the 82nd minute when Addison went up for a header and seemed to be pushed from behind by Littlejohn but the referee waved play on. Villa came back at Tottenham with Arthur on the attack before getting her cross into the box but Tottenham managed to get it away only as far as Pacheco who centred back into the box as Petzelberger came in round the back looping her header over Spencer to give the Visitors the lead 3 minutes from time.
The 4th official indicated a minimum of 4 minutes added time as Tottenham threw everything at Villa looking for the equaliser but was unable to get the breakthrough as Villa held on for the win before the game was brought to an end.
Player of the match.
There were many contenders for our player of the match but we had to give it to Kerys Harrop. The veteran was all over the field and kept Lehmann quiet all game. Not only did Harrop give an outstanding performance in defence as well and instrumental in Tottenham’s attacks.
Post-match analysis.
2022 hasn’t been the kindest to our Lilywhites as the team has only managed 8 points from a possible 21 since the new year. It wouldn’t be so bad if Tottenham had played so badly that they deserved to lose those points but the reality is that our Lilywhites have actually not been bad but instead just unlucky like in this game against Villa, sure it’s obvious that Tottenham needs a lethal finisher upfront and will need to make only a couple of additions to push for Champions League football next season.
The team started and finished the strongest of the two but it came down to Villa having the luck and making the most of their only attempt on target. We have said all season that this team misses too many opportunities and will be punished sooner or later and unfortunately, we are seeing that in the second half of the season. Summanen, Percival and Harrop had an outstanding game but the forwards just miss too many chances.
The second half substitutions were questionable, Addison should have come on for Simon, not Summanen and Ayane added nothing after her introduction at half-time. The Tottenham bench needs much reinforcement in the summer with players that can change a game, should it be needed. Defeat is always tough when you are the better team but now Tottenham have to pick themselves up before going into a doubleheader with Chelsea after the international break. We believe this team is capable of more amazing things, we are so close to achieving that and we have full confidence in Skinner and Jepson and believe they will bring in the player needed to make this team a force COME ON YOU SPURS!!!
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