Data Breakdown: WSL Game 3: Brighton Away

Tottenham Hotspur Women have played two times since the last Data Breakdown. They first hosted Reading in the Conti Cup midweek and then made an away trip to Brighton. They came out having won both games, with an aggregate score of 9-1.

Reading, now a Women’s Championship side, were easily blown away by a much changed Spurs side, which saw 10 new players starting. Angharad James was the only player who kept her place from the lineup that faced Bristol, the last game week but even Angharad started in a new role, as she moved from her new Right Back spot, back to the Center Midfield. The structure and the principles of play stayed the same, with the team lining up in a similar 4231 structure that we have seen in the prior games under Vilahamn. New summer signings Zhang Linyan and Czech goal keeper Barbora Votíková got their first minutes in a Spurs shirt. Zhang, a dribbly left footed winger really impressed in the 45 minutes she played on the right wing. She looked lively through out and showed some smart movements to receive the ball wide on the touch line as well as in the half spaces. It took her only 10 minutes to get her first goal for Spurs, the first of 6 un-answered goals that Spurs would go on to score against a relatively inexperienced Reading side. The other starters included Jessica Naz playing up top, Rosella Ayane playing off the left and Kit Graham starting at the #10 position. Ria Percival also got a start after her long term absence due to injury and played alongside Angharad in the base of the midfield. Asmita Ale and Gracie Pearse were the left and the right backs, with Shelina Zadorsky and Amy Turner the left and right sided center backs. The game also saw Ramona Petzelberger make her comeback after a long term absence, when she came on at the start of the second half for Zhang. Graham, Ale, Percival, Naz and, substitute, Thomas were the other five goal scorers. Special mention to Ale, who had a splendid game at left back and played crucial roles in multiple goals. Despite the wholesale changes, Spurs were expected to brush off the Championship side. They very much did and in spectacular fashion.

Moving to the second game, a much tougher one, against Brighton. Some might recall that Brighton were one of the sides Spurs played during the preseason, in a game that ended 0-0. Brighton came into the game with a win and a loss, exactly same as Spurs. But they had faced Everton and West Ham, teams in the middle table pack, whereas Spurs came into this game having played against the last season’s champions and the newly promoted side. For Robert Vilahamn’s side, it was the first real test of how they would fare against an opposition of a fairly similar caliber.

Pass Network Maps for Brighton vs Tottenham

There were no surprises in the Spurs starting lineup, as Vilahamn picked the same 11 players that started the first two WSL games. Brighton fielded a 433, with Maisie Symonds given the license to push ahead into the forward areas. Off the ball, Brighton pressed Spurs high up the pitch and did not allow them an easy buildup. In doing this they typically left Spurs’ center backs unmarked, but covered the full backs and the two midfielders, by using a 424 shape. This meant that Drew Spence in the #10 position often had two Brighton midfielders close to her, covering Spurs’ progress through the center of the pitch. The center backs also did not have open options of players to pass to and had to stay patient and make several passes to get out of Brighton’s press. Sometimes one of Olga Ahtinen or Eveliina Summanen also dropped deeper and joined the center back line to help facilitate progression and open easier passing angles, or look for longer passes to the flanks.

Despite Brighton’s continuous pressure, Spurs players showed great composure on the ball to retain it under pressure and also to progress up the pitch through the press. It wasn’t just the calmness with the ball, Spurs arguably had their best off the ball performance, in that first half. They were all over Brighton throughout the half and brilliantly counter-pressed them up the pitch, not allowing them much time to get comfortable on the ball. The distribution of defensive actions in different quarters of the pitch, shown below, emphasizes how well Spurs’ counter press worked, with more than 40% of their defensive actions in Brighton’s half. Consequently, across the first half of the game, Brighton were not able to complete a single successful pass into the penalty box, apart from the goal that Terland scored from a corner in the seventh minute. Of course, Spurs were behind for much of the half, but I don’t think the game state had much effect on the first-half flow as even before Brighton’s goal, Spurs showed their on and off the ball dominance. Similarly, even after their goal, Brighton sought to press Spurs high up the pitch.

Defensive actions by Brighton (left) and Tottenham (right), in the first half.

One criticism of Spurs’ performance that half was that, although they did everything right to get the ball into Brighton’s third of the pitch, they were unable to make those situations count and barely threatened Brighton’s goal, until about the 45th minute. Then, in the last minutes of the half, the game escalated, with Thomas firing a glorious 1v1 opportunity straight at keeper, Evrard, followed by Spence’s long range thunderbolt hitting the woodwork, and Thomas redeeming herself by scoring with the rebound of Spence’s shot.

It may be that Spurs’ dominant performance in that half was one of the reasons why the Brighton manager, Melissa Phillips, made three half time substitutions. She changed her team’s setup from a back four to a back five. Katie Robinson, who started off on the right wing was moved to a right wing back position, although during attacks, her role stayed the same: to occupy the right touchline. They also brought on the Korean attacker Geum-Min Lee (who scored for Brighton after coming on as a substitute the last time these teams met in the WSL). Lee went to the inside right, in the new 523 setup. At this point Brighton scraped their high-press and sat off of Spurs. They also chose to play more direct in attack, with Madison Haley, who took the striker spot from the goal scorer Terland at half time, vital as she, with her back to the goal, became the focal point.

Brighton’s Pass Network Map for the second half

The change in Brighton’s attacking approach caused the momentum to shift a little towards Brighton, with Haley getting off three shots from the penalty box, in the first 15 minutes of the second half. But Brighton’s plans were quickly dashed by Grace Clinton, who scored a rocket of a shot from a long distance. The goal came minutes after Vilahamn made his first change of the game. He replaced Spence with Jessica Naz, and moved Clinton into the #10 spot, with Naz taking the left wing spot. Clinton’s very first contribution after having moved centrally was to receive a line breaking pass from Olga on the half turn, She shot with her second touch. Her performances so far this season have shown encouraging signs that she is a capable central player, able to play on the half turn. And this goal certainly added to her case for that #10 spot.

Passing, Carrying and Shooting events by Olga and Eveliina

Elsewhere on the pitch, the Finnish midfield duo (Ahtinen and Summanen) was brilliant again, as shown in the above charts. They covered the pitch and continued their consistent solid performances for a third straight WSL game. Their technical skills and passing range helped Spurs to play through Brighton’s press. Their contribution was not, however, just on the ball. They put a solid shift off the ball as well, and were a vital reason why Spurs were able to counter press Brighton and suffocate them in their own half. Summanen finished the game with second highest ball recoveries, just behind Ash Neville. She also made 2/3 successful tackles, while all three of Olga’s tackles were successful.

Players with most Ball Recoveries in Brighton vs Tottenham

Even after they took the lead with Clinton’s strike, Spurs showed the commitment to control the game and looked to create more chances by keeping the ball. As Brighton pushed on to find an equalizer, Ria Percival, a late sub, added an injury-time third to seal the game and the three points. Given that Brighton were strongly fancied pre-season, this game very much felt like it was the first ‘real’ win under Robert Vilahamn’s tenure. Up next is last season’s surprise package, Aston Villa. But unlike last term, Villa have not started the season well, and have lost all three of their games so far. Albeit two of the three were against Manchester United and Arsenal. They will again be a good test of the team’s level. And a positive performance will certainly get Vilahamn a lot of credit.

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