It was heartbreak in N17 for Leicester City, as an 118th minute header from Martha Thomas saw Tottenham book their ticket to the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final in the fixture’s dying moments.

Putting their noses in front for 83 minutes thanks to a wonder strike from Jutta Rantala, a stolen opportunity from Jessica Naz found the equaliser before the Spurs would further march on to their spot at Wembley Stadium.

Reflecting on the loss at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, interim manager Jennifer Foster was full of pride when reflecting on her side’s performance despite the heartbreaking defeat.

“I think it’s immensely disappointing, especially when it goes right to the wire. This will hurt, and it will probably hurt for a little while but like I said to the players in the huddle at the end- this won’t be the last time that we’re in a semi final.

“We said at the start of the season that our ambition was to get as far as possible in the Cup- we did that. Everybody always looks at us like we’re Little Leicester, but we’re not Little Leicester, we’re putting ourselves on the map. Like I said before, this won’t be the last time that we’re here, and hopefully next time we can get all the way through to the final.”

Digesting what she made of the performance as a whole, Foster expressed “I think because we scored a little bit earlier on, the longer it goes on when we don’t then take those other chances, there is always the opportunity for the opposition to build momentum and still think they’re in with a chance.

Disappointing in terms of, I didn’t think we created enough real clinical chances, but I thought the chances we did create we probably could’ve taken. That would’ve helped massively.”

Despite the heartbreaking afternoon in N17 for the Foxes, Foster assured that once the dust has settled on defeat, her side will use the loss as a learning experience.

“I think we need to look at it as learning. We’ve got a lot of experience in our team in terms of internationals, but, a lot of them probably haven’t played in an FA Cup semi-final before. There’s lessons to be learnt, and there’s opportunities to take, and we’ll just make sure that we’re ready next time.”

Despite Cup heartbreak, Leicester City can find genuine pride in their efforts in reaching the penultimate stage of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup. In stark comparison to their 2022/23 campaign, the Foxes find themselves in an increasingly positive position compared to their battles in relegation last season.

Reflecting on the journey that the club find themselves on, Foster praised “That was one of the reasons why I came to the club in the summer- because of the ambition that they set out. I think the structure and the map that we’re now putting ourselves on is really exciting.

Of course we’ve had a couple of results that haven’t quite gone our way, but we’re building momentum and we know where we want to be. Of course it’s a really exciting journey to be on, and I’m really glad to be a part of it.”