Tottenham Hotspur continued their impressive start to the season with a tight 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at Brisbane Road.
The three Women’s Super League (WSL) points see them into the UEFA Women’s Champions League places at this early stage of the season, and will surely bring even more confidence in new boss Martin Ho.
One change for Spurs saw the experienced Ashleigh Neville come straight back into the starting lineup after injury for Josefine Rybrink. Two changes for Brighton saw McLauchlan and Noordam come in for Moeka Minami and Fran Kirby respectively, neither of which make the squad.
The Lineups
TOT: Kop, Nilden, Naz, England, Holdt, Hunt, Tandberg, Spence, Summanen, Neville, Koga
BHA: Nnadozie, Kafaji, Symonds, Agyemang, Cankovic, Seike, Noordam, Hayes, Olislagers, McLauchlan, Rule
The Action
An early Brighton foray into the box saw Jelena Čanković collide awkwardly with Toko Koga, however any penalty shouts were swiftly waved off as the visitors wasted no time in making their presence known.
It was from here however that Spurs started to show their home advantage as they quickly grabbed control of the game. The hosts were not letting Vidošić’s side settle in possession while constantly hounding them on the ball and leading a very high press.
Ho set his side out to play with great width and attacking fluidity, with Jessica Naz and Olivia Holdt floating across the frontline, dragging defenders with them. Their first real chance came from this as an excellent switch from Holdt to Naz caught Brighton napping. While Naz’s drilled ball across the box was cleared by Caitlin Hayes, they kept up this intensity for the rest of the half.
Naz was the liveliest player on the pitch as Seagulls left back Charlie Rule struggled with her direct aggressive runs, while the new fan-favourite Cathinka Tandberg often looked to drop back in the middle, causing even more confusion for the Brighton defenders.
Brighton’s lack of control flustered them, so it was no surprise when in the 26th minute Spurs found their breakthrough with an excellent move. Holdt and Naz combined again, creating space for the England international to whip a dangerous ball in that the in-form Tandberg met at the back post to put the hosts one up. Brighton’s struggles with Spurs’ fluid frontline were particularly evident here as they failed to pick up Naz’s run, and paid the price.
This may have woken the visitors up a little as they desperately tried to not go into the break behind. However, they failed to create anything serious as Michelle Agyemang often looked isolated upfront, and the Lilywhites went in with a comfortable 1-0 lead.
The second half saw Brighton looking to move the ball far quicker. An early booking for Toko Kogo also suggested this would be a far more physical half.
Vidošić’s side started to seize control and in the 64th minute saw their best chance of the game. A lovely bit of skill from Rosa Kafaji led to Kiko Seike being played in over the top to bypass the Spurs press, and as she was taken down in the box it looked as though a penalty would be imminent, but the referee kept his whistle in his pocket and Čanković’s shot on the rebound was saved well by Lize Kop.
The Seagulls’ fast breaks didn’t stop when in the 70th minute another identical long ball found Seike with an acre of space on the right-hand side again. As Spurs scrambled back, the ball ended at the feet of Kafaji — her shot went just wide, but the pressure kept on increasing as Ho’s side clung onto their lead.
Seeing the game slipping away, Ho made three substitutes to bring some energy back into their performance. Whilst they were still struggling to deal with Brighton’s pace, it soon became apparent the visitors were running out of steam.
A couple audacious long-range efforts from Bethany England frustrated the crowd, but ate up valuable time in the last 15 minutes and halted any Brighton momentum. Soon after, a penalty box scramble should’ve seen Spurs put the game to bed, but Koga was unable to connect properly with the bobbling ball and Nnadozie got down well to keep hope alive for her team.
Brighton’s forwards seemed to tire as they perhaps lost a bit of hope after seeing a plethora of attacks end in disappointment. Meanwhile, the North London side held firm in defence. Spurs’ defiance paid off with Brighton unable to break them down, the game ending 1-0 and Ho’s side taking home all three points.
The Halfway Line Player of the Match: Jessica Naz
She brought a real spark to Tottenham’s attack in the first and she was rewarded with a lovely assist for the first goal. And while the secondhalf was considerable quieter as the game became more stretched, she didn’t stop running until the dying moments and left with a deserved three points.
