A thrilling back-and-forth contest in South London saw London City take home all three points over Tottenham in a game full of excellent goals.
Both teams came into this fixture wanting to continue the strong start to their seasons. After tough opening games, London City Lionesses have bounced back in their debut Women’s Super League (WSL) season with nine points after seven games, looking strong with their plethora of new signings. Coming off a loss to reigning champions Chelsea, Jocelyn Precheur’s side wanted to bounce back quickly.
For Martin Ho’s Tottenham, a win today would see them go above their neighbours Arsenal into third ahead of next weekend’s crucial North London derby, and coming off three wins from their last four, the Lilywhites were full of confidence.
The Lineups
LCL: Lete; Fernandez, Sangare, Linari, Imuran; Geyoro, Kumagai, Asllani; Parris, Godfrey, Goodwin
TOT: Kop; Neville, Hunt, Koga , Nilden; Spence, Summanen; Holdt, Vinberg, Naz; Tandberg
The Action
In such an evenly matched contest, it was no surprise that both teams started fast. Spurs got numbers forward from the opening whistle, not wanting to let the home side settle.
For the second week in a row, however, it was Tottenham who conceded early on. After some lovely footwork to create space and win the corner, Kosovare Asllani’s delivery was poorly dealt with, and Freya Godfrey showed her penalty box instincts, taking it first time and finishing well into the bottom left corner, stunning the visitors.
With Spurs on the ropes, London City had an opportunity to double their lead immediately after a mix-up between Drew Spence and Summamen allowed Grace Geyoro to pounce in the final third. Not realising how much time she had, though, she rushed her shot, and it was pushed behind by Lize Kop.
The early goal set the tone for the first half as Spurs remained trapped in their half for large periods. It took until the half-hour mark for them to find their feet again, spearheaded by an excellent display by Olivia Holdt, who was constantly looking to drive her team forward.
It was this persistence in pushing her side forward that eventually led to Spurs getting a stroke of luck, as a deflected shot from Holdt bobbled just inside the box, and Saki Kumagai hacked down Spence for a penalty. Tandberg confidently smashed the ball home to get her side back into a game that at one point looked like it was getting away from the North Londoners.
The start of the second half mirrored the start of the first as London City wasted no time in reestablishing their lead. Unsurprisingly, it was their captain, Asllani, conducting the move as she played a beautiful ball for Freya Godfrey to take in her stride down the right wing, and the England U23 international’s equally perfect cross found Nikita Paris at the back post to retake the lead on her 200th WSL appearance.
After being gifted a goal against the run of play in the first half, Spurs were desperate not to let this opportunity go to waste. A couple of scrambles in the box required blocks from the Lionesses’ defence, but they continued to struggle to get shots on target.
The repeats of the first half continued as Tottenham again found themselves level against the run of play; however, this time it was a moment of brilliance from Evalinna Summamen. A clumsy challenge from Asllani gave Spurs a free kick on the edge of the area, and Finland midfielder placed it into the top right corner, giving Elene Lete no chance of reaching it and adding to her special highlight reel.
This really opened the game up as both sides pushed for a winner. A chaotic moment saw a flurry of blocks from the Tottenham defence as London City were unable to break them down after Godwin and Godfrey combined well in the area.
And it was soon after this that London City found their all-important third goal, and following the pattern of this game, it was from a set piece. Asllani again found herself involved as her floated ball in the six-yard box caught the defence not knowing whether to stick or twist, and it was Amanda Nildien who was unfortunate enough to deflect it into her own goal.
To cap off a truly chaotic fixture, it’s only fitting that it was decided by a moment of genius. Freya Godfrey received the ball on the right wing and took on Nilden as her tricky feet gave her the room to fire a dagger into the bottom corner, ending any hope for Spurs to come back for a third time and guaranteeing three points for London City Lionesses.
A Game For The 10s
It may come as no surprise in what ended up being a very open game with plenty of swings of momentum, but it was each team’s 10s which really caught the eye this afternoon, with LCL captain Asllani and Spurs midfielder Olivia Holdt who conducted the tempo for both sides.
Eyebrows were raised last summer when the former WSL2 side announced the signing of Swedish star Kosovare Asllani, and she has so far more than met expectations. She was made captain immediately and Precheur has given her complete positional freedom in his side, letting her drift through lines and pop up where needed. She was directly involved in three of their four goals this afternoon, whether it was her quick feet and spot-on vision combining in the build-up to Parris’ goal, or her dangerous crosses to scare the Spurs backline in their first and third goals, her was instrumental throughout.
And while her side ended up on the losing end today, Olivia Holdt showed why she’s been one of Tottenham’s best players so far this season. After struggling in the opening twenty minutes, Spurs needed someone to step up and the Danish international took on that role. She was consistently carrying the ball and driving towards the LCL box, forcing their defence to play on the back foot. Her persistence in looking for goal paid off when after having two shots blocked on the edge of the area, Spence was brought down after going for the rebound and won a penalty for Spurs.
Both players were tireless in trying to force their teams forward and make life hard for the opposition.
Freya Godfrey’s Coming-Out Party
Fans have known about the 20-year-old for a few years now, having come through Arsenal’s academy along with promising loan spells at Charlton and with her current side last season. But today marked her third WSL start after slowly being introduced in the first couple months of this season, and she showed she’s earnt that spot with a player of the match performance.
Her mix of pace and fearlessness on the ball made for a lively afternoon on the right-hand side that Spurs failed to deal with for most of the game, shown by her finishing up with two goals and an assist. The assist came from the aforementioned Parris’ goal, in which she showed excellent composure to carry the ball and wait to put her cross in at the exact right time, and the perfectly weighted cross landed at the back post.
Her two goals again showed how confident she is with the ball at her feet. Her quick thinking for the first allowed her to get her shot off quickly from a ricocheting ball in a crowded box; a finish that looked like it came from a seasoned veteran striker, not a twenty-year-old. But it’s her second that will make headlines, as her decisiveness on the ball was evident as she cut inside to beat her marker and curled it into the bottom left corner.
It was an exciting performance for the young winger and will certainly give future opposition something else to think about when coming up against London City Lionesses.
