Tottenham Hotspur head coach Martin Ho praised his sides ability to create chances against a strong Chelsea team, despite a 2-0 loss at home.
It was a disappointing result in the end at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Spurs, missing a chance to gain ground on the traditional Women’s Super League (WSL) ‘top four’ in the race for European football. Chelsea, who needed a big result following big league defeats to both Arsenal and Manchester City, responded swiftly thanks to goals from Alyssa Thompson and Keira Walsh.
Martin Ho praises his side’s performance but admits Tottenham needed ‘a little bit of luck’
Despite having never recorded a league victory over Chelsea, Tottenham started very strongly and created multiple good chances to go ahead in the game – but, ultimately squandered them.
Even so, H0 pushed back against the idea that the pressure of a big game in their main stadium had any impact on his side’s performance, and instead suggested they needed a bit of luck to get them over the line.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a missed opportunity,” Ho insisted. “We created the better chances and had numerous big chances. Against teams at this level you need to take advantage of those moments and we didn’t.
“It was a suckerpunnch when they got one off a set-piece at the backend of the first half. From their second goal, we didn’t really get going again. I think it deflated us, and Chelsea managed the game really well.
“Sometimes you just need them to go in. Against West Ham we hit two wonderful strikes and scored two. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck to go your way with some of them but i wouldn’t say it’s becuase of the pressure as the players performed really well in the first half and in the second half we just didn’t get going again.”
‘We’ve still got work to do’ admits Ho
A win today would’ve put Spurs level on points with Chelsea, and right in the middle of the race for one of the three Champions League spots. Although this loss may have put an end to those dreams for this season, Ho was realistic about where the club are at the moment whilst maintaining a very optimistic eye on the future.
“I’ve been in the league for so many years, I was at Manchester United, and we had to work to get ourselves in a position where you build a team to be sustainable in that competition,” Ho said. “We’ve still got work to do, in seven months you can’t change a team that’s finished 11th to be competing for the Champions League.
“These players want to be in the Champions League, so do I, and so does the club. We have to take the right steps, and maybe we’re just a little bit short at the moment, but I have no doubt in the future that we’ll be there.”
A red card in the dying moments of their win against West Ham last weekend to midfielder Drew Spence may not have had an impact on that fixture, but they definitely missed her presence in the middle today. Ho wasn’t shy in talking about her importance to the squad and the level she’s been playing at this season.
“You’ll always miss players like Drew,” the head coach admitted. “She’s probably been our best player this season. Her experience at this level playing in these big games makes a big difference, and what she gives you on and off the ball is a different profile and characteristic.”
Talking points as Chelsea bounce back to beat Tottenham Hotspur
