Back At It

Although the results from the weekend matches were unexpected, we learned a lot from them.

In Spurs Women's case, we're learning that this team is still very much a work in progress (as could reasonably be expected in Martin Ho's first season in charge) that doesn't function nearly as well with missing parts.

For Spurs Men, we're learning which players can be relied upon to rise to the task of a relegation battle—though the fact that Richarlison is leading the charge shouldn't surprise anyone, given that he has form for league survival heroics.

In this issue: Everton recap | Liverpool recap | News from around the Lane

It's been a busy week (including a new N17 Women episode landing in your podcast feeds soon), so I'm going to keep the recaps fairly short for this midweek issue.

Spurs Men are in action today in a do-or-die home leg for the Champions League Round of 16. They have a three-goal aggregate deficit to make up just to be able to force extra time, no small feat. It seems unreasonable to wish for four regular-time goals, so I would be content with reaching a penalty shootout, at which point anything can happen! The more likely outcome is that we see a valiant attempt at a comeback but still fall short, and then it's Premier League survival or bust.

Then on the weekend, we have another double slate of fixtures before the Men's team heads out on their own international break—after which we will hopefully see a few more of the medium-term injured players make it back into the matchday squad for the home stretch of the season.

WSL MD 17 | Tottenham 1 - 2 Everton

Gaupset 76' | Momiki 13', Gago 82'

It was always going to be a challenge playing without our usual starting centerback duo of Clare Hunt and Tōko Koga, but it was still disappointing to see how disjointed and, frankly, slow the defensive line looked without them. It didn't help that Amanda Nildén was also ruled out through a yellow card accumulation suspension, meaning that Julie Blakstad had to fill in at fullback and not push up into the winger position where we've seen her thrive in a couple of games already. The result was a defense ill-equipped to address the counterattacking pace of Everton's forwards. Spurs didn't generate enough clear-cut chances in our own attack, making the 1-2 result a fair one for the visiting opposition.

Key highlights & takeaways:

• Lize Kop made a big intervention in a one-on-one with Toni Payne in the 1st minute, nearly injuring herself in the process. Payne got on the end of several more chances throughout the game, and we were fortunate that Kop was up to the task each time, or the scoreline could have been far less forgiving.

• We somehow never seem to expect players to shoot from the edge of our defensive box and have given up many such goals in that manner this season; Yuka Momiki was the latest beneficiary of our lapse in concentration (and poor positioning).

• Olivia Holdt pulled off an absurdly skillful bit of close control to get into space near the goal line just before halftime, but the box was too congested for her cross to find a target.

• We struggled to create an opportunity for an equalizer until Signe Gaupset decided to be brave and shoot. It was a rather slow shot from Gaupset, but well-placed to beat Courtney Brosnan across the face of the goal. Cathinka Tandberg provided a would-be follow-up run to keep Hannah Blundell occupied.

• Less than five minutes after Inma Gabarro and Kelly Gago came on as substitutes for Everton, they combined for the winning goal. Josefine Rybrink lost track of Gabarro as she ran onto a ball over the top. Molly Bartrip came close to making a crucial block, but the cross found Gago arriving in the box ahead of Blakstad.

• Everton almost made it 1-3 late on, but Kop was able to tip a shot from Melissa Lawley onto the post.

• Likewise, Blakstad had a chance to score another equalizer for Spurs at the last minute, but wasn't quick enough to challenge Brosnan for the ball.

• The visitors had the more threatening substitutes overall. Drew Spence failed to shake off the rust after returning from a lengthy red card suspension layoff (plus the international break duration). Olga Ahtinen registered the assist for our temporary equalizer, but that goal was largely a credit to Gaupset's technical ability in placing the shot just right.

We have yet to suffer two defeats in a row in any competition under Martin Ho's management, but the next game against league leaders Manchester City will be a massive test of that record.

I don't want to alarm y'all, but there are only six currently scheduled matches left in Spurs Women's season (I'm remaining optimistic about a cupset against Chelsea to extend our FA Cup campaign). And quite frankly, it's a daunting schedule; in addition to the aforementioned cup game, we still have three WSL matches against top 4 opposition, another edition of the newest London derby, and then an away match for the final fixture. Getting our players back from the Asian Cup will help, and there's the possibility of Ella Morris making a difference in her imminent return from an ACL injury. But for the most part, it will be up to the squad to build incrementally on the progress already made in Ho's tenure, with an eye to starting strong next season.

Notable & quotable:

• This was Lenna Gunning-Williams' first start in the Women's Super League.

• Olga Ahtinen registered the assist for Signe Gaupset's goal; it was her first assist of the WSL season.

• Martin Ho was honest in his disappointment over the loss:

We were nowhere near our level that we need to be... If you're not at that level, you won't be able to perform at the top level.

[Everton have] kept a lot of clean sheets. They don't concede many and they've come off the back of three straight wins. We need to make sure that when we're in these games, we know it's going to be competitive, the fine margins matter.

• Julie Blakstad noted the challenge of returning to play after an international break, but acknowledged that every team has to deal with that reality:

It's always hard to come back from international, but it's the same for every team. I'm sure they also have a lot of players travelling, so I think that we need to do that better and come back and, as you say, not give them the first half away. In the second half, we start off very good and get some momentum, get it to 1-1, and then conceding the second goal there is a tough one.

We have three really tough games to bounce back. But, at the same time, I think we need to learn from this game because what we performed today was not good enough and we want to do better for ourselves and for the fans that come and support us every game.

PL MD 30 | Liverpool 1 - 1 Tottenham

Szoboszlai 18' | Richarlison 90'

I don't think anyone was expecting us to escape Anfield without any further debacles or embarrassments, let alone pick up a valuable point in the relegation race, so let's celebrate that!

Key highlights & takeaways:

• Souza, featuring at winger in the 4-4-2 formation, took a cheeky long-range shot that tested Allison early on.

• While Guglielmo Vicario definitely seemed to react late to Dominik Szoboszlai's free kick, the Liverpool midfielder has a superb free-kick goal tally this season (he's one away from tying the single-season Premier League record for direct free kick goals, currently held by David Beckham and Laurent Robert with five each) and is always a threat from set pieces. So I don't think there's too much shame in that being the only Liverpool goal of the game.

• Vicario also made a strong save shortly after conceding the free-kick goal, and was a large part of the reason Spurs were able to stay in the game to nick the late draw.

• Radu Drăgușin struggled on the left side of the centerback duo with Kevin Danso, but fortunately, none of his mistakes proved costly.

• Spurs were denied a clear penalty when Virgil van Dijk clawed his arm around Richarlison and put him off balance. Richarlison managed to stay on his feet, perhaps to his detriment as far as VAR is concerned.

• Randal Kolo Muani has struggled to find consistency at Spurs, but certainly made a big impact off the bench in this game, assisting the equalizer with a fine display of control in the box under pressure.

• While Igor Tudor largely got his team selection and substitutions right for this game, I can't condone him taking Richarlison off just before a stoppage-time corner kick, knowing that the Brazilian could very well have headed in a winning goal. He at least replaced him with 6'2" James Rowswell, who has scored two goals as a defender in the Premier League 2 this season, but it was still a flouting of the laws of football narrative.

Speaking of narrative, it was important to keep a gap between ourselves and the two teams below us in the relegation fight. We would have remained in 16th even with a loss, thanks to goal difference, but having an extra point over Nottingham Forest and West Ham United could prove to be decisive down the line.

Since I mentioned how many games Spurs Women have left in the season, it's worth noting that Spurs Men have a slightly longer runway for their quest to stay up in the Premier League. There are eight league games remaining, plus the potential of more Champions League fixtures if they pull off a minor miracle today and knock out Atlético de Madrid.

Notable & quotable:

• Richarlison's late equalizer marked his 100th goal involvement in the Premier League (73 goals, 27 assists). It was also his 25th PL goal for Spurs.

• Randal Kolo Muani provided the assist for Richarlison's goal off the bench; it was his first PL assist.

• After a controversial non-call on a potential penalty for Spurs, we remain without a single penalty awarded in the PL this season.

• Igor Tudor had Spurs' only yellow card of the match.

• Callum Olusesi made his Premier League debut (having previously made his senior team debut in the Europa League last season), while James Rowswell made his joint senior team and Premier League debuts.

Olusesi proved to be one of the most successful passers on the team during his cameo, while Rowswell helped keep the second-half clean sheet to secure the draw. Both players are 19 years old and hopefully have many more appearances with Spurs ahead of them in their senior careers.

Elsewhere in the Academy ranks, recent signing James Wilson made the senior bench for just the second time and was the only outfield sub not used.

• This was our first PL point since matchday 24. We still haven't won a league game since matchday 18, all the way back at the end of December.

• Igor Tudor commended the spirited effort from the squad to earn a draw with so many players unavailable:

We stayed in the game until the end. We believed that we could do it. I felt that the players believed. So, that was the key—staying in the game, be as a team, work hard against the stadium here. The circumstances we have at this moment—we came here with 12 players, so that's an immense point.

News from around the Lane

• Since the last issue, Tōko Koga contributed a brace in Japan's 7-0 win over the Philippines to reach the Women's Asian Cup semi-final against South Korea, while Clare Hunt and Australia have already played and won their semi-final against China to secure a spot in the final. Former Spurs player Zhang Linyan scored China's only goal in the 1-2 result, a penalty. By the time you're reading this, the other semi-final may have already concluded, so go check the score and hope it's good news for Spurs' Japan contingent!

• Elsewhere in international football news, Jamie Donley has been called up to the Northern Ireland squad for their Men's World Cup playoff. They play Italy in the semi-final, and would take on either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina if they progress to the final.

• The Women's Academy U16s have reached the PGA Plate final. They will face Leicester City on Sunday. Good luck to the youngsters!

Up next:

March 18 | Spurs Men vs Atlético de Madrid
Team news — Richarlison is suspended due to yellow card accumulation; Dominic Solanke and Conor Gallagher are both questionable; João Palhinha is still out with a concussion, but Cristian Romero is available after recovering from his own concussion; Lucas Bergvall and Destiny Udogie are both available for selection, but only as substitutes.

Opposition note: Jan Oblak is unavailable due to a muscular issue.

Toby Alderweireld is a special guest at the Champions League match, so there's something nice to look forward to! Fingers crossed that he gets to witness a spirited comeback that extends our stay in the competition.

COYS

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