From No Goals to Unexpected Goals

Not a perfect Spurs doubleheader weekend, but plenty to celebrate! | Previewing a Midlands matchup for the Men

Let's get the Women's match out of the way first, so we can end on the absolute joy fest that was the Men's game. Because frankly, the Women's match was not a joy fest. Far from it.

Tottenham 0 - 1 Aston Villa

It should first be acknowledged that the match against Aston Villa arrived in less than ideal circumstances for our Lilywhites. Thanks to two postponed matches (due to COVID cases in the squad) and an existing lengthy (scheduled) gap between that first postponed game and our last played match vs Manchester City, we hadn't been in action since March 13. So understandably, match fitness was a big concern, and it showed in quite a few of the players. Along with forcing some less than ideal substitutions (which I'll get to in a minute), that lack of fitness also showed up in abnormally poor passing accuracy and miscommunications when it came to timing runs into the box. In other words, it was not a pretty game.

Despite that, we still could have pulled off a draw and it would have felt like the correct result, if not for a lapse in concentration on an Aston Villa set-piece, which gave them the sole goal of the match through Petzelberger. I won't call it a smash and grab, because again, we didn't really deserve a win, but it was definitely Villa's only quality chance. I think their substitution to bring on Jill Scott gave them a slight edge, because the WSL veteran's experience enabled them to calmly carry out their game plan and display the patience needed to wait for that set-piece opportunity. For Tottenham, our best chance came through Percival after some quick thinking from Summanen in the box, but Ria's shot was cleared off the line by Villa's Corsie.

Our substitutions did not particularly increase our attacking threat, but rather diminished it. Naz (who was finally back in the squad after many weeks out injured) was probably our best player on the day, but clearly wasn't fit to play the full 90. Her replacement, Ayane, came on for the second half but completely failed to impact the match, beyond some ill-advised fouls. While Addison didn't play poorly, she did not match the level that Summanen was playing at before her similarly early exit. And I do think Tang could have been a real difference-maker over Simon, but her introduction came far too late. We've known that squad depth is an issue for this Spurs squad, so I don't entirely blame Rehanne Skinner for her choices; it is what it is, especially with the post-COVID fatigue factored in. This match just reinforced my belief that bringing in quality forwards must be a priority in the summer transfer window.

Top 3 is looking very unlikely now after this result; realistically, the two Manchester teams are in too good of form at the moment to slip up and give us a doorway to sneak back into contention. I do find myself wondering from time to time how things could have been different if Kit Graham hadn't torn her ACL... but we'll never know.

There are still some positives to take out of the match. Not many! But a couple. The entire team persisted to show a fighting spirit until the final whistle, with Spencer even coming up for the final set piece to try to nick a goal (I wish she had just taken a shot instead of crossing it up into the crowded box! Sigh.). And that's all we could really ask for in this particular match, when maintaining that mentality for the full 90 wasn't easy. We can also take comfort in the fact that the defense was very good overall. But just like with the Men's team, set-pieces continue to pose a problem.

Unfortunately, we face another long layoff before the next match on April 24, thanks to the women now being on international break. This team can't catch a break--or rather, the opposite of a break:  a consistent run of games in which to develop some rhythm. If we were still in the top 3 chase I would find this even more frustrating, but perhaps we should choose to focus on the fact that we've already far and away exceeded last season's campaign, and look forward to an even better season in 2022/23 if the club continues to invest in and upgrade the team--and stick to Rehanne's vision, most importantly.

And you get a goal, and you get a goal!

Tottenham 5 - 1 Newcastle

Now let's get to the good stuff! The second match of our doubleheader weekend was an all-out thrashing of Newcastle from the Men's team. I truly hate Newcastle, so this was a very satisfying watch. I will take this time to note that we beat them 8-3 on aggregate this season, which is refreshing after suffering some real banana peel results to them in recent years. In fact, we drew both fixtures with them last season. And I don't think I will ever get over the injustice of the handball penalty against Dier. So yes, this was very satisfying indeed. (It's a pity they're going to escape relegation after all.)

It wasn't a perfect match though, since we didn't keep a clean sheet. As mentioned earlier in the Women's recap, set-pieces continue to be a vulnerability. But other than Fabian Schär's free kick goal, Newcastle never really threatened Hugo's net, and the defense was extremely solid, Romero in particular.

Speaking of defenders, let's kick off the goal round-up for our Lilywhites, starting with none other than our dependable LCB, Ben Davies. Amazingly, this was Davies' first PL goal since September 2017. Readers, I wasn't even a true Tottenham fan back then (yet...)--that's how long it's been! Although he has scored some bangers in cup competitions, it was nice to see him finally back on the PL scoresheet. I used to make a joke of calling myself a Ben Davies Apologist, but I might just have to admit to being a straight-up Ben Davies Stan. Sonny had been the one to concede the free kick that led to Newcastle's goal after a needless foul, so it was good to see him earn immediate redemption with the assist for Davies' header, cleaning up when his initial corner kick was rebounded out of the box.

We would end up scoring back-to-back headed goals thanks to a superb diving header from Doherty, who looked almost as good playing on the left side of the pitch as he does on his preferred right-hand side. He was starting there due to an injury to Reguilón, which kept the Spaniard out of the matchday squad. Doherty's wing versatility will certainly have increased his favor under Conte.

Then Son got a goal of his own, from a real "liquid football" effort from the team. You know the squad is firing on all cylinders when they start making it look easy. Not so effortless was Royal's scrappy goal in the six-yard box, courtesy of an assist from his fellow wingback, Doherty, but they all count the same. I was surprised to realize this was Royal's first official Spurs goal; if you'll recall, there was a goal in the Brighton FA Cup match that at first looked like it went in from Emerson's wayward cross, but was given to Solly March as an own goal instead because of a slight deflection. It should also be noted that Royal's new blond hair really suits him.

Kulusevski may have cemented himself as the first-choice at right wing (and he put in a great shift against Newcastle), but Lucas proved that he still has something to offer as an impact sub. His fearless (some might say impetuous) brand of football was on display with his assist for Bergwijn's goal, the final goal of the match. And what a composed finish from Bergy! He could not be more confident at the moment, especially after the successful international break he had with the Netherlands. It's wild to think that on another team, Bergwijn would probably be starting every match. And indeed, we might have to start worrying about him being tempted away this summer if all he's getting at Tottenham is sub appearances.

It's kind of hilarious that Spurs scored five goals and none of them came from Harry Kane. But to Harry's credit, he did contribute a lot, whipping in quality passes left and right and notching an assist for Doherty's goal. I'm not quite sure he deserved Man of the Match over some of the other candidates (who certainly won't have earned MotM as many times as Harry has his career and would truly treasure it), but it seems that ye olde pundits still struggle to remember that Tottenham is more than just the Harry Kane team. Is my latent resentment of Harry from this summer rearing its ugly head again? I suppose so. I mostly just want the other members of the squad to get their due!

But honestly y'all, the togetherness and happiness of the team right now is beautiful to see. This recap might be feeling a little light on the analysis side and reading like more of a goal rundown/love fest, but this was truly one of those "no notes" kinds of matches. Sure, the wall could have been formed better for Schär's free kick and not left Hugo (arguably) unsighted, but other than that? Seriously:  no notes. Conte's system was working at its best, real "the beautiful game" material. And it once again bears repeating that the January signings from Juventus have transformed our season--and proven that Conte and Paratici can do magic next season with the right transfer business this summer. It's all happening!

Okay, one more celebratory hug photo, just because I'm a sap.

Thanks to Crystal Palace's 3-0 win over Arsenal, we end the matchday back in 4th place for the first time since September. It's good to be back!

Visiting Villa

Up next, the Men have a trip to Birmingham to take on Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa. While Gerrard has brought some fresh ideas and a renewed spirit to the West Midlands team, they are still shaky in defense at times. They're coming off three straight losses in the PL and struggled to score much during that stretch, in contrast to the previous three games that saw them find the back of the net nine times. In other words, it can be hard to know which Aston Villa team to expect for any given fixture. But considering the form that Spurs are in, I'm feeling rather zen about it.

January loan signing Philippe Coutinho (whom I have a soft spot for thanks to his brief time at Bayern Munich) has provided some creativity to the Aston Villa forward line, and Spurs will need to prioritize keeping him quiet on Saturday. But when it comes to each team's starting striker, there is a stark contrast. Spurs have England's #1, while Villa employ the services of Kane's Three Lions backup, Ollie Watkins. Gerrard is definitely getting more out of this Villa team than Dean Smith was pre-sacking, but it still seems like they're underperforming their potential on the whole.

It's too early as of this writing to know if Skipp or Sessegnon will be available for the Villa match, but you would hope they could be reintegrated sooner rather than later. It wouldn't be ideal to throw them into the thick of things with the Liverpool match or the (finally rescheduled!) NLD. Let's just hope it doesn't become a matter of being shut down for the rest of the season for either of them.

Every match is basically a cup final at this point of the season because of the top 4 race, but in addition to being a must-win, this one feels like a should-win. We're the better team on paper and the better team in current form. Let's grab those three points!

COYS