(Goal)Keep Vigilant

What is it with our club and conceding stoppage time goals lately?

At least this weekend it only resulted in a couple of draws, but both teams risk slipping in the table if they don't get back on track soon.

Goalkeeping was a big topic across the two fixtures—which makes for some uncomfortable opinion-giving from those of us who don't consider ourselves experts on that specialist position. I'm still going to give those opinions, of course, but here's the early caveat that I could very well be wrong about them. Feel free to hit up the comments section with alternative viewpoints.

It's another quick turnaround with the Women's team playing a midweek cup fixture, so it's back to the abbreviated match recap format for today. Read on to hear about how both Merseyside away games went down and what's up next in the League Cup.

In this issue: Everton recap | Liverpool recap | Previewing the League Cup quarter-final

PL Matchday 23 recap | Everton 2 - 2 Tottenham

Harrison 30', Branthwaite 90+4' | Richarlison 4' • 41'

After a pretty dominant first half, our control of the game slipped more and more as the game went on, culminating in a dagger of a set piece goal concession to drop two points. There are major questions to be asked around our set piece defense.

Starting XI:

There were two changes to the previous lineup against Brentford, with Dejan Kulusevski getting a rest and Oliver Skipp also dropping to the bench. They were replaced by Brennan Johnson and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. The big disappointment was that Pape Sarr (newly returned from AFCON) wasn't fit to start, but he would come on in the 64th minute to replace Bentancur, who is likewise not at full fitness yet after his injury. The entire midfield and forward line ended up being replaced by the end of the match, although there was some tinkering to the formation due to the actual subs.

Key highlights & takeaways:

• We scored an early goal thanks to a nice linkup between Timo Werner and Destiny Udogie, who found Richarlison just outside the six-yard box for a top bins placement.

• Everton's equalizer was a contentious one because once again, Guglielmo Vicario was arguably impeded by the eventual goal-scorer. Jack Harrison prevented Vicario from being able to jump up to claim the corner kick and it reached James Tarkowski at the far post to be flicked back into the center of the box. Dominic Calvert-Lewin appeared to score the goal at first, via header, but it came off Harrison's leg before crossing the line.

While I think you can make an argument that both this goal and the one scored by Manchester City in the FA Cup should not have stood, the bigger problem for me is that it's become a clear strategy for our opposition and yet we still don't seem to have an answer for it defensively. Vicario has been left unprotected by the refs, sure, but also by his own teammates. And in fairness to Vic, on another Everton corner, he managed to pull off a superb save with his leg despite having been put on the back foot by another case of impediment.

I don't necessarily agree with the idea that opponents are targeting Vicario because of his "weakness"; it's more that they've identified a tactical weakness in the whole team's strategy for defending corners/free kicks. Set pieces are always going to be a tough threat to deal with, but it says a lot that teams have resorted to borderline cheating during these vulnerable occasions rather than focusing on beating our defense from open play.

• Richarlison completed his brace—if only it had been a hat trick!—not long before halftime on a long-range shot. James Maddison registered the assist after a give-and-go with Werner (that's two hockey assists for Werner, for everyone keeping track at home), passing the ball to Richarlison from a few feet away. This is a crucial aspect of Maddison's game: rather than looking for the safer pass, he has the presence of mind to stay calm and make the closer but more risky pass. Richy still had a lot to do though with such a superb strike from outside the box. He could not look more confident right now, and indeed, nearly finished off his perfect hat trick opportunity with a headed chance.

• Maddison and Pedro Porro both had long-range chances of their own but saw their efforts saved by Jordan Pickford, who as usual had a few world-class saves in his locker.

• Everton got the final equalizer in stoppage time on, you guessed it, another set piece. A free kick from our right defensive flank was flicked back toward Vicario (possibly by Cristian Romero) and Venom failed to get to the ball before the oncoming Jarrad Branthwaite. Richarlison shares a bit of blame since he simply stopped marking Branthwaite for a free run into the box. He's been pretty good about not shirking his defensive duties recently but this was a costly lapse of concentration, and indeed cost him having the game-winning goal.

• On a tactical note, I wholeheartedly disapprove of the move to a back-3 that Ange Postecoglou has been making late in the last couple of games, bringing on Radu Drăgușin to be the third centerback. It's giving Conte flashbacks. The biggest issue is that we end up giving the opposition too much control in the midfield in this formation and it can lead to hasty "professional" fouls and risky tackles from our defense. I don't think we've gotten to see Drăgușin at his best effect yet as a result. Plus, you know what they say... the best defense is a strong offense. I would have much preferred to see us going for a third goal to close out the game rather than bunkering in.

SAtP Player of the Match: Richarlison

The man is in fine form! And it's not just the quantity of his shots lately that has been so impressive but also the quality. And he's been able to maintain consistency during Son Heung-min's absence, carrying the goal-scoring burden for the team.

I know it's a running bit of banter to compare his goal output to the other Brazilian forwards around the world (favorably, of course), but legitimately, he's staking his claim for the starting striker role at Copa America this summer.

Notable and quotable:

• We've now gone five seasons without a win at Goodison Park (h/t Lilywhite Rose)

• Our stoppage time goal concession tally is up to eight, the most ever for Spurs in a PL season (and the worst tally in the league currently).

• On a positive note, zero yellow cards for Spurs in this game!

• Richarlison has now scored nine goals in the last eight PL games.

• Ange on the dubious legality of Everton's first goal:

It just seems to be in general referees are reluctant to call these now and leave it to VAR.

• We dropped back down to 5th in the table due to Aston Villa's blowout win over Sheffield United. The silver lining in regards to the standings is that we still have yet to play all of the teams above us in the table for the second time this season.

WSL Matchday 13 recap | Liverpool 1 - 1 Tottenham

Höbinger 90+1' | Bizet 71'

To be frank, this game was an even tougher watch than the Men's game, with both Liverpool and Spurs reluctant to lose and give the other the edge in the WSL table. It made for a cagey, rather physical matchup that we probably should have foreseen ending in a draw. Still, we had the chance to take all three points back to Tottenham and conceded a very frustrating goal to scupper the win.

Starting XI:

Robert Vilahamn selected the same starting lineup as in the previous league game against Manchester City. As mentioned in my preview, I really would have liked to see Jess Naz start but she did make a fairly early entrance in the 61st minute alongside Kit Graham. We have several players still struggling to get back to full fitness, including Beth England and Olga Ahtinen (the departures for the aforementioned double substitution) and Martha Thomas (who inexplicably played the whole game). And once again, Luana Bühler stayed on the bench.

Key highlights & takeaways:

• Liverpool's press was very effective in preventing us from dominating possession (it was a fairly even split at 49% to Liverpool, 51% to Spurs) and playing the fluid game we've come to expect under Vilahamn. Ahtinen struggled to get a grip on the game as she usually does and Thomas and England frequently negated each other's efforts by occupying the same spaces and making the same runs. An injection of pace and direct play was needed. Enter Naz and Graham.

• Our sole goal of the match came from a linkup between Charli Grant and Thomas alongside the touchline, with Grant lofting the ball up to Thomas to control with a deft flick, take a further touch away from her defender, and cross the ball into the box for Celin Bizet to pounce upon. Her first touch chipped the ball over Liverpool's keeper and into the net. It was an improvisational goal, but not wholly unexpected from the creative Bizet. Which is to say: yes, she meant it.

• The sad thing is that we had two very good opportunities to kill off the game with a second (or even third) goal. The first came when Amanda Nildén chose to take a long-range shot from the right flank rather than square the ball to either of the two Spurs players crashing the box (Grant and Naz). Nildén's shot hit the post, so it's not like it was a stupidly ambitious decision to shoot rather than pass, but it still wasn't the smart decision. Kudos to Grace Clinton for her exquisitely timed and placed through ball to Nildén to set up the play. Clinton also set up the other big chance on a shorter pass to substitute Shuang Wang, who somehow managed to send her shot straight at the keeper from very close range. Wang also could have chosen to square the ball as Thomas was lurking just at the far post. Lessons learned, hopefully.

• Liverpool's equalizer came about after a heavy touch from Thomas was quickly sent up the pitch by Gemma Bonner and into the box. Rather than coming off her line to decisively claim the ball, Barbora Votíková left it to Grant to deal with. The young fullback attempted to flick the ball out of Melissa Lawley's grasp and play out from a vulnerable position, but Lawley got the better of her hesitation and assisted her fellow substitute Marie Therese Höbinger for the goal. Graham, Eveliina Summanen, and Amy Turner were all too slow to put in a block or tackle and that was that—though I also think Votíková should have done better to get down quickly for a save at her near post. Just a shambles all around, really.

• The big takeaway from that sequence is that communication is still lacking between our new #1 keeper, Votíková, and her back line. That wasn't the only moment in the game when her lack of decisiveness could have cost us. It will be interesting to see if Bühler gets back into the side any time soon and how that could affect the chemistry in the defense.

SAtP Player of the Match: Celin Bizet

I mean, it has to be. Celin has real "get it done" energy, and I love the creative ways she's found to do so—particularly against Liverpool.

Notable and quotable:

• In contrast to the Men's squeaky-clean game, we picked up five yellow cards in the Women's match. Three of them were drawn by substitutes, no less.

• Although this was only Wang's second appearance with the team, I wouldn't be surprised to see her get a start in one of the two upcoming cup matches since some rotation will be necessary across the week. She definitely provides a different dimension to the attack with her eagerness to be on the ball and operate in tight spaces. Vilahamn singled her out in his post-game comments as a player who is suited to our new style.

• Thomas on the failure to find a second goal:

We hit the post, we had chances where we just needed to make better decisions in the final third. We've got people in better positions that have tap-ins and we're just not utilizing that.

And her overall verdict on the game:

Fortunate to get the goal, and then unfortunate to concede, but that's football... These are the games that we need to be winning against these kind of opposition that are in and around the same amount of points as us, and that's the only way we're going to climb up to the place in the table that we want to be.

• Interestingly for a manager who rarely reaches for excuses, Vilahamn noted that the wind was a significant factor in the second goal and is something that's "hard to train [for]."

Previewing League Cup quarter-final — Manchester City

Perhaps it will be "third time lucky" for Robert Vilahamn's plucky lilywhites. Let's be honest though: this won't be an easy game.

The fact that it comes midweek after the hard-fought away match at Liverpool doesn't help matters, nor does the fact that we'll still be without Ash Neville in the defense. Even with Jill Roord out injured with a torn ACL, City still have the edge in terms of both starting XI and bench quality.

Speaking of lineups, there is a real conundrum for Vilahamn around playing two cup games in the space of four days. Should he make this game the top priority, both for the chance to win a trophy and the chance to finally defeat a team that's already beaten us twice this season in the league? Or should he go full-strength against lower-division Charlton Athletic at the weekend to ensure that match isn't taken lightly by a rotated side? I don't know which route he will choose, but it will tell us a lot about his ambitions for the team this season. We already know he has lofty goals for next season: to qualify for the Champions League and be active in the title race.

If I were making the selection decisions, I would put the best team out against City, because despite our outstanding injury concerns I still believe we have enough quality in the whole squad to win against Charlton even with heavy rotation to the starting lineup. And we did make progress in the previous matchup against City compared to the disastrous 7-0 away loss in the first half of the season. Also, if history tells us anything about Gareth Taylor's side it's that they tend to perform worst in the games that matter most (Champions League qualification, cup knockout rounds, etc.). Is this severe, proactive copium on my part? Maybe, but let me have it.

And if we need another moment of madness against City when it counts, hopefully Rosella Ayane will be ready to play her part again. Less hand of god vibes this time, more like the cheeky chipped game-winner she scored against Sheffield United. And if the game does end up going to penalties she'll be needed for her spot-kick prowess.

As for the actual starting lineup, I am keen to see Jess Naz take some pressure off the still-rusty Beth England or Martha Thomas. They haven't had the best chemistry as a striker duo (or rather, a #9 and #10) and it might be time to pause the experiment in favor of utilizing a player who is decidedly in good form, Naz. I also fervently hope that Luana Bühler will finally be fit to start in the centerback partnership alongside Molly Bartrip because I have seen enough of Amy Turner filling in. Her superb performance in the Arsenal game aside, she hasn't shown enough consistency or progressive decision-making to warrant her continued inclusion in the XI if Bühler is fully fit. The rest of the team is kind of picking itself at the moment, though Shuang Wang could complicate that equation if she proves she can clean up her finishing in front of goal (or even better: make the smart pass).

I'll be back for a quick issue later in the week after we've learned the outcome of the Manchester City game. Fingers crossed we can still be contemplating two deep cup runs at that point—especially since that ship has already sailed on the Men's side.

Commiserations to Sonny, whose South Korea side has now been eliminated from the Asian Cup. Perhaps the semi-final against Jordan was a bridge too far for a team who had to pull off comebacks (including penalties in one case) plus endure extra time in the previous two knockout rounds. It seems unlikely that he'll be able to start on Saturday against Brighton, but it will be good to have him back in the squad and hopefully ready to finish out his club season strong, even if his national team campaign ended in disappointment.

I also wanted to say a huge thanks again to everyone who has supported Spurs Across the Pond over the last week with a tip on Ko-fi. Just to be candid, y'all are helping me stave off another existential crisis about whether I should still be writing this newsletter at all! It's nice to know that SAtP is serving a need in the larger Spurs fan content ecosystem, particularly around coverage of the Women's team, and I truly appreciate the support to keep it running.

I've tweaked the issue cadence a little bit this season to align with the club's injury updates so that I have full information for match previews whenever possible (my non-COYS-related life occasionally gets in the way), but feedback is always welcome if there are any other changes you'd like to see. Hopefully the more robust transfer window coverage was helpful too!

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