Make Way for Spurs
We are still in that early stage of the season when it can seem too soon or too foolish to get ahead of ourselves with lofty expectations for the rest of the season. You can also make the argument that, up to this point, Spurs Women have faced relatively tame opponents and have yet to be truly tested.
At the same time, why deprive ourselves of joy? It's a good thing that we can feel so jazzed about Spurs Women's start to the season, especially when Spurs Men's has been so dire. It's true that the schedule level of difficulty is about to raise dramatically, but there are enough encouraging signs from the team's underlying stats to feel optimistic that the strong performances will continue regardless of opponent. More on those stats (some of them historic WSL records) below.
But seriously, it's impossible to fully temper enthusiasm about a team that has kept two clean sheets and scored 11 goals across its last two league games. If you go back to include the first two matches, it's still only two goals conceded and a further four goals added to the tally. The first Players Cup game wasn't as impressive (game two of the league phase kicks off in just over an hour), but we maintained our unbeaten streak across all competitions. For now, let's bask in the success and back the team to keep it rolling.
In this issue: Aston Villa recap | News from around the Lane
It's been a pretty light news week across the club, so after a quick roundup of those stories, I will take a look at Spurs Women's upcoming schedule in the Up Next segment. Spoiler: it's about to get serious.
WSL MD 4 | Tottenham 4 - 0 Aston Villa
Pelova 54' • 73', Dijkstra 81', Tandberg 88'
The good vibes train just keeps on chugging along for Spurs Women. Summer signings getting goals, more clean-sheet defense, and an end to the goal drought for a fan favorite—what more could you ask for?
Well, perhaps we would prefer to see some goals in the first halves of games, but as long as they get there eventually...
And truly, Aston Villa were never likely to get a result in this game. They didn't have enough attacking impetus, and what little was shown was easily snuffed out by our centerback duo of Tōko Koga and Amanda Nildén (a phrase which is still funny to me since Nildén had previously always played at fullback for Spurs, but hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it). So capable were those two (alongside some light involvement from Lize Kop in goal, who only had to make one save) that the fullbacks Julie Blakstad and Caitlin Dijkstra were free to go marauding into the attacking third.
We also saw a vintage performance from Drew Spence, who has taken to the responsibility of wearing the captain's armband like a duck to water. She and Signe Gaupset completely locked down the midfield in this game, and Spence threw in an assist for our second goal.
But Victoria Pelova was the big story of the game (and deserved Player of the Match). Her first goal of the game was a scrappy rebound, but the second was a strong shot inside the box on a set-piece play. She's now up to five goal contributions in her last two WSL games. Martin Ho must surely agonize over how to choose between the surplus of in-form attackers in the squad at the moment, but Pelova is quickly making herself one of the undroppable players.
Dijkstra was scuppered earlier in the game by a dodgy non-call of a goal (see the photographic evidence below), but placed a header into the net in the second half that was undeniable. Even better, it was assisted by her fellow fullback Blakstad.
What do we want? Goal line technology in the WSL. When do we want it? Now!
And then, in my favorite moment of the game, Cathinka Tandberg finally opened her account for the season with a hooked shot around a Villa defender from close range, capitalizing on a saved shot from substitute Matilda Vinberg.
I suppose the only disappointment is that Kirsty Hanson wasn't able to bag a goal against her old club, but it wasn't for lack of trying. She had one shot that went just over the bar.
So while it's true that our early opponents in the league haven't mounted much of a fight, it matters that the team has taken full advantage of the opportunities to rack up the goal difference while we can. And with goals coming from all across the lineup, the squad is high in confidence.
Notable & quotable:
• Victoria Pelova has scored twice as many WSL goals as her former club so far this season (four for her, two for the entirety of Arsenal).
• Caitlin Dijkstra scored her first goal for Spurs (and it should have been a brace!).
• Cathinka Tandberg scored her first goal of the season and her first since February 15... when she had a brace against Aston Villa.
• Signe Gaupset became the youngest player in WSL history to create eight chances in a single game.
• This was the first time in Spurs Women history that the team scored four or more goals in back-to-back WSL games.
• We also became the first team in WSL history to have 35+ shots in consecutive league games (42 last game, 35 this game).
• Spurs kept a clean sheet for the third game in a row in all competitions.
• Spurs still lead the league in goal difference with +13.
• We are one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the WSL alongside Chelsea and Manchester City.
• Martin Ho praised the comprehensive performance from defense to attack:
I'm really happy because I think it was a real solid performance and I think that's probably our best performance in the time I've been here, personally. Most complete from back to front—defensively and offensively—some small parts in it, which you're always going to have. But really proud of the group, and the most important part is to get three points.
News from around the Lane
• In Spurs alumni news, Son Heung-min scored his 300th career goal whilst on international duty with South Korea. Congrats, Sonny!
• While many of Spurs Men's youngest players are thriving on international duty, two players from Spurs Women's Academy got exciting call-up news:
• Also of note, although Lenna Gunning-Williams has not yet featured for Spurs this season, she has been called up to the England U23s.
• You can read the minutes from the latest Fan Advisory Board meeting here.
Up next:
September 19 | Spurs Women @ Brighton & Hove Albion (Subway Players Cup)
Team news — no changes to availability from the Aston Villa game
Broadcast note: Our match was selected for the YouTube broadcast this week, thankfully, so you can stream it here.
That ramping up of the schedule that I mentioned earlier begins with this Players Cup game—our first away match of the league phase—though Brighton have not had the smoothest start to the season. In fact, their only win so far came in their first Players Cup game against Charlton; otherwise, they have two losses and two draws in Women's Super League play, having only scored three goals so far in those draws and been shut out in both losses.
I am hoping for slightly less rotation to the starting lineup than we saw in the last cup game, because we do need to get three points after only claiming one against West Ham United.
But Martin Ho will surely have half an eye on the weekend game when he makes his team selection. Our last league fixture before the international break (a shorter one than the Men's team is currently experiencing) is a doozy: a "best of the rest" derby with London City Lionesses. Though at this point, I think both teams are gunning for the (technically meaningless) 4th spot in the WSL table now that Manchester United are showing vulnerability, or even a cheeky Champions League playoff qualification spot if we're really fortunate.
Looking ahead to after the international break, we have two more back-to-back London derbies: first a visit to Chelsea and then hosting Arsenal (the latter is the first match of the season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and if you are local, please get your tickets now!!). Then there's a stretch of decidedly winnable fixtures up until the winter break, with the exception of games against the two Manchester teams, from whom we can never take getting a result for granted.
Now that I have made you contemplate the remainder of the pre-winter break schedule, let's re-focus on today's game and give it a mighty...
COYS
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