Passing Every Test

Both of Spurs' senior teams are handling each new challenge they meet, not succumbing to the pressure and expectations rapidly increasing. It's hard not to attribute this newfound mettle to the fearless brand of football we're playing these days. And still, there is room for improvement. It's exciting to think about what these teams could look like in mid-season form, barring any momentum-thwarting injuries.

In this issue: Aston Villa recap | Fulham recap | Previewing Crystal Palace | News from around the Lane

WSL Matchday 4 recap | Aston Villa 2 - 4 Tottenham

Daly (pen) 5', Parker 90+6' | Thomas 33' • 64' • 72', Neville 45+5'

This match was always going to serve as a barometer of our true level under new manager Robert Vilahamn, but perhaps it said just as much about the state of Carla Ward's Aston Villa team. I still think Villa have a slight edge in terms of the overall quality of their squad (albeit with a couple of key absences in this matchup due to injury and suspension), yet this Spurs team was able to produce a performance greater than the sum of its parts. A dominant individual effort from newcomer Martha Thomas didn't hurt, either.

Starting XI:

There was only one change from the lineup we saw across the first three WSL fixtures, with Jessica Naz coming in for Drew Spence. It wasn't a like-for-like swap, and with Naz moving out to the left wing it necessitated Grace Clinton moving into the #10 role in place of Spence. The young loanee has previously played in that position at the end of matches but got a chance to show what she could do as the playmaker from the start. All eyes were on her after she received her first senior England call-up last week.

We got off to a rough start by conceding a penalty in just the 5th minute, which was converted by last season's Golden Boot winner, Rachel Daly. It was the second penalty Eveliina Summanen has given up this campaign, although the first one was an unfortunate handball in the Bristol City game. Luckily, neither error would end up being decisive to the respective results, and she's played pretty brilliantly otherwise.

I'll admit I felt a glimmer of fear that we reverting to the bad habits of last season in the early stages of the first half, but once we got on the scoresheet things started to look more controlled. Martha Thomas capitalized on a poor backpass by her fellow Scotland teammate Rachel Corsie and chipped Daphne van Domselaar to equalize for Spurs. We took the lead in first-half stoppage with a superb header from Ash Neville, assisted by Jess Naz's cross from the right flank—two of Spurs longest-tentured players combining. It was Ash's first goal of the season and an assist for Jess on her first WSL start of the season.

There was one change at halftime, with Jess making way for Drew Spence, restoring the usual starting XI. Grace moved out to the wing as Drew took over the #10 role. In the 64th minute, the young loanee would end up notching the assist for Martha's second goal of the match after the ball ping-ponged around the box, with Luana and Ash getting touches beforehand. Then Martha completed her hat trick in the 72nd minute by once again getting the better of Corsie as she received a through ball from Olga, once again sending her shot deftly over Van Domselaar's head.

Robert made a few substitutions at the end of the game, including Zhang Linyan making her WSL debut. Besides missing an opportunity to score one-on-one with the keeper, she didn't have a lot to do, but at least she's gotten a taste of league play now. One to watch for the rest of the season!

The scoring was done for Spurs, but Aston Villa nabbed a consolation goal in second-half stoppage time. Corsie nearly redeemed herself with a header from a corner, but Becky was able to make a superb save to parry the ball back out into the fray. Unfortunately, Lucky Parker got the rebound and was unmarked for her own header.

Spurs are, amazingly, up to 3rd in the league—with a trio of very winnable fixtures up next. Sadly, we will have to wait until November 5 to see them back in action because of the international break.

SAtP Player of the Match: Martha Thomas

I actively try not to give it to the same player two games in a row, but sometimes it's unavoidable. Martha gave me no choice!

These were probably her three best finishes so far this season. The lobbed/chipped shots for her first and third goals required careful technique which she made look utterly effortless, and she got perfect power and placement on her shot in the crowded box for her second goal. It's pretty incredible how much variety we've seen from Martha in terms of shot selection, and that largely comes down to her versatile, nimble positioning. She was rewarding for her relentless pressing in this game and is certainly setting a standard for the rest of the forward line.

As they say, one's apology must be louder than the disrespect. So Martha: I am so sorry for doubting you! I thought Spurs were making an underwhelming signing but she has proven me wrong at every turn. And on top of it all, she's performed with such a positive attitude that shows just how hungry and motivated she is to revitalize her career at Spurs. Marc Skinner owes her an apology, too.

Notable and quotable:

• Martha Thomas' hat trick was the first for a Spurs player in WSL play.

• She's currently second in the goals per 90 stat behind former Spur Rachel Williams, who has an astounding 2.93 goals/90.

• As Robert said post-game, "We score a lot of goals." Eleven in fact, the most in the entire WSL so far. We've already scored over a third of our goal total from the entire last season just four games into this campaign, or roughly 18% of the season.

PL Matchday 9 recap | Tottenham 2 - 0 Fulham

Son 36', Maddison 54'

This certainly wasn't the Men's team's best performance of the season, but they still got the job done and earned all three points. There was just a sense that the scoreline could have been much more lopsided in our favor if we'd been a little more efficient with finishing, or if we'd maintained the same level of attacking intent for all 90 minutes. There was a drop off in intensity with the second-half subs that Ange Postecoglou will surely want to address in training. If we can't rely on the bench players to deliver the same quality, it will be difficult to extend the strong start to the season if any injuries to the usual starting XI occur.

Starting XI:

There was just the one enforced change to the starting lineup due to Yves Bissouma's suspension, with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg replacing him in the midfield pivot.

Guglielmo Vicario had to come up big early in the game with a one-handed save on João Palhinha's header. But Spurs had the majority of the chances in the first half, including one from Richarlison that went just wide.

Son Heung-min put Spurs on the scoresheet in the 36th minute. He and James Maddison pressed Fulham's defensive line to force a poor pass out from Calvin Bassey, which Højbjerg intercepted and passed forward to Richarlison, who made a one-touch assist for Son's shot from the edge of the box.

Son contributed an assist of his own on the other side of halftime. Once again Bassey was too casual with his passing and he also kept Son and Maddison both onside. It was a pretty effortless finish from Madders to double Spurs' advantage.

Ange had to make some early changes because both Destiny Udogie and Pape Sarr were suffering some fatigue after international duty. Emerson Royal made a rare appearance at leftback, while Oliver Skipp replaced the midfielder. Later on in the second half, we saw a total overhaul of the forward line (minus Dejan Kulusevski), with Brennan Johnson, Alejo Véliz, and Giovani Lo Celso coming on for Richarlison, Son, and Maddison, respectively. I was also a little disappointed with Deki in this game; too often he made the "unselfish" decision to pass when he really should have shot. Hopefully he gets his confidence back soon. It's not ideal when one winger (Richarlison) is suffering from poor finishing and the other winger won't shoot at all.

The subs held onto the lead and clean sheet, but didn't exactly pull up any trees. Ange wasn't too thrilled with the second-half performance in his post-match interview and noted that there was lots to work on in training—not that there will have been much between this game and the Crystal Palace matchup with such a short turnaround.

Even if the end of the match was less convincing from Spurs, we are nevertheless at the top of the table, free and clear on 23 points versus Manchester City and Arsenal's joint 21 points.

SAtP Player of the Match: Micky van de Ven

I mean, the obvious answer is clearly Sonny, with a goal and an assist to his name. However, I thought Micky really stood out for his performance on both ends of the pitch. And it can't be said enough how remarkable it is that he's made the transition from the Bundesliga to the Premier League so smoothly.

He nearly pulled off an impressive volley shot, and it's good to see that his goal from the Luton game has empowered him to take more opportunities to attack.

Notable and quotable:

• Maddison's goal was his first at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, despite having eight goal involvements to date in nine games (three goals, five assists).

• Speaking of THS, Son scored his 50th goal in the new stadium across all competitions. I genuinely couldn't believe this stat because it feels like the first goal against Crystal Palace just happened!

• Ange set a record for the most points earned by a manager in their first nine PL games with 23 points (7 wins, 2 draws).

• This might be my favorite quote of the season so far:

• No wait, it's this one, from Vicario's recent interview with Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport:

This was what I wanted, and I didn’t want to listen to anything else. As soon as I knew there was an opportunity to come here, I would’ve signed in blood, I would’ve come on foot from Italy.

I also loved his comments on his relationship with his fellow Italian, Udogie:

I try to pamper him a bit, being older than him, we have a great relationship and I’m happy that he’s doing great.

This team is so wholesome, y'all.

• Another great quote from Ange regarding expectations after this early season success:

What drives me is trying to build something that will realise the ambitions that this club has at this particular moment. People’s perceptions don’t concern me too much. This is a big club and should be in a position to challenge for trophies every season in my opinion.

• And forgive me including such a large screenshot, but I thought this whole answer on Vicario was worth sharing:

Previewing PL Matchday 10 — Crystal Palace

I'm going to keep the preview super brief this week because kickoff is in, oh, an hour. Whoops!

Crystal Palace have not had a good start to the season, despite pulling off an away win against Manchester United recently. But this is a derby that has to be taken seriously, and the Eagles will surely be looking to bounce back after an embarrassing 4-0 loss at Newcastle.

Luckily for Spurs, our hosts will be without Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, as well as the always annoying Jeffrey Schlupp. Odsonne Edouard is their top scorer so far, which isn't saying much since they've only scored seven goals as a team.

It sounds like Sarr and Udogie should both be okay to start despite their early substitutions last game, and I would expect Bissouma to be straight back in the lineup—although PEH was integral to both goals against Fulham. I guess I could have waited to publish this right after the lineup was posted, but let's keep the mystery alive.

A win would give us a chance to go five points clear at the top before anyone else has played!

News from around the Lane

• Spurs Women's young goalkeeper, Eleanor Heeps, has joined Sheffield United on loan until January. Like Lenna Gunning-Williams, she will still train a few days a week with Spurs. Good luck, Eleanor!

• I'm sure you've all seen it by now, but I had to include this superb tribute to Tottenham's Black players, past and present, that the club shared in honor of Black History Month:

I particularly love the "sister in 7" moment for Jess Naz!

• Since I squeezed Alex Morgan into the newsletter last week under the "Spurs Women alumni" excuse, I now have to give (much-deserved) props to Juan Carlos Amorós for the work he's done managing NJ/NY Gotham FC. They won their quarter-final matchup with North Caroline Courage and take on Portland Thorns next in the semi-final. The win was made all the sweeter because it prolongs Ali Krieger's career—she's retiring after the playoffs. Please enjoy this post-game speech from our former Spurs Women co-manager:

• And one more Spurs alumni moment, why not?

COYS

Thank you for reading!

If you’re enjoying the newsletter, make sure to sign up for a free subscription to receive new issues in your inbox. You can also buy me a Ko-fi to support my work with a one-time tip. Your support keeps Spurs Across the Pond running and is much appreciated!

You can also find me on Twitter and podcasting at N17 Women and The Tottenham Depot.