Tottenham Hotspur, fresh off a FA Cup draw against Crystal Palace midweek, had a wonderful opportunity to notch another league win against Everton at home at Brisbane Road. But despite outshooting the Toffees and winning the xG battle 1.66-0.46, Tottenham were wasteful in front of goal and couldn’t find the back of the net in an exasperating 0-0 draw. The result drops Spurs behind Manchester United and into fifth in the WSL standings.
Martin Ho was visibly frustrated about Spurs’ Subway Cup draw and
penalty shootout loss to Crystal Palace mid-week against a club they clobbered in league play early in the season. That may have prompted a tweak to the starting lineup vs. Everton — Kirsty Hanson came in to play on the left wing, with Olivia Holdt on the opposite flank. Signe Gaupset and Drew Spence anchored the center of midfield for Spurs. Cathinka Tandberg again started up top.
The opening quarter hour saw Spurs steadily dominate possession, holding onto the ball and looking for good opportunities in Everton’s box. Toko Koga and Signe Gaupset both had shots that missed the target, but were good looks. Spurs pressed high and forced numerous Everton turnovers in their half of the pitch. But it was Everton who came closest to opening the scoring, with Momiki testing Eliza Kop, forcing her to go low for a save in the 17th minute. Momiki had another shot saved by Kop midway through the first half. Spurs went close late thanks to a shot from Holdt that blazed just over the bar, but it was a lot of effort with little end product, as the first half ended scoreless.
Spurs started the second half by ramping up the offensive intensity, and went close to scoring a number of times. Blakstad, Tandberg and Holdt all had chances either saved, deflected, or put just off target for Tottenham, while Everton nearly stole a goal on a counter through Ornella Vignola. Spurs always looked like the more likely team to score, but for whatever reason couldn’t put the ball past Courtney Brosnan.
Spurs tried to shake things up with Shekeira Martinez, Matilda Vinberg, and Jess Naz coming on as late subs but despite a few late half chances weren’t able to come up with a winner. The match ended a disappointing and frustrating scoreless draw in a match Tottenham really should’ve won.
Match Reactions
- A recent pattern for Spurs involves them having a lot of possession but not turning that into meaningful chances. That happened again in the first half — Spurs got plenty of space out on the flanks but weren’t able to turn that possession into shots on target.
- Everton, by contrast, looked dangerous on the counter, with Momiki especially trying to test Lize Kop with shots from the top of the box, which has been something of an Achilles heel for Tottenham.
- Spurs Men and Spurs Women have a similar problem in that they have strikers that aren’t putting the ball away. Tandberg is a good player but she’s really struggling to get shots away, and Martinez hasn’t shown the form she showed at West Ham. Feels like Tinka just needs a shot to go in off her ass to get her some confidence in the box.
- Blakstad and Hanson did a great job on the flanks — Hanson in particular put in some lovely crosses from wide positions, and Blakstad was frequently getting forward (and back) in transition.
- No complaints about Tottenham’s defense again. Koga and Nilden again were solid at the back, with Koga in particular having a very nice match, both defensively and as a fulcrum for progressing the ball.
- Credit to Everton’s defense, which was well structured and did just enough to frustrate Spurs in and around the Toffee’s box.
- Olivia Holdt was brilliant on the ball, frequently dribbling defenders in Everton’s box trying to find open teammates, and she flashed a shot off the crossbar as well. Just one of those days.
- Naz is continuing to look sharp as an impact substitute, and she’s a great player to bring on against tired legs. Great to see her back out there after her long knee injury.
- This was a match Tottenham could have, and should have, won — which would’ve kept the pressure on London City and Manchester City. Instead, Spurs slip behind Manchester United, who beat Crystal Palace today, and slip to fifth in the table.
