Tottenham Hotspur Women hosted their arch-rivals Arsenal in the first Women’s North London Derby of the season on Sunday. The two teams came into the match level on points with 15 each, with Arsenal holding
fourth in the table by goal differential. In a hard-fought game that had moments of end-to-end attacking but ultimately settled into a defensive battle, neither team could find the back of the net and the game ended in an even, and ultimately fair, scoreless draw.
Tottenham head coach Martin Ho started an identical lineup to the one that lost 4-2 away at London City last weekend, a decision that raised a few eyebrows but that was vindicated in the first half. Spurs club captain Beth England once again started on the bench, with Tinka Tandberg starting in a front three along with Jessica Naz and Matilda Vinberg. Drew Spence, Eveliina Summanen, and Olivia Holdt played in the midfield behind, with a back four of Toko Koga, Clare Hunt, Amanda Nilden, and Ashleigh Neville, with Lize Kop between the sticks.
The match was a fairly even affair, and entertaining with both teams looking to push forward and create opportunities. Spurs looked dangerous early, but allowed Arsenal to settle, with the visitors holding much of the possession advantage in the first half. That said, while Arsenal had much of the ball, Spurs’ defense frequently frustrated the visitors; Arsenal held the shot advantage with 13 to Spurs four, but only four shots on target, and few of them troubling Kop.
Tottenham struggled to create attacks of their own, however they did look threatening on the counterattack at times. That industry rarely led to a shot, but Spurs did not look like a team that was trying to bunker. In the last ten minutes, Tottenham seemed content to try and see out the scoreless draw, hoofing the ball defensively into space as their defenders tired.
Spurs did their best to nick a winner late by bringing England in for Tandberg at 60’, and Ho brought Olga Ahtinen for Summanen and Martha Thomas for Vinberg at 75’. Lena Gunning-Williams also made a late cameo just before extra time, coming in for Holdt.
The match felt like one of those games where both teams were waiting for the other team to screw up. Ultimately, neither team did, at least in any way that really mattered. The final score was a 0-0 draw, and Tottenham will come away feeling happier about the result, but feeling like they could’ve done more to take all three.
Here are my match reactions from a highly entertaining scoreless draw in the Women’s North London Derby.
Match reactions
- Arsenal fans may point at the xG in this match (TOT 0.16 – 1.38 ARS) and argue that they were dominant, but that doesn’t really tell the story in this one. Spurs had spells of good possession that did not result in a shot (Arsenal are an outstanding defensive team) and rarely gave up big chances, even if they gave up a bunch of shots. This match was a lot closer than the xG would indicate.
- Spurs came out swinging from the opening kick, pressing high and playing with an intent to really take the match to Arsenal. They were let down a little with the quality of their passing which neutered several attacks that could have been promising, but they showed no fear in possession and were always looking to get the ball forward.
- The difference in mentality between this season’s team and the one that slumped to near relegation last season is readily apparent. Spurs played with a great amount of confidence, especially in possession. It’s not easy to play with composure from the back while dealing with a high press, but Spurs rarely gave the ball away near their own goal.
- Spurs’ offensive game plan seemed to be to progress the ball in the wide channels through Nilden and Neville, try and find Naz and Vinberg on the flanks, and to look for Tandberg in the middle via a cross. Most of their best chances came on the break rather than via settled possession. Spurs fizzed a couple of dangerous balls into the box in the first half that weren’t capitalized on.
- I was quite impressed down the stretch with the movement and passing of Spurs’ midfielders. Lots of showing for the ball, looking for outlets, finding teammates with short passes, looking to push forward. It didn’t always work, but when it did it was very pretty and fun to watch.
- Arsenal are a very good team and that was evident near the end of the first half when they’d settled into the match. They had much of the possession and were patient; some of their best chances were shot wide or blocked, and credit to Lize Kop for saving the shots that came straight at her.
- Olivia Holdt is very strong in possession and was always trying to drive forward with the ball at her feet. She earned a couple of good fouls, including a yellow card on Katie McCabe, with her dribbling.
- Drew Spence and Toko Koga had outstanding matches in this one. Spence anchored the midfield and broke up a ton of Arsenal attacks, putting in a boat load of work. Koga has a composure that belies her years — an outstanding defender who is only going to get better with time.
- When Spurs defeated Arsenal in 2023, it felt like a huge upset (and it was). This felt like two evenly matched teams playing a competitive derby. It’s not a win, but Spurs should take an extraordinary amount of confidence from the result. The gap between these rivals continues to narrow.
- Spurs’ next match is away at WSL2 side Bristol City in the League Cup on November 23; their next league match is home to Aston Villa on December 7.
