Man City beat Spurs 2-1 in an exciting WSL clash
- Gaby Harman-Craddock
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
Manchester City 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
A bright, sunny kick off in East London saw a very swift free kick awarded to Manchester City. The blues made a few mistakes in possession that gave Spurs some good early opportunities that they just weren’t able to make the most out of. Spurs made 4 shots in the first 8 minutes of the match with one on target that safely met the hands of Yamashita.
10 minutes in and City saw their first shot at the hosts net and a goal from Miedema giving the visitors an early 1-0 advantage. Following this, City managed to maintain possession within their attacking half. A further shot was made by star striker Shaw, but it was a way off the target.
The home fans were immensely vocal once the Spurs managed to take possession back, but Casparij and Layzell were on the ball to make sure the excitement was short lived. Tottenham’s defence, on the other hand, continued to leave nerve-wracking gaps around Shaw and Miedema within the box.
Holdt left the bench to replace Thomas just before the 30th minute. Thomas had required medical attention and couple of times in the first half and eventually left the pitch after appearing to be struggling with pain in her leg.
The fans erupted in the 31st minute as Spurs skipper England fired a rocket of a ball straight past Yamashita and into the top left corner of the goal.
Spurs tightened up towards the end of the first half, but City remained in control of the game with Miedema and Blindkilde Brown working hard to win tackles and press forward.
Even when play moved into the visitors’ half, City remained in control of play. Vinberg fumbled a great possible opportunity with the ball on the right-hand side of the box. The attempt led to a corner that England then shot off target.
The extra time drama continued as Spence was shown a yellow card following a studs up tackle.
Moments into the second half, a clash between GK Yamashita and England saw both requiring attention from medics. After almost 4 minutes of stoppage in play, both women were back up and the game resumed.
City remained pretty dominant on the pitch but mistakes from both teams saw swift changes in possession. Spurs played an excellent ball to Vinberg, but the finishing shot was off target.
An hour gone on the clock and Spurs were making a series of strong attacks. However, City’s back line continued to keep their goal safe.
Not long afterwards, Hasegawa took a shot from just outside the box. A good shot on target that was well saved by Kop. There was drama from the corner as, in an attempt to defend, Neville seemingly touched the ball over her own goal line. Despite cries from the away stand, the 1-1 scoreline remained.
Summanen came off the Spurs bench to replace Rybrink before Taylor made a dramatic 3-player change to his attack. In the 68th minute, Park, Fowler and Roord all left the bench together to replace Nicoli, Shaw and new senior Lioness Blindkilde Brown.
It was Miedema who continued to dictate City’s attack though, as she led an opportunistic push forward that Spurs had to deal with. The addition of Park certainly added some new dynamics to City’s play. Her notable creativity and pace, which saw her first England goal at Wembley on Wednesday, was instantly threatening to Spurs’ defenders.
The 77th minute saw City push into the lead again with a goal from Fujino, assisted by a clean pass from Hasegawa. Four minutes later and there was trouble for Spurs in their box again.
So many gaps in such a short period of time, but City failed to use these chances to their advantage. Spurs’ defenders really had to work hard as time began to run out.
Spurs coach Vilahamn made an 84th minute personnel change. He also swapped out three players across the field, bringing on Naz, Ayane and Oroz in place of Spence, Grant and Vinberg.
Five minutes of added time began, and Spurs continued to play with hope. England forward Naz saw a good goal opportunity, but City managed to knock the ball out of play.
In the closing seconds of the game, Bühler led a truly promising attack, along with Naz, that had fans on the edge of their seat. Unfortunately for the home fans, Yamashita saved the goal just in time for the final whistle. Man City took the 3 points home with them from their trip to the capital.
Teams:
Tottenham Hotspur: Kop (GK), Grant, Morris Bartrip, England (C), Vinberg, Thomas, Bühler Spence, Summanen, Neville
Goal scorers: England 29’
Subs used: Holdt 29’, Summanen 56’, Naz 84, Ayane 84’, Oroz 84’
Manchester City: Yamashita (GK), Layzell, Aleixandri (C), Miedema, Nicoli, Ouahabi, Casparij, Blindkilde Brown, Fujino, Shaw, Hasegawa
Goal scorers: Miedema 10’, Fujino 77’
Subs used: Fowler 68, Park 68’, Roord 68’
Comments