The floodlights were on at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It’s unclear as to why because kick off was at 11:55 on one of the sunnier days of the year so far.
Suppose it can always be brighter.
But after a 2-1 defeat at home to Everton, Tottenham’s European dreams are quickly dimming out of view. And with Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United as their next three fixtures, Martin Ho’s side face an uphill battle if they are to sneak into the top three by the end of the season.
With the Women’s Asia Cup not over until 22nd March, both managers were forced into changes, but it was Scott Phelan who faced the worst of it.
The absence of regulars Clare Wheeler, Honoka Hayashi and Hikaru Itigawa meant Aurora Galli and January signing from Roma Zara Kramzar were awarded their first WSL starts of the season.
For the home side, Lenna Gunning-Williams made her first start since arriving in North London in the summer of 2024.
Alas, she and so many of her teammates made little impact.
It feels like the match only started with 15 minutes to go.
The majority of the match was fairly tame in truth. But that wasn’t much of a surprise.
The Toffees’ trademark sturdy defence made it a turgid watch to say the least.
Though Toni Payne bursting through inside a minute provided false hope that this would be more entertaining than most of Everton’s matches. Not to be, however, as Lize Kop was on hand to smother the danger.
The visitors did take the lead 11 minutes later. On a rare foray forward, Kramzar caught Spurs cold down the left. Spinning in behind, her pass found Momiki on the edge of the box who fired past Kop into the bottom right corner.
Spurs looked somewhat threatening throughout the rest of the half but to minimal effect.
Norwegian starlet Signe Gaupset spearheaded most of what the home side did well. Her surging runs through midfield would often be the catalyst for attacks, but they rarely resulted in tangible chances.
Everton’s two banks of four deterred every Spurs attack with relative ease. But their life was made even easier by the mountain of corners which failed to make it onto the pitch: five out of seven by all counts.
Courtney Brosnan was often left idle in her six-yard box.
The second half started largely the same. The only difference was that the visitors offered even less going forward. At times Kramzar was the only player outside of the Everton box, but her physical dominance against her opposite number gave her side relief from the ominous pressure.
Scott Phelan said: “She’s definitely a player of huge potential and one that I’m excited to be working with. In the moments where we needed her to be strong and reliable in possession, she did that. It makes a massive difference to the team.”
Despite not being at their best, Spurs got a lifeline with 15 minutes to play. And, of course, it was Gaupset.
Out of nothing, a jink onto her right gave her the yard of space she needed to slot the ball past Brosnan to nestle the bottom left corner.
The stifled joy didn’t last, however, as second-half substitutes Inma Gabarro and Kelly Gago combined seven minutes later for the latter to tap into an empty net.
Where the Spurs defenders were exactly is as much of a mystery as to why the floodlights were on. Molly Bartrip and Josefine Rybrink were nowhere to be seen as Gabarro squared the ball past Kop for Gago to slam home.
Kop spared her side further blushes, pushing Melissa Lawley’s strike onto the post but it was a mere consolation.
Spurs remain in fifth but are four points behind Chelsea, who now have a game in hand, having beaten Manchester United in the League Cup final earlier today.
What only a month ago was shaping up to be a dream after narrowly surviving relegation only last year. But the season seems to have petered out.
Martin Ho said: “[I’m] frustrated, not with the scoreline, but with the performance. Defensively we were nowhere, especially in the first half.
“The performance wasn’t good enough and if we don’t address that moving forward into the next three games, we’re going to be in for a long one.”
Paul Edwards
Paul, often known as Eddie, is the Editor-in-Chief for the Sports Gazette, as well as a keen football enthusiast. As a sports freak, he can often be found ranting about how his lookalike, Lewis Hall, should be in the England squad or how Rehan Ahmed is criminally overrated. Paul publishes his projects on Substack (@pauledwards123) as well as writing for Hampton and Richmond Borough FC. His passion for sport is palpable, and he is excited for the opportunity to write about the ups and downs of high-level sport. Contact him via [email protected].
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