Another North London Derby, another defeat for Spurs Women. We’ve only taken four points off the lot from the other side of the Seven Sisters Road in WSL history. However, Sunday was a particularly insipid performance.
Tottenham boss Robert Vilahamn thought he side started well. I’m not entirely convinced. Either way, by the time Claire Hunt scored an own goal in the 15th minute things were only going to go one way. The incident seemed to totally deflate Spurs and they fell to a crushing 5-0 defeat. It was so one-sided even the Gooner fans didn’t seem that excited by it.
I’m sure he’d disagree, but it felt like Vilahamn was almost accepting of Spurs’s inability to compete in these types of games. He regularly references the “journey” his team are on, the gap between them and the top four sides. Eventually you have to turn action into words.
“If I want to make sure we can take the development then I need to be brave enough to play it and find ways to do it,” Vilahamn said at one point in his post-match press conference. That just isn’t happening. It was the most despondent I’ve seen him look after a game.
Moving Forward After the Women’s North London Derby
So where do the team go next? After the international break they have the small matter of Man City to deal with. It’s almost certain that another defeat is on the cards. The rest of March is taken up with a visit from Brighton then away trips to West Ham and Leicester. They really need to be aiming for nine points from that to show any signs of progress.
There are plenty of talented players in the Spurs team. Bethany England, Jess Naz, Haley Raso and Maite Oroz, to name just a few. However, as a unit Tottenham were bullied on Sunday and none of that skill or creativity could be shown. Daphne van Domselaar in the Arsenal goal has had more difficult training sessions.
As I say, the talent is there to do it. But they need to stop accepting at losing a minimum of between six and eight matches a season against the top sides. It’s all a bit… Spursy.
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