Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 West Ham United women's team
Barclays Women's Super League, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Saturday 18 May 2024, 3pm BST
West Ham United women’s team concluded their Barclays Women’s Super League campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur in north London.
A fast start saw the hosts take the lead after four minutes when Mackenzie Arnold spilled a cross from former Hammer Martha Thomas and Bethany England capitalised with a close-range finish.
Rehanne Skinner’s side could have easily been overawed by the barrage of Tottenham pressure they were under, but instead of buckling, the visitors responded, showing quality of their own.
Viviane Asseyi raced forward and played the ball out wide to Kirsty Smith, who cut the ball back for the unmarked Riko Ueki, though Ashleigh Neville sprinted back to make a crucial interception.
Charlotte Grant then crashed a header into the side-netting from a corner for Spurs at the other end, before Thomas almost doubled the hosts’ advantage just shy of the half-hour mark after latching onto Neville’s long ball over the top, only to be denied by a smart stop from Arnold.
And our Women’s Hammer of the Year for 2023/24 was called upon once more minutes later, to tip a low, driven effort from Thomas around the post.
West Ham’s best chance of the first 45 minutes arrived three minutes before the break, as Anouk Denton’s whipped cross from the right was guided towards goal by Asseyi, but Becky Spencer was able to push the goalbound effort off target.
The Irons looked a different proposition after the break, however, and their improvement was rewarded with the equaliser after 50 minutes in stunning fashion.
Honoka Hayashi, who went close to levelling just moments earlier, slipped Ueki down the wing and her right-footed shot across goal from an almost impossible angle arrowed into the far corner.
England then spurned a gilt-edged chance to restore Spurs’ lead almost immediately when she fired high and wide, while Amy James-Turner hit the crossbar from a free-kick.
Tottenham continued to ramp up the pressure and went close after 64 minutes, with the crossbar once again coming to the Hammers’ rescue.
It soon became end-to-end as both sides chased victory and, in such an environment, the Hammers’ quick players thrived.
A quick-fire counter-attack saw Asseyi race towards goal, only to be thwarted by Spencer, while up the other end, England found substitute Olga Ahtinen with a clever ball in behind, but her first-time strike was saved by Arnold.
The points looked destined to be shared until Tottenham regained their lead on 85 minutes through Jessica Naz, who collected a well-weighted ball on the right, evaded multiple challenges in the area and picked out the bottom left corner.
Skinner’s side rallied and pushed for a late leveller, with Amber Tysiak and Risa Shimizu going close, but the hosts sealed victory with a well-taken strike from Drew Spence in the dying embers, as the Hammers ended their Women’s Super League season with a hard-fought defeat to their London rivals at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham Hotspur: Spencer, Grant, James-Turner, Buhler (Bartrip 67), Neville, Clinton, Summanen (Spence 57), Petzelberger (Naz 57), Bizet (Vinberg 74), Thomas (Ahtinen 58), England ©
Subs not used: Votikova, Graham, Ayane, Wang
Goals: England 4, Naz 86, Spence 90+9
Booked: Grant
West Ham United: Arnold ©, Smith, Cissoko (Cooke 90+5), Tysiak, Denton, Shimizu, Hayashi (Bergman-Lundin 90+6), Ziu (Ademiluyi 90+2), Asseyi, Harries (Snerle 61), Ueki
Subs not used: Walsh, O’Hanlon, Brynjarsdóttir
Goal: Ueki 50
Booked: Smith
Referee: Phoebe Cross
