Robert Vilahamn and his Tottenham Hotspur Women team will be watching on this weekend when the fifth round of the Adobe Women's FA Cup takes place. Losing in the competition 2-0 at Everton at the end of January, Spurs will have to wait another week to return to the pitch.
Arsenal are their next opponents, with the game taking place across north London at the Emirates Stadium. It will be the perfect fixture for Tottenham to bounce back to winning ways in after losing their last two matches. Their latest defeat came last Sunday as Manchester United secured a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
football.london takes a look back at the reaction from the loss against Marc Skinner's men and also looks ahead to what is to come for Vilahamn's side.
Manchester United loss
Elisabeth Terland's early goal proved decisive as Manchester United claimed all three points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend. The striker opened the scoring after only six minutes but Spurs just couldn't find a way to restore parity in what was left of the contest.
The defeat leaves Tottenham sixth in the Women's Super League after 13 games, trailing Brighton & Hove Albion in fifth by a single point.
“We had a tough start in the first half when they scored that goal and we didn’t really get ourselves into the game after that for a while, we defended better and better,” said head coach Vilahamn after the game.
“After half-time was much better and I think that’s actually when you can see we’re on a level, dare to play, press well and, although we don’t create enough chances, we created a few. It’s quite an even game in the second half, the players doing everything they can to get the draw, and we still lose, but I think we still showed we’re taking steps.”
Hunt picks out positives
It just wasn't to be for Tottenham on Sunday as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Manchester United. Despite the defeat, Clare Hunt opened up on the positives the team can take when speaking to SPURSPLAY after the game.
“We didn’t have many opportunities moving forward, but we had some really good moments in the transitions, I think that’s a positive,” said the Australia international.
“I think defensively, we defended for our lives to be honest and we showed how capable we are defensively, hopefully in the games moving forward, we don’t give them that chance in the opening minutes. I’m pretty happy with the team’s performance despite the result, take a lot of learnings from this and move forward."
She added: “It’s amazing to have the fans here, it’s a beautiful environment and allows us to play to our best, so we’re grateful to play here and hopefully we can continue to have more games here, but it’s amazing to have the supporters with us."
Kop loving life
New goalkeeper Lize Kop is loving life in north London following her move from Leicester City last month. The shot-stopper has already made an impression on the pitch and has duly felt the love from supporters.
“I have settled in really well so far, the girls are really nice, and they have been very helpful,” said Kop in the official matchday programme for the Manchester United game. “It made it so much easier because it’s not always easy to switch between teams, especially midway through a season, but I think the club has been really helpful to help me settle here.
“It’s very important to get to know the players, we tried to talk a lot, especially in my first three days before the Leicester game, and now with the busy schedule, it has just been as important to get as familiar with each other, see what we expect from each other and see what the team expects from me.
“It has also been a warm welcome from the supporters, they’re very important during a game, you hear them all the time and, as a player, it’s so nice to hear them cheering you on, it’s great.”
North London Derby countdown
It doesn't get any easier for Tottenham with the North London Derby against Arsenal next on the agenda. The team do have plenty of time to prepare for the game at the Emirates Stadium, which takes place at 12:30pm on Sunday, February 16.
At a time when Tottenham sit sixth in the standings, Arsenal, who face London City in the FA Cup this weekend, are 10 points ahead of them in third place after 13 games. Vilahamn's side are going to have to produce something very special to come away from the Emirates with maximum points but the extra time on the training pitch could possibly work in their favour.
He said: “It’s going to be nice to actually train as there has been so many games in the last few weeks, we haven’t been able to train in details, only video feedback, so it will be nice to train attacking football and, obviously, a game plan for Arsenal, which will be a tough game, but hopefully we can go there to compete.”
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