Robert Vilahamn has suggested Tottenham Hotspur became “passive” against West Ham after they lost 2-1 and crashed out of the Women’s League Cup.
Tottenham had the perfect start at Brisbane Road as Martha Thomas gave them the lead with a looping header ten minutes in.
However, West Ham soon fought back. Seraina Piubel equalised for the visitors after latching onto Emma Harries’ inch-perfect cross 36 minutes in, whilst five minutes later, they took the lead. Kirsty Smith’s free-kick evaded everyone from over 45 yards out.
Vilahamn admitted post-match that they did “not have a good performance”, even if they had a “few good chances”. He highlighted how they became passive after taking the lead.
“I think against Leicester we made silly mistakes. Today we became passive. We kept the ball but played it backwards,” he stated. “We let them press us. We didn’t make too many mistakes, but we were not brave enough to play forward. We’re still trying to get this group going [after the winter break].”
The former Hacken manager made four changes in an attempt to turn things around at half-time. Anna Csiki, Olga Ahtinen, Lenna Gunning-Williams and Charlotte Grant replaced Drew Spence, Maite Oroz, Jessica Naz and Amanda Nilden respectively.
Vilahamn admitted that he wanted to “use the squad” against the Hammers, and that the four changes for the second period were due to fitness and energy.
“It was a mixture of rotating the team but also bringing energy. The last 20 minutes of the first half were quite passive, so I wanted to bring in energy. We wanted to give them minutes so they could show where they are,” he told the site.
“We’ve gone from five weeks with no matches to four in two. I need to use the squad and make sure everyone is playing. It was a good opportunity to give them a chance. They did well; we created some chances, but the momentum was not there.”
Spurs missed Eveliina Summanen
This was an opportunity missed for Spurs. Their pre-season target of Champions League qualification was hopeful then; it is now all but over. This and the FA Cup gave Spurs their only chance of glory, and now one journey is over.
While Spurs created plenty of chances, they were far from secure at the other end of the field. They collapsed in the space of five minutes to throw away victory, and there was a notable Eveliina Summanen-shaped hole in the middle of the park.
Vilahamn confirmed to VAVEL on Sunday that she will miss five to six weeks with a hamstring injury, and he stated post-match today that, although she is a big miss, he is still confident others can step up to the task.
“Obviously, she is a strong big central midfielder. Some of these games are very physical. Our other midfielders are smaller and more technical, but they give us other stuff. If we can get better relationships, we can dictate the game better,” he answered.
“Of course, she’s a really good player so we miss her. We are going to make sure these players get the minutes to develop. They are all really good footballers [to replace Summanen].”
Spurs had problems out wide as well. Naz and Hayley Raso started on the wings for the hosts and they consistently found space but struggled to do anything with it. It was a similar story with substitute Gunning-Williams in the second half, and Vilahamn believes their struggles is due to a mixture of “self-confidence” and “how we play”.
“If you look at Hayley, she often ends up in one one-on-ones. She didn’t have a bad game; she had a few really good chances; it’s more like it’s a combination of self-confidence and rhythm. She’s still a threat,” he said.
“Jessica is a different player. When she’s on, she’s really on. When she’s not, then she’s not really that good one on one. Lenna is going for it, she’s younger but she needs the minutes to develop.
“It’s a mixture of self-confidence and how we play to make sure we put them in better situations. I’m not worried but we need to make sure we find even more chances for them.”