Tottenham Women 1-0 Liverpool: Furness penalty the difference as Spurs get first WSL win

Tottenham Hotspur Women made their home debut at The Hive in Barnet against Liverpool Women hoping to not only get their first WSL points of the season, but also their first WSL goal. And they got both! Rachel Furness scored from the spot after being taken out in the box in the first half. Liverpool later had a player sent off for hauling down Rosella Ayane and Spurs earned their first WSL points with a 1-0 home win.

Tottenham rotated in a few new players for their first Spurs starts after last weekend’s loss at Chelsea. Ayane, Chloe Peplow, and Welsh international Anna Filbey all got the start, while club captain Jenna Schillaci started on the bench. Last year’s leading scorer Rianna Dean also stared on the bench after missing the Chelsea match due to injury.

First Half

KICK-OFF at The Hive as Spurs begin their first home game in the English top flight!

11’ — Opening action has been mostly in Liverpool’s favor. They’re coming out in the high press and forcing Spurs to play on the counter.

17’ — Spurs getting back into the match after the opening quarter hour was all Liverpool.

20’ — CLOSE from Rachel Furness! After a turnover near midfield, Kit Graham finds Furness with a diagonal ball into the box, but the Liverpool keeper rushes out to smother. Nearly...

27’ — Spurs piling the pressure on Liverpool’s back line through Ayane, Furness, and Graham, but they’ve managed to get bodies on most of Spurs’ shots. Ayane with a curling effort that goes wide.

38’ — Long shot from Liverpool’s Clarke but it’s straight at Becky Spencer, who collects easily.

43’ — Another long blast from Rachel Furness, but the Liverpool keeper Preuss makes a fine stop and parries it away.

46’ — PENALTY TO SPURS! Rachel furness gets taken out off the ball in the box and the ref points right to the spot.

46’ — GOAL TOTTENHAM! Furness takes the penalty kick and goes low and to the left to score. A deserved goal, as Spurs have played really well in the first half.

HALFTIME: Furness’ penalty is the difference between the sides, but Spurs roared back in that first half after being put under a considerable amount of pressure early on.

Second Half

KICK-OFF — Liverpool appear to have racheted up the intensity as the second half gets underway, but Spurs still keeping much of the ball.

52’ — Another long shot from Spurs, this time from Ayane who fires from 25’ yards out, but it’s an easy save from Preuss.

60’ — Another good chance for Spurs! Gemma Davison forces Preuss into an outstanding save and leads to a Spurs corner. Chloe Peplow has a crack in the ensuing play but it’s off target.

61’ — First sub for Spurs — Siri Worm makes way for Josie Green.

65’ — RED CARD FOR LIVERPOOL. Niamh Fahey hauls down Rosella Ayane who was through on goal. The clearest DOGSO card you’ll ever see, and the Reds are down to 10. Furness’ free kick is well over the bar.

74’ — Second sub for Spurs — Kit Graham comes off, Lucy Quinn comes on.

79’ — Final sub for Liverpool — Jess Park off, Ashley Hudson on.

81’ — Another shot from Davison! Spurs had the numbers on a breakaway counter and Davison had a clear crack on goal but Preuss was there to make the save.

87’ — Spurs make their final sub — Ayane makes way for last season’s leading scorer Rianna Dean who immediately makes her presence known in the box, nearly getting a shot away. Dean is also later called for offside after going through on goal.

FULL TIME — A massive three points for Spurs as they earn their first ever win in England’s top flight! A deserved one, too though it was probably narrower than they were hoping for.

Reactions

• Liverpool started with some Kloppian high press and dominated the opening quarter hour but Spurs were able to find their feet and looked pretty good afterwards.
• The penalty goal was about as clear a DOGSO as you’ll ever see in football. It was a professional foul. It’s an argument that a red card isn’t a strong enough punishment for those situations as Ayane would’ve had a great chance to score.
• Spurs still haven’t scored from open play which is a bit concerning. The attackers don’t seem on the same wavelength which is understandable since about half the team is new, but they’ll need to be more incisive with their passing if they want to really kick on.
• Another fine game from Ashleigh Neville, who romped up the right flank with abandon. She’s very Danny Rose-ish in that a lot of the offense goes through her and she still can race back to get stuck in.
• Rachel Furness is going to be a key player for this Spurs side, which I didn’t expect. The loanee from Reading was a part of almost every good thing Spurs did going forward.
• Becky Spencer was never really tested in Spurs’ goal much, but she was up to whatever Liverpool threw at her.
• It was nice to see Rianna Dean get her WSL debut after she was out injured last week. She immediately provided an offensive spark in the last few minutes of the match.
• Spurs’ next match is against Reading on Sept. 22 in the FA Cup, followed by vs. West Ham at the London Stadium in the WSL on Sept. 29.