Spurs Women fell behind inside two minutes against Brighton on Sunday, then turned the game round with two goals in 83 seconds early in the second half to win 2-1 and climb back to fourth in the Women’s Super League.
Signe Gaupset equalised on 51 minutes and Olivia Holdt scored the winner two minutes later at Brisbane Road, cancelling out Fran Kirby’s early opener for the visitors. It was a second straight league win for Tottenham Hotspur Women, after three defeats in a row before the trip to St Andrew’s.
Martin Ho named the same starting XI that won 4-1 at Birmingham City last weekend, and captain Drew Spence marked her 100th appearance for the club with the assist for the winning goal. Brighton drop to seventh.
How did Brighton go ahead so early?
The visitors needed barely two minutes. Olaug Tvedten crossed from the left and Kirby, unmarked in the middle of the box, stroked a right-footed finish into the bottom corner past Lize Kop.
Spurs had more of the ball for the rest of the half but rarely looked like themselves. They pushed Brighton back without finding a way through, and the half dragged on because of stoppages, with Maisie Symonds and Sophie Peskett both needing treatment before the break. It finished 0-1 after six added minutes.
Two goals in 83 seconds
Ho sent on Kirsty Hanson for Matilda Vinberg at half-time, and Spurs came out far more direct. Six minutes into the second half Holdt slipped a through ball into the left side of the area, and Gaupset finished low with her left foot into the bottom corner.
Before Brighton had reset, it was 2-1. Spence found herself in a shooting position in the box but chose one more pass, and Holdt calmly placed a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner from the centre of the area.
From there Spurs were rarely troubled. Holdt forced a good save from Chiamaka Nnadozie at her near post, and the margin could easily have been bigger.
Tottenham Women 2-1 Brighton in numbers
| Stat | Spurs | Brighton |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 53.8% | 46.2% |
| Shots | 10 | 3 |
| Shots on target | 6 | 1 |
| Goalkeeper saves | 0 | 5 |
| Corners | 6 | 2 |
Brighton’s goal was their only shot on target all afternoon, which tells you how little Kop had to do once Spurs settled.
Martin Ho takes the blame for the slow start
The head coach did not hide from the opening ten minutes. Speaking to SPURSPLAY after the game, Ho said: “In the first 10 minutes we started slowly, that’s my responsibility because we changed things from a defensive perspective on how to press the ball and they definitely changed structure in terms of how they usually build up, and we took time to adjust that, but we adjusted it and then I thought for 70 or 80 minutes we were the better team.”
He felt the change after the break was about attitude as much as tactics: “I thought we were a lot braver in the second half, we were more physical, we imposed ourselves and when we do that, we can be a match for anyone.”
Spence’s smart pass, Holdt’s calm finish
Ho singled out the moment that won it. He said: “In that moment when the ball drops, especially for Olivia’s goal, Drew could have (shot) herself but she didn’t, and that’s probably her experience and smartness to move it on again with one more pass, then Olivia finishes brilliantly in front of goal, nice and calmly.”
He also wanted credit for the players who did not score, naming Cathinka Tandberg, Vinberg, Holdt and Julie Blakstad for their work rate at the top of the pitch: “Some of that selfless work from some of them goes unnoticed because they don’t get on the scoresheet, but it’s something we don’t miss as staff.”
Who stood out for Spurs Women?
Holdt was the difference. She made the first and scored the second, and she and Gaupset have now both scored in three consecutive games. That partnership is quickly becoming the most dangerous thing about this side.
Spence’s milestone deserves a mention too. A week after becoming the WSL’s all-time appearance leader at Birmingham, she reached 100 games in a Spurs shirt and still had the composure to pick the right pass in a crowded box.
At the back, Toko Koga, shortlisted for the FSA’s women’s player of the year award last week, was part of a defence that allowed Brighton one shot on target. Eveliina Summanen missed the game with a knock, while Jess Naz returned to the bench after being rested at Birmingham and came on in stoppage time.
Verdict: fourth place, and a habit worth keeping
Two wins in a row after three straight defeats is exactly the response Ho needed, and this one was the first of a run of four home games. The slow start is a worry, and Ho knows it, but the way Spurs reacted after the break was the best thing about the afternoon.
Holdt and Gaupset are in form, Spence is still running the midfield at 100 games, and Spurs Women sit fourth. If they can start the next one the way they finished this one, there is no reason they cannot stay there.
