16 November 14, 2021The Sunday Times
Football
their dreams of reaching the semi-
final, winning 5-1. Yesterday, though,
they managed to hold their lead
and dominated the contest before
Miedema’s 92nd-minute rescue act.
The opening goal came in the 65th
minute from one of Spurs’ hardest-
working players, Rachel Williams,
who took a pass from Kyah Simon
and unleashed a shot. The ball
rebounded off a defender but
Williams chased the ball down and
bundled it into the goal.
Five minutes later they had a
chance to make it two, as Neville
found herself all alone only yards
from the goalline, only to fire overTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Williams 65 1ARSENAL
Miedema 90+1 1A
rsenal failed to pick up
three points for the first
time this season and had to
rely on a late header by
Vivianne Miedema to
secure a draw in a frantic,
nail-biting derby against
Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs have never come closer to
beating their decorated rivals as they
set a record home crowd of 2,
at the Hive Stadium on Women’s
Football Weekend.
The annual showcase, designed to
spotlight the women’s game, could
not have had a better opening clash.
This tightly matched derby would
have been unimaginable only a
couple of years ago and represented a
clear sign of the progress being made
by teams such as Spurs, who are not
part of the traditional top group.
“That’s what we were trying
to do,” Rehanne Skinner, the
Tottenham head coach, said. “To
bridge that gap.”Skinner had said before the match
that she believed her team were the
“hardest working” in the league. Her
defence certainly aimed to back that
claim up, frustrating Arsenal and
pushing them to added time before
they were able to secure an equaliser.
Ashleigh Neville was particularly
tenacious at the back for Spurs,
grafting to foil some of the league’s
most talented strikers in Beth Mead
and Miedema. Alongside Neville,
the Spurs defenders swarmed to
block Miedema as the Dutchwoman
squirmed and twisted.
By half-time Arsenal had hit
the woodwork twice, but it was
Tottenham’s industrious defence that
kept the scoreline to 0-0. They had
faced one of the season’s most
challenging tests and passed with
flying colours. When the whistle blew
for the start of the second half, Spurs
set out to test their forwards too.
Skinner had reflected before the
match that her players were “a little
bit too negative in possession” in
their previous meeting with their
neighbours. This time there would be
no such mistake as the home side
pushed back Arsenal’s defence.
Two months ago, in that FA Cup
quarter-final, Spurs had made the
first mark before Arsenal crushedthe crossbar. There should be no
regrets for Neville, though, whose
work rate throughout the match was
impeccable and whose resilience
in defence set a high standard for
her team-mates.
Even she could not stop Arsenal’s
final attempt, however, a
devastatingly clinical header from
Miedema, assisted by a fine cross
from Katie McCabe that sailed clean
over the heads of the Spurs defence.
Williams, who had worked
part-time as a plasterer for many
years while playing in the league
before turning professional, reflected
after the match on the progress
that Tottenham have made in
recent months.
“This is only our second full
season in the WSL,” the 33-year-old
said. “We are becoming the team
people are excited to watch. We keep
learning, keep moving forward.”Star player Ashleigh Neville (Spurs)
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): T Korpela — A Neville,
M Bartrip, S Zadorsky, K Harrop — M Clemaron
(sub: R Ayane 80 min), R Percival — C Ubogagu
(A Addison 63) K Graham, K Simon (J Green 80) —
R Williams. Booked Neville, Clemaron, Ayane.
Arsenal (4-3-3): M Zinsberger — N Maritz, L
Williamson, L Wubben-Moy, S Catley (N Parris 68)
— F Maanum (J Nobbs 68), L Walti (M Iwabuchi
84), K Little — B Mead (C Foord 84), V Miedema,
K McCabe. Booked Mead.
Referee A Fearns. Attendance 2,896.Miedema dashes Spurs’ hopes of historic win
Kit Graham is
challenged
by Lotte
Wubben-Moy
as Arsenal
struck late to
secure a
derby drawRebecca MyersTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FCP W D L F A GD Pts
Arsenal 76102432119
Chelsea 65011851315
Tottenham 742 1954 14
Brighton 6402115 6 12
Man United 6 3 2 1 11 10 1 11
West Ham 62228808
Man City 6 2 1 3 11 12 -1 7
Aston Villa 62 1 3410-6 7
Reading 6204610-4 6
Everton 6204613-7 6
Birmingham 6 0 1 5 2 15 -13 1
Leicester 6 0 0 6 3 17 -14 0WOMEN’S SUPER LEAGUE