Her Football Hub
·2 febbraio 2025
Her Football Hub
·2 febbraio 2025
Elisabeth Terland found an early opener for Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before a second-half stalemate saw the scoreline unchanged.
The Red Devils controlled the first half, whilst Spurs could not find their way back despite several chances during an ultimately flat fixture.
The result sees Man United extend their winning streak to five games. Marc Skinner’s side go second in the Women’s Super League, three points ahead of Arsenal and five above rivals Manchester City.
Tottenham Hotspur
Kop; Neville, Hunt, Bartrip, Nildén; Rybrink, Oroz; Raso, Thomas, Naz; England
Manchester United
Tullis-Joyce; Riviere, Le Tissier, Turner, George; Miyazawa, Janssen; Bizet, Toone, Galton; Terland
Man United started on the front foot in the capital, opening the scoring in the sixth minute through Terland. Jayde Riviere’s cross from the right-wing was sublime, and the Norwegian timed her run to perfection, hitting her volley with more than enough force to send it beyond Lize Kop’s reach.
The remainder of the first half was uneventful, with Hayley Raso seeing Robert Vilahamn’s outfit’s best chance of the opening 45 but sending it wide. Ella Toone tried her luck for the Red Devils with a long-distance strike, which was bound only for the goalpost. Hinata Miyazawa also had her attempt blocked by Molly Bartrip to keep the scoreline narrow.
The home side failed to capitalise on an opportunity to get even early in the second half. Spurs struggled to attack the goal despite Skinner’s side looking momentarily unlikely to clear their lines. Tottenham emerged from the break looking livelier after United dominated through the middle for the duration of the opening half. However, the home side could not produce enough to draw things level.
Terland was almost in with a brace after the hour mark, but Kop was there to deny a tap-in on the end of Toone’s ball forward. At the other end, Jessica Naz had a promising shot from the edge of the box caught well by Tullis-Joyce before it could find the back of the net.
A third solid defensive header of the night by Clare Hunt helped Tottenham out of trouble, but the Red Devils regained possession fast for Millie Turner to have a go. Kop saved again, and in response, Bethany England almost got her head to Amanda Nildén’s brilliant long-pass into the box. However, an airborne Turner stopped Spurs from producing.
The cagey contest continued until the final whistle rang out. Spurs came close, but they could not claw one back. They left Manchester United to hang onto an early lead and add a vital three points to their tally.
The win sees Manchester United retake second place in the WSL table, although still seven points shy of leaders Chelsea. The Red Devils travel to Wolves next weekend, hoping to progress their Adobe Women’s FA Cup title defence.
Out of the FA Cup early despite making it to last year’s final, and currently sixth in the WSL table, a frustrated Tottenham will take next week to regroup before travelling to the Emirates Stadium for a North London derby on Sunday, February 16th.