Tottenham Hotspur Stun Ten Player Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park
An Olivia Holdt hat trick and Victoria Pelova brace helped the visitors to an emphatic 7-0 win against a defiant but ultimately outrun 10-man Crystal Palace.
A 7th minute red card for Palace midfielder Fuka Tsunoda put a pause on the Eagle’s early promise, reverting to a defensive display so successful last week in their draw against Arsenal, keeping it level before half time. Tired legs and a changed game plan from Spurs completely altered proceedings after the break. Tottenham came out firing, not wasting any time before running rings around the Eagles, Holdt slotting it home for her first four minutes after the whistle and the floodgates opened from there.
Palace will be disappointed with the outcome, looking positive in the opening minutes and continuing to fight with a man down. Not having conceded yet this season, with an opening day win against Everton and an headline making 0-0 draw against title-charging Arsenal, letting 7 goals in will be a cruel snap back to reality for the newly promoted side on main stadium soil. Both WSL games Palace have played at Selhurst Park have ended in a 7-0 defeat (the first against Chelsea). Despite the result, playing big league football in SE25, in front of thousands of passionate Eagles adorned in facepaint and women's shirts is an important step for the side’s visibility as they try and cement their place in the WSL over the long season ahead.
Tottenham’s ruthless attack, 42 shots in total, is a front line that could rival any team in the league as they look to push for a top of the table position this season. An exciting opening day win against West Ham first revealed the talent of their strikers, from starters to players off the bench, they have the depth, experience and tenacity to threaten anyone on their day. A disappointing match day two draw against Liverpool exposed some issues in the defense, but their victory over Palace with four separate goalscorers, Martinez and Pelova getting their first in Lillywhite off the bench, cements Spurs as a WSL team to fear.
Squad Update: First Starts and Player’s Return
Bethany England returned to the Palace front line after missing out against Arsenal, she joined Molly Bartip starting against their former club. Irish wonderkid Abbie Larkin droped to the bench whilst super captain Aimee Everett maintained her starting spot in the defense after a player of the match performance at the Emirates.
Martin Ho offered Victoria Pelova her first start in a Spurs shirt after swapping North London clubs this summer with Summerman dropping to the bench. Olivia Holdt also got her first starting spot of the campaign as new signing Alice Sombath is named on the team sheet for the first time. Striker Tandberg is fit to start after coming off in the 24th minute against Liverpool.
Starting XIs
Crystal Palace:
26. Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (GK), 3. Jamie Lee-Napier (‘84 - 29. Allyson Swaby), 6. Aimee Everett ©, 7. Lexi Lloyd-Smith (‘67 - 19. Abbie Larkin), 9. Bethany England (‘67 - 10. Kirsty Howat), 17. Annabel Blanchard, 22. Teyah Goldie, 24. Shanade Hopcroft (‘84 - 4. Sierra Enge), 25. Fuka Tsunoda, 27. Shannon O’Brien (‘83 - 11. Ashleigh Weerden), 32. Molly Bartrip.
Tottenham Hotspur:
1.Lize Kop (GK), 4. Caitlin Dijkstra, 6. Amanda Nildén, 8. Signe Gaupset (‘79 - 20. Olga Ahtinen), 9. Cathinka Tandberg (‘67 - 19. Shekeira Martinez), 11. Olivia Holdt (‘74 - 14. Matilda Nildén), 16. Kirsty Hanson (‘67 - 13. Matilda Vinberg), 23. Victoria Pelova, 24. Drew Spence ©, 32. Toko Koga, 41. Julie Blakstad (‘75 - 5. Alice Sombath).
Match Report:
Early attacking opportunities came for Palace, the ball outrunning opening day scorer Lexi Lloyd Smith on the left and subsequently Goldie slotted the ball forward for it to also run out of space for Annabel Blanchard on the right.
The first clear cut opportunity came from a good team effort, moving the ball quickly from the goalkeeper to Molly Bartrip who somehow got around the Tottenham attack to move the ball forward. Former Spurs captain Bethany England sprinted past Koga in the backline, taking the ball to the edge of the area, Lloyd Smith on pace to support, but England’s shot flew well over the bar.
The game turned on its head two minutes later when a pass from Aimee Everett in the Palace backline wasn’t controlled by Brighton loanee Fuka Tsunoda under pressure from Pelova, and in an effort to save the rebound from reaching the boot of Tandberg, slid in uncontrolled, catching the Tottenham strikers legs between her knees. After a period of deliberation between the onfield referee and her lineswomen, the final decision was a red card for the Palace midfielder; the hosts would have to see the game out with 10 men for 82 minutes.
The subsequent free kick from Julie Blakstad was headed away by Bartip only as far as captain Drew Spence on the edge of the area who kicked it just over the bar. Tottenham found early success down the right, Dijkstra picking out Hanson nicely to whip in a cross but Goldie manned her line well not letting the ball into the box.
The Palace backline continued to shepherd out any signs of the Spurs attack, getting bodies in the box, kicking or shoving the ball away from Peyraud-Magnin’s net. The right hand side linkup continued to be firmly on display, Koga sending it to Hanson who whipped in a cross to the back post, reaching the leaping head of Tandberg, but the effort was parried onto the bar by the Palace goalkeeper, ricocheting back into the area to be finally cleared by Everett. Blakstad’s subsequent effort hits the sidenetting.
Peyraud-Magnin got a strong hand on a Spurs corner, with Blanchard attempting to get the ball up the field but Tottenham piled on the pressure. But the Palace defense were increasingly frustrating Spurs, Hanson fouling Goldie on the edge of the area, the Scottish attacker shown a yellow card for kicking the ball away.
The best chance of the half came Dijkstra sends the ball into fellow Dutchwoman Pelova, the ball passing through the Spurs attack, Palace getting it away as far as Nildén who fired hard and fast, Peyraud-Magnin somehow pushing the ball into the corner bar and away, England’s header getting the Eagles out of danger as far as Nildén again, but Tandberg’s lackluster header went straight at the keeper.
Palace didn’t just sit back, O’Brien and Napier linking up well on the wing but they couldn’t get the ball in the right areas. The Eagles were very much up against the wall in the first half, Spurs pressure, 19 total shots, but lack of clinical edge kept the game level at the break.
Half-Time: 0-0
Everything changed after the break.
Tottenham came out of the blocks with a renewed ambition, striker Olivia Holdt slotting it home for her first in the 47th minute. The ball was dinked into the centre of the box by a strong Victoria Pelova at the back line, Holdt managing to tap it in just to the left of the keeper from close range, silencing the crowd in celebration. The two debut starters for the 26/27 campaign linked up to get the first goal on the board.
Spence then drew a good save from game day week two player of the match Peyraud-Magnin but she couldn’t save them all. Norwegian youngster Signe Gaupset carried through the midfield, found the feet of Holdt at the end of the box who got the ball on her left foot and leathered it right into the top corner for her second, just 11 minutes after her first.
Blakstad pounced on a loose ball from Bartip but Holdt’s subsequent cross was headed away by captain Everett and then saved by the Palace keeper. Peyraud-Magnin then saved a close range diving header by Pelova off the line.
Holdt’s hattrick was sealed when Gaupset got her body in the way to block a pass from Hopcroft in the Palace defense. It dropped to the Danish attacker in the middle of the park who once again drove from range, Peyraud-Magnin getting a touch on it but not enough to save her thumping effort hitting the back of the net, a 24 minute hat trick for the 25 year old.
A minute later saw the debut of former Lyon defender Alice Sombath, the young center back who joined in the summer and made an instant impact in her opening minutes.
The assistant becomes the scorer in the 76th as Pelova turns smoothly with the ball on the edge of the box, firing precisely into the back of the net for the fourth of the afternoon.
The next three goals came thick and fast, Palace completely overpowered by Spur’s pressure, the final efforts seemingly coming out of nowhere, the hosts unable to sustain their defensive display any longer.
Shekiera Martinez opened her Spurs account just three minutes after Pelova, an initial save wasn’t controlled by the French keeper and Martinez was able to tap home. Seven minutes later, substitute Vinberg got her foot to the ball in the middle of the box, passing back to Amanda Nildén who fired through the keeper's legs for the 6th.
Another substitute Olga Ahtinen combined with Pelova on the 90th to drill in the final goal of the afternoon, bouncing around a congested box and into the net.
A standout display from a Spurs side making their claim to be WSL challengers in front of a travelling contingent in full voice. Palace had all the emotions at full time, a really difficult day at Selhurst Park for Jo Potter’s depleted side who would have gone into the fixture with full belief.
What's Next?
The Eagles will have to pick themselves up and dust themselves off quickly as Subway Player’s Cup action begins midweek. At home in Sutton to a Watford side who also lost thumpingly this week, Bristol City putting five goals past them at Vicarage Road, the Eagles need to put the loss behind them and regain their previous form if they want to start the cup run strong.
It’s a rematch of the opening day for Tottenham as they take on West Ham United back at home on Wednesday. The Hammers suffered a late defeat to Everton, caused by a Laia Codina own goal, following their dominant win against London City Lionesses, proving that this season, anything can happen.
Tottenham will take lots of confidence from their outing at Selhurst. Martin Ho spoke about how he wanted his side to “look for certain areas to get into, modifying the final movement and final action and the final position” going into the second half. Olivia Holdt’s goal is a perfect example of that, waiting for “those spaces to open up with some really good individual play from players to link, combine and finish” sealing their second victory of the campaign, taking Spurs to second in the table.
WSL action recommences for both teams at 2pm next Sunday when the Eagles take on automatic promotion rivals Birmingham in a possible season-defining matchup away from home whilst at the same time, Tottenham play against headline making goalkeeper Akane Ōkuma as they welcome Aston Villa to Orient.