Tottenham Hotspur boss Rehanne Skinner admitted that competing against Chelsea and the rest of the league’s top three on the pitch will continue to be difficult until a lack of squad depth is addressed.
Spurs fell to a 3-0 defeat to London rivals Chelsea at a rollicking Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. The loss consigned Skinner’s side to their third defeat of the season and their sixth derby loss to Chelsea in the WSL.
A bright start from Spurs in which Jessica Naz and Drew Spence looked to use their pace to unsettle the reigning champions quickly fizzled out as Sam Kerr’s opener before the quarter-hour mark unleashed a slew of Chelsea goals that saw Spurs languish 3-0 before the interval.
And despite suggestions of a threat from Naz and Ashleigh Neville in the second half coupled with Chelsea’s inability to capitalise on their significant lead, the first-half onslaught proved untenable and left Spurs ruing their missed opportunities to mount a comeback.
Spurs - who going into the match had racked up the second-least shots in the league behind second-from-bottom Reading - managed eight shots to Chelsea's 14, but with only three tame efforts on target, Skinner was left unimpressed with her side’s dearth of clinical edge.
“There were some positives to take out of the game in terms of how we played in possession at times,” Skinner said afterwards. “I thought we moved the ball really well, created some opportunities to get into the final third but I don’t think we were convincing in our shooting opportunities as much as we probably should have been. We made a few mistakes and they capitalised on them and ultimately that cost us today.”
Skinner acknowledged the daunting strength in depth that comprises the ranks of Chelsea, who were able to still field a devilishly strong starting XI despite Pernille Harder out through injury and Fran Kirby and Bethany England brought on as substitutes.
Such riches are typifying of the league’s top sides and Skinner believes evolving to that level will be crucial if Spurs hope to compete against the league’s historic behemoths.
“In terms of the squad depth, some of the challenges we’ve faced over the course of this season is creating a few issues with how many options we’ve got in and around the squad and so I think overall every transfer window we’ve just got to keep evolving the squad so we’re in a more consistent position to compete with these teams and take chances when we get them.
“As a club, we’ve not been in the league as long as Chelsea, they’ve built a fantastic squad and that’s something we want to try and keep evolving.
“We just need to make sure we’re evolving the squad and the way we’re playing. Ultimately, we played some good stuff and that’s happening on a more consistent basis but we need to be more clinical with those chances when they arrive.”
Spurs return to action on Sunday when they welcome Coventry United to Brisbane Road for the FA WSL Cup.
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