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The player of the match is Caitlin Foord
[Why do you always score against Spurs?] I don’t know! They just seem to be the team that I can put a few away. [On the first goal] That’s something I practice a lot in training, so to see it pay off in a game… I’m always pleased with that.
Stina’s goal was quality. I probably wouldn’t even think to shoot from there, so all credit to her.
[Were you frustrated to be taken off when you were on a hat-trick?] Nah, I was actually okay. I was quite pleased to come off because we’ve got a big game ahead in midweek. It would have been nice to get one more but we got the win, that’s the main thing. We’re playing really well at the moment and we want to keep that going.
Full time: Tottenham 1-5 Arsenal
Peep peep! Arsenal start their big week in style by hammering Spurs in the north London derby. The in-form Caitlin Foord scored twice, with Stina Blackstenius, Kim Little and Frida Maanum getting the other goals.
Beth England’s penalty, which made the score 2-1 just before half-time, gave Spurs a bit of hope, but Arsenal extinguished it with the most emphatic second-half performance.
90+5 min Ubogagu plays a marvellous through pass to England, who is about to shoot when McCabe eases her to the floor. The referee decides there wasn’t enough contact for a penalty, and that’s fair enough I think.
90+5 min Jodie Taylor has a snapshot turned round by Korpela, though she’d been penalised for a shove on Bartrip.
90 min Five mintues of added time.
88 min: Spurs substitution So-Hyun Cho replaces Drew Spence.
86 min Gio is still being treated, though she doesn’t seem quite so bad now. She’s still limping heavily, mind, and I think Arsenal – who have used all their subs – are going to finish the match with 10 players.
85 min This is really sad: Gio is lying face down on the pitch, in tears, after an accidental collision with Bartrip. I think she hurt herself when she landed, though it’s not entirely clear what the problem is.
82 min: Arsenal substitutions Kathrine Kuhl and the returning Jodie Taylor replace Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius.
82 min Another chance for Arsenal, with Wubben-Moy heading Blackstenius’s teasing cross just wide. Bartrip did enough to put her off.
81 min Arsenal aren’t settling for five. Goal difference could yet be a factor this season. As things stand, in fact, Arsenal and Manchester United have identical records: P15 W11 D2 L2 F38 A9 Pts 35.
80 min: Gio hits the bar! Pelova releases the overlapping McCabe on the left. She floats an outswinging cross towards Gio, who flicks a volley off the top of the bar! That was a lovely effort with the outside of the foot.
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79 min: Spurs substitution Chioma Ubogagu replaces Celin Bizet.
77 min: Arsenal substitution Gio Queiroz replaces Caitlin Foord, who has probably been the player of the match.
Caitlin Foord just loves the North London Derby 🤩#WomensFootballWeekend @ArsenalWFC pic.twitter.com/fYzNFXpt8F
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 25, 2023
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GOAL! Tottenham 1-5 Arsenal (Maanum 76)
Arsenal are running riot. Williamson nicks the ball off Spence on the halfway line, with Little quickly moving it forward to Maanum. She runs to within 25 yards of goal and shapes an extravagant curling shot that hits the head of Bartrip and wrongfoots Korpela. The shot was on target, I think, so it’ll be Maanum’s goal.
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76 min Foord, who is on a hat-trick now, smashes a half-volley from a tight angle that is pushed behind by Korpela. That’s a really good save.
75 min This is in danger of getting messy for Spurs. Blackstenius takes advantage of an error from Turner and tries to go round Korpela, who dives at her feet to push the ball away.
72 min On that Arsenal penalty, I forgot to say that, when it was awarded, Ashleigh Neville walked straight across to lean over Katie McCabe. I assumed this was the latest round in their ongoing contretemps, but in fact Neville asked if she was okay and then tried to help her to her feet.
Maybe she was effing and jeffing under her breath, but it looked like a sincere act of goodwill.
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GOAL! Tottenham 1-4 Arsenal (Foord 70)
Foord for Arsenal, four for Arsenal. Pelova’s cross beats everyone in the middle and finds its way to Foord beyond the far post. She chests the ball down and rams it into the net off the near post.
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69 min James is booked for a late tackle on Williamson, who has moved into midfield since those substitutions.
67 min: Spurs substitution Kit Graham is on for Evelina Summanen.
67 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Laura Wienroither and Rafaelle replace Lia Walti and Noelle Maritz.
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66 min Arsenal certainly deserve to be two goals ahead but I’m not having that penalty decision. McCabe had launched the ball high over the bar and then collided with Turner, who didn’t really have any opportunity to get out of the way.
Third penalty Katie McCabe has won in the last month.
— Tim Stillman (@Stillmanator) March 25, 2023
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GOAL! Tottenham 1-3 Arsenal (Little 66 pen)
Kim Little scores; of course she does. It was a brilliant penalty, smashed high into the net. Korpela went the right way, to her right, but got nowhere near it.
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64 min: Penalty to Arsenal! McCabe is tripped by Turner, and the referee again has no hesitation. The ball had long gone, though, and I’m not sure Turner did much wrong there.
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60 min Passes in the final third since half-time: Spurs 3-37 Arsenal.
58 min Pelova’s corner from the right finds Williamson, unmarked at the far post. Her sidefoot volley into the ground is headed away by Neville, but Arsenal retain possession and Little hits a fierce shot from the edge of the area that is well held to her right by Korpela.
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57 min Spurs just can’t keep the ball. Arsenal’s pressing has been so impressive since half-time.
54 min Now Blackstenius’s shot from the edge of the area is saved to her left by Korpela. The Arsenal pressure has been relentless since half-time.
52 min McCabe’s header is looped towards goal by Wubben-Moy and claimed comfortably by Korpela.
51 min Foord’s shot deflects behind for a corner. Arsenal are all over Spurs, who can barely get out of their third, never mind their half.
50 min Maanum’s deflected shot is saved comfortably to her right by Korpela. Arsenal look minded to put this game to bed as soon as possible.
49 min: Sensational defending from Neville! A brilliant first-time cross from Maanum is about to be turned into an open net by Foord when Neville stretches to divert the ball behind. A goalkick is given but that was definitely Neville’s touch.
48 min Blackstenius gets away from two defenders on the edge of the area but then slips in the act of shooting. Arsenal have maded a really fast start to the second half.
46 min Peep peep! Arsenal begin the second half.
“My VAR reduction proposal,” begins Zazh Neeley. “It can only be used if the video types radio in ‘That wasn’t really a penalty handball’, ‘We can see without pausing or adding lines that offiside was wrong’, or ‘You should take another look at that violent tackle’. Players can celebrate again (if you celebrate where you were clearly offsides, that’s on you), we protect against harmful tackles, and we’re driven less insane by wonky handball rules. Otherwise go away.”
In principle I like that idea but I don’t think it would work. There’s too much entitlement in football, unlike many other sports, so it would be even more of a free-for-all/moodhoover than it is now. It has to be all or nothing, I think, and I won’t insult your intelligence by formally stating which I’d prefere.
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Half-time reading
Half time: Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal
Peep peep! Arsenal lead after an entertaining first half at Brisbane Road. Stina Blackstenius took advanage of some poor positioning from Tinja-Riikka Korpela to give them an early lead, then Caitlin Foord scored a classy individual goal. At that stage Spurs were in danger of being overrun, but Bethany England’s emphatic penalty has given them hope for the future, and indeed the second half.
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45+1 min Two minutes of added time.
45 min That goal has re-energised Spurs, who were looking a bit hangdog at 2-0 down, and the start of the second half should be fascinating.
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43 min That goal was Beth England’s 62nd in the WSL, which puts her ahead of Ellen White on the all-time list. Only Vivianne Miedema (78) has more.
I tried to find a fuller list by searching for ‘England’ and ‘White’ on Twitter, but you can imagine how that worked out.
Dispatched 🫡@Bethany_Eng15 from the spot!#WomensFootballWeekend @SpursWomen pic.twitter.com/WtP45DHe9s
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 25, 2023
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41 min Having seen a replay, I think that was a fair decision for the penalty. On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain’s Elisa De Almeida was given a second yellow card for a very similar incident against Wolfsburg, so it’s a bit of a surprise that McCabe wasn’t booked. Anyway.
40 min McCabe wasn’t booked for that handball; had she been, she would be suspended for next week’s humdinger against Manchester City.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal (England 39 pen)
Beth England scores with the minimum of fuss, driving her penalty into the bottom-left corner. Out of nothing, Spurs are back in it!
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38 min: Penalty to Spurs! Neville’s snapshot hits the hand of McCabe, and the referee gives a penalty without any hesitation. I’d like to see that again; I’m not sure McCabe’s arm was that far away from her body.
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37 min Bizet clips a speculative long pass towards England, who does well to get the wrong side of Williamson in the area but is then tackled by the covering Maritz.
34 min As expected, Arsenal are just a bit too good for Spurs at the moment.
This is SUBLIME from Caitlin Foord 🤤 pic.twitter.com/pttPf9jiYJ
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) March 25, 2023
31 min: Fine save by Korpela! Arsenal should be 3-0 up. Maanum threaded an angled through pass to Pelova, whose shot was diverted wide by the left leg of the outrushing Korpela.
Pelova cut inside from the right, still inside her own half, and forced a pass across the field to Foord. She ran at a backpedalling defence then veered inside Neville, just outside the D, and curled an immaculate shot that beat the diving Korpela and bounced into the net via the far post. That’s an outstanding goal.
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GOAL! Tottenham 0-2 Arsenal (Foord 29)
Caitlin Foord continues her great form with a terrific individual goal!
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28 min In the last 10 minutes Arsenal have had 73 per cent possession, but the most telling stat is probably the touches in the opposition box in that time: Spurs 0-8 Arsenal.
27 min: Great defending from Turner! Maritz’s low cross is controlled a little awkwardly on the run by Blackstenius, who is about to shoot when Turner slides in to make a brilliant challenge. That probably saved a goal.
25 min Korpela is okay to continue.
24 min Both managers take the opportunity for an unscheduled quarter-time teamtalk.
23 min Beth England is having an increasingly lonely afternoon, which is a concern for Spurs. As it this: the goalkeeper Korpela is down and needs treatment. She was accidentally kicked on the thigh by Williamson when claiming that cross a moment ago.
22 min The second is half cleared, and eventually Maanum’s deflected cross is claimed by Korpela.
21 min Pelova plays a good reverse pass to the underlapping Maritz, who is well tracked by Ayane. Corner to Arsenal, and then another…
20 min Foord wriggles cleverly away from two players near the halfway line, moves forward and finds an offside-looking Maanum to her left. Her cross just evades Pelova at the far post.
Spurs would have been fuming had that led to a goal because replays showed Maanum was indeed offside.
19 min A quiet period in the game.
16 min Blackstenius shoots wide from a very tight angle, this time on the left side of the box. Arsenal are on top, no question, but Spurs are well in the game at this stage. They just need to give the ball to England all the time.
14 min Here’s the opening goal from Stina Blackstenius.
How about this from Stina Blackstenius!! 🚀
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) March 25, 2023
The Gunners are off and running in the north London derby 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Kx2BYnWwmg
11 min: Chance for Spurs! Bizet zig-zags thrillingly between Walti and McCabe before firing the ball into England near the penalty spot. The pass is a bit too firm, and by the time England gets it under control there’s no scope for the shot. Instead she lays it off to Spence, who drives wide from the edge of the area. Spence didn’t really get hold of it.
10 min Arsenal have settled into a nice rhythm since the goal. They almost have another chance when McCabe’s flat corner from the left just evades Williamson at the near post.
9 min A goal has been scored, and you know what that means. Yep, it’s the first appearance of our old friend, the as-it-standds table.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 14 | 27 | 37 |
| 2 | Man Utd Women | 15 | 29 | 35 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 15 | 26 | 35 |
| 4 | Man City Women | 15 | 18 | 35 |
| 5 | Aston Villa Women | 15 | 2 | 26 |
| 6 | Everton Women | 15 | 2 | 21 |
| 7 | West Ham Women | 15 | -9 | 16 |
| 8 | Liverpool FC Women | 15 | -11 | 15 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 16 | -12 | 12 |
| 10 | Reading Women | 15 | -18 | 10 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion Women | 13 | -28 | 8 |
| 12 | Leicester Women | 15 | -26 | 7 |
8 min Vicky Jepson will be so frustrated that have conceded such an avoidable goal so early in the game.
Williamson’s pass forward was miscontrolled by Pelova, but that worked out perfectly for Arsenal because it ran beyond the Spurs defence towards Blackstenius. She surged away from Bartrip and then, with Korpela in no woman’s land, flipped the ball high into the net from a tightish angle. That’s a positional error from Korpela, I’m afraid, though it was still a cracking finish from Blackstenius.
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GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal (Blackstenius 5)
Arsenal score with their first attack!
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4 min Harrop curls a brilliant pass down the left wing to release Ayane. She cuts into the area but then pokes a tame cross that is claimed by D’Angelo. In her defence England was the only Spurs attacker in the box, marked by about six Arsenal players.
3 min It looks like Drew Spence is playing further forward for Spurs, more of a No10, of even a No9.
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1 min Peep peep! After the players take the knee, Celin Bizet gets the north London derby under way.
It’s a big day for the Spurs left-back Kerys Harrop. As of the referee’s first whistle, nobody will have played more often in the WSL.
177 - Tottenham’s Kerys Harrop is set to make her 177th WSL appearance in today’s North London derby against Arsenal, joining Gilly Flaherty as the joint-leading appearance maker in the competition’s history. Occasion.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 25, 2023
A reminder of the teams
Tottenham Hotspur (possible 4-3-3) Korpela; Neville, Turner, Bartrip, Harrop; James, Spence, Summanen; Bizet, England, Ayane.
Substitutes: Spencer, Graham, Cho, Karczewska, Ale, Ubogagu.
Arsenal (possible 4-3-3) D’Angelo; Maritz, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, McCabe; Little, Maanum, Walti; Pelova, Blackstenius, Foord.
Substitutes: Zinsberger, Marckese, Beattie, Rafaelle, Wienroither, Kuhl, Gio, Hurtig, Taylor.
Referee Louise Saunders
Big interview: Leah Williamson
Leah Williamson couldn’t give a boring interview if she tried, and her chat with Simon Hattenstone is as candid and vivacious as you’d expect.
It got to a point where I’m thinking: this is not fun for me any more, because I’m too afraid to fail. The worst of it was in lockdown when I thought: this isn’t sustainable. I’m wishing my career away rather than loving it. In lockdown, I spent a lot more time with my own thoughts. There was so much instability.
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This is part two of Women’s Football Weekend, which began with the Merseyside derby last night. Manchester United play West Ham at Old Trafford later, and then tomorrow lunchtime there’s the game of the weekend: Manchester City v Chelsea.
The return of #WomensFootballWeekend 🤩
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 23, 2023
Pick a pride, back a side 🙌 pic.twitter.com/tz4B8B1ECr
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Risk vs reward department
If Katie McCabe is booked today, she’ll be suspended for next week’s match against Manchester City. Oh, and she’s playing on the same side as her old friend Ashleigh Neville.
🗣️ "We need Katie McCabe"
— Sky Sports WSL (@SkySportsWSL) March 25, 2023
Jonas Eidevall says he is aware of McCabe's yellow card situation but it never crossed his mind to leave her out of the NLD ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/w6ZH8MppKn
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“How does it feel to see D’Angelo in the lineup instead of Zinsberger?” says Zach Neeley. “Disconcerting. Better than seeing links to Arsenal’s prior thumpings of Spurs, most of the photos prominently featuring Miedema. Sigh.”
Spurs haven’t beaten Arsenal since turning pro in 2019, though they came closer than close – closer than you ever can imagine – last season, when Vivianne Miedema scored an injury-time header to give Arsenal a 1-1 draw.
Team news
Spurs’ interim manager Vicky Jepson makes a single change from last weekend’s win over Leicester: Celin Bizet is in for Nikola Karczewska.
Jonas Eidevall has picked an attacking Arsenal team, with Katie McCabe playing at left-back. There are three changes from the 1-0 defeat in Munich: Sabrina D’Angelo replaces Manuela Zinsberger in goal – this is her WSL debut – while Victoria Pelova and Lotte Wubben-Moy come in for Laura Wienrothier and Rafaelle. Jodie Taylor is among the subs.
🚨 One change to the starting XI as Bizet comes in for Karczewska! pic.twitter.com/FG6uPGKq53
— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) March 25, 2023
THE ARSENAL XI 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Lj3NJAyBWd
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) March 25, 2023
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal at Brisbane Road. The north London derby is usually all-consuming, but for Arsenal this game is almost – I said almost – a warm-up ahead of a potentially season-defining week.
On Wednesday they play Bayern Munich, with the chance to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in a decade. Then, next Sunday, they host Manchester City in a match that is significant both to this year’s WSL and next year’s Champions League. Arsenal aren’t out of the WSL title race, not with all three of their rivals still to play, but for those games to matter they really need to take care of Spurs today.
This is the be-all and end-all for Spurs. Last week’s win over Leicester should ensure they won’t be dragged into a relegation battle, so this game exists in a bubble of local rivalry.
Spurs lost an alarming nine league matches in a row last weekend, which led to Rehanne Skinner being sacked, and the 2022-23 season has largely been a disaster. An historic first win over Arsenal would make it a whole lot better.
Kick off 3pm.
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