Tottenham 3-1 West Ham: Super-subs seal win to cap impressive first season for Vilahamn’s Spurs
Robert Vilahamn’s substitutes were the difference makers as his side came away 3-1 winners against West Ham on the final day of the WSL.
For the first time since March, Tottenham got off the mark before their opposition. Beth England opened the scoring in the 4th minute. However, West Ham’s Riko Ueki scored a stunning equaliser just after the break.
Jess Naz received honours for her century of club appearances pre-match — a feat she achieved in last month’s Brighton game. Her energy off the bench was a game-changer for the Lilywhites as she restored the lead in the 86th minute.
Drew Spence secured the win with a rocket into the top-left corner in the 99th minute.
Vilahamn was effusive about the quality of his team and the impact of his subs post-match. He said, “It’s easy to do substitutions when you have that good of players on the bench.
“It was the perfect finish for this year. We wanted to make sure we finished on a high.”
The three points put Tottenham on 31 points and 6th in the table, while West Ham finish 11th on 15 points.
Breaking it down
Martha Thomas pounced on a loose ball from Mackenzie Arnold and crossed to Beth England at the edge of the box. England calmly smashed home her 5th goal of the season.
The Spurs were unrelenting in the first half and looked hungry to add to their lead after England’s opener, but were let down by the final pass
Charlotte Grant hit the left post in the 21st minute off of an Eveliina Summanen corner. Minutes later, Arnold’s quick feet kept the Spurs at 1-0 with a nice save against Thomas.
Thomas ran the West Ham defence ragged for much of the first half.
Despite the hosts’ dominant first half display, they failed to add to their lead and West Ham equalised shortly after the break. The Hammers’ team talk seemed to hand them a spark with Ueki’s driven shot flashing past Becky Spencer into the bottom lefthand corner to level the scoreline.
Spurs looked to restore their lead, but were once again denied by the woodwork in 63rd minute.
After a positive passage-of-play, substitute Naz received a beautiful through-ball from Grace Clinton and fired past Arnold to make it 2-1. Naz very nearly added another only minutes later, however, West Ham’s Australian goalkeeper did well to close the forward down.
And the home side wasn’t done. There was an audible gasp from fans when Spence fired a rocket home to secure the win and end the Spurs’ season on a high-note.
Player of the match: Jess Naz
