Manager Robert Vilahamn said the scoreline belied his team’s performance today in their second defeat in a row, falling 3-0 to Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village.
Though Spurs appeared the stronger team for much of the first half, a rapid double by Elisabeth Terland just before the break took the wind out of their sails and Maya Le Tissier’s penalty in the second left them no way back.
The result leaves the Lilywhites seventh in the table with four games played, while United rise to second.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat did Robert Vilahamn say?
Reflecting on the day, Vilahamn told reporters: “I actually think the performance is quite good.
“We started the game really good, first thirty minutes we were pressing very well, we forced them to kick long on goalkicks, we have the ball, we dictate the ball, we create chances. So in the first thirty minutes I feel like we are good – we played really good football – but we don’t score goals.
“And then the last ten, fifteen minutes, we start losing the ball a little bit too easy in some phases and it becomes a little bit more transitional. And Man United is really good to hurt us in those areas. So they get the ball out and overload the wide side and great crosses, great finishing and 2-0 in half time is quite tough.
“(We) tried to make sure we keep going in the second half and then all of a sudden they get a penalty, 3-0 – that could kill us. It could be like, okay, now we basically (concede) more and more goals from them, but I actually feel like the subs coming in, the players showed some really good character to keep playing. Obviously Man United created a few chances as well, but I think we have more goal chances than them.
Embed from Getty Images“The performance is not 3-0 bad – performance wise it’s actually some really good stuff, we showed that we can play some really good football. Result-wise, it’s bad. They scored three goals, we scored nil.”
United started two players who departed Spurs this summer in Celin Bizet and Grace Clinton; Vilahamn was asked how it felt to face the pair.
“When you work so closely with players every day, basically for a year, of course you you like them. And I feel like they were really good today, both of them. And you can tell that they are such good footballers. And they gave us some really hard moments during the game. So I like to see where they are, I like the players and they have developed very well, but it was really, really fun to see my players today as well because I see Matilda (Vinberg) came in and she was really good as well. But look, Celine and Grace are great players.”
It was Elisabeth Terland who orchestrated Spurs’ downfall today, rattling in a volley and a header before halftime to undo all the visitors’ hard work. Analysing what went wrong for her brace, Vilahamn said: “Sometimes you need to take the duel before the duel ends up there. So when they do the first cross for example you need to find a way to reach her before the ball comes. Take the duel so she cannot do that hit. Molly Bartrip is trying, but it’s a really good strike.
Embed from Getty Images“The second goal there are two players on the second post that are overloading. So then you also need to be very strong in that duel. But Terland is obviously very strong as well. And sometimes you can also say that it’s a really good number nine to score those goals. But on the other hand, we need to make sure we can take the duels a little bit stronger and also stop the crosses before they come. I guess because we were a little bit unorganized in those situations.
FromtheSpot asked Vilahamn what he told his players at halftime, after falling behind so quickly in spite of their dominance.
“We showed a few situations where we became a little bit 4-2-4 in the press. So they started to to put these diagonal passes and make it a little bit harder for our fullback. We spoke a little bit about that, to adjust that, and then we spoke about that we actually look good.
“We’re competing with them for ninety minutes. So sometimes you need to look at how the players act and how they are. And they are brave. They are pushing everything to the last minute. So then I cannot be too hard on them because I feel like they actually try to perform in a really good way for the club, and sometimes we lose. That was to happen today.”
Spurs will look to bounce back next weekend – but have the toughest test awaiting them in a trip to Chelsea, who sit top of the table with a game in hand. Follow further reaction and analysis here on FromTheSpot.