Liverpool 1-1 Spurs: Spurs lucky to escape with a point

Spurs flat against a dangerous Liverpool side

Sometimes if things aren't broken, then they don't need fixing. This seemed to be the approach that Spurs head coach Martin Ho looked to implement by naming an unchanged starting XI against Liverpool today. On paper this made some sense with how well Spurs played against West Ham last week, but this time Spurs looked fairly comfortably 2nd best against a dangerous Liverpool side. I think it also goes without saying that Liverpool are better than their league table position from last season would suggest when you factor in the context of them basically having to learn a completely new system while they didn't initially invest the Olivia Smith money particularly well in that summer.  

Positives 

I kind of struggled to think of many positives from this game, but I think the box defending from Koga & Nildén was largely quite good even though they were called into action quite frequently. Signe Gaupset looked lively again and forced the opening goal as her cross/shot deflected over Khiara Keating just before half time. The Norwegian starlet looked threatening when she was able to get on the ball in the final 3rd but she got on the ball less than she would've liked, which limited her overall game. 

Shekeira Martinez also looked really energetic off the bench after Cathinka Tandberg had to be substituted early on due to a dead leg. The German is a very different profile to her Norwegian counterpart as Martinez is less of a hold-up target player (which is more of Tandberg's game) as she put her head down and ran at the defence more than Tandberg did, while also carrying more of a threat to make runs off the ball. 

Negatives

I'm choosing to focus more on what didn't really work for Spurs rather than highlighting Liverpool's positives just because I think it will be what they're going to look at to improve themselves anyway. Going into the game I had hoped that Spurs would be the dominant team, in part due to my own expectations going into the season but also I guess I've bought into the hype that Spurs could be a challenger for 4th or higher this season. 

Last week I pointed out that Caitlin Dijkstra had a tricky first game having to play in a position that she's not really used to, and that against better teams she'd have an even worse time of it. I think it's fair to say that for as positive as it was that her aggressive approach to the game often saw her follow Ceri Holland into her own half, that she got targeted by Holland & the eventual player of the match, Alejandra Bernabe. It's not really her fault that she struggled because she did what Martin Ho wanted her to to cover the wide areas and be aggressive, it's just that she doesn't really have the recovery pace and she's not used to the role.

Because of how often Liverpool targeted Spurs' right flank, it got to the point where Kirsty Hanson's game suffered as a consequence of this as she spent most of the game pinned back as a de-facto right wing-back. The flying Scot was much less of a threat this game compared to her league debut for The Lilywhites and I somewhat hope that she will eventually get a shot as a number 9 soon or just that Ho might become a bit more willing to change things more radically in games.

Where I'm a bit less willing to be forgiving is the fact that this is the 2nd game in a row that Olivia Holdt was a late substitute. Maybe that's harsh but it's another similar theme to last season where she didn't always start in the first half of the sesaon, and even then she didn't always play in the 10 often being restricted to the wing. When she did come on in this one (as the Lw) she fairly quickly had one of the best chances of the game when she cut in on to her right foot to see her bending shot saved well by Keating.

As much as I like Matilda Vinberg, I thought she slowed play down in instances where she could have sped play up and her turning on the ball in space seems to be problematic. I still would rather see her on the right where she can cut inside more but I understand the logic of having her start on the left where she can allow Blakstad to hold the width behind her. 

Wrap-up

This last part isn't so much of a negative but more of an observation. I think this Spurs looks like it can compete to a high level and has a decent range of profiles in each position, but they do lack one really tall player (or at least an absolute aerial monster in the box). Liverpool brought Aurélie Csillag off the bench who looked an absolute unit in the Spurs box, coupled with them having the equally very tall Jenna Clark in their backline. This is an archetype, which admittedly is rare, is something that Spurs kind of lack as this could also be a benefit in games like this where they couldn't consistently build through the thirds. 

Finally, I think this game was a really good test to see what level Spurs at right now. This all goes back to just having a reliable plan b for when plan a doesn't work (sound familiar?) which is admittedly something I value highly in a manager. This game should give the squad plenty to work on ahead of the Palace game next week who will be feeling confident after they picked up a point against title favourites Arsenal away from home.

Some thoughts post Spurs 3-1 West Ham

 

Some thoughts post Spurs 3-1 West Ham 

There's the famous expression that "comparison is the thief of joy." In this case couldn't be further from the truth when you compare Spurs 1st game of the season this year compared to last year. Today Spurs came out winners once by 3 goals to 1 against West Ham at home in a very confident display compared to the same fixture last season where Spurs narrowly squeaked a 1-0 win. In a way it was kind of perfect that they got the chance to play the same team for the first game, two seasons in a row. This game was the kind of performance that shows how a team can improve when you invest smartly and early so that players have the chance to have a full pre-season. 

The player of the match today was Kirsty Hanson on her competitive debut for The Lilywhites. Maybe somewhat surprisingly she started on the right wing of Martin Ho's base structure of a 4231, which saw give West Ham's back-line hell for the entirety of her time on the pitch as she caused havoc on & off the ball in behind, going down the line and cutting onside on her stronger(?) left foot (which was on full display for her 2nd goal). Compare this to last season where, honestly for half of the season, that right flank was a problem without Ella Morris at Rb & with there not really being a natural right-sided winger (Jess Naz, Olivia Holdt & Olga Ahtinen all got minutes there early last season where they were either not great or serviceable at best) and Spurs look so much more dangerous down that side now. 

The actual starting lineup took most by surprise as one of Spurs' best players from last season in Olivia Holdt was left on the bench to allow Signe Gaupset (who had an involvement in the first 2 goals with 1 goal and the assist for Hanson's first) to start in the number 10 role, which allowed her to flourish today. Gaupset is so confident bringing the ball up the field and receiving between the opposing midfield & defensive lines and her being allowed to be the player that Spurs really look to get the ball to in the 2nd phase of possession and transition.

Spurs opened the scoring with Gaupset getting on to the end of Julie Blakstad's knock down after some effective counter-pressing on the right flank saw Spurs awarded a throw, where Caitlin Dijkstra then found herself in a pocket of space on the right to deliver the ball into the box. This goal basically summed up Blakstad's performance as a flying wing-back seeing her basically act as Spurs auxilliary Lw, as she repeatedly looked to get into the box for crosses and she very nearly got on the scoresheet herself. This also allowed Matilda Vinberg to have a floating number 10 role on the inside left where she had a fairly underwhelming game but still picked up an assist. 

Spurs on-ball structure looked more of a 325, which is really what Martin Ho tried to implement last season with starting Rb Caitlin Dijkstra tucking in as a wide Cb in a back 3. This has a built-in rest defence structure when Spurs have the ball higher up the field with 5 attackers and 5 deeper players. Martin Ho's philosophy involves retaining most of the ball, baiting the press in central areas to move the ball upfield and exploiting gaps between the lines. This also allowed Spurs to make use of the wide areas now with Blakstad and Hanson being incredibly dangerous out there with the help of Gaupset & Vinberg who were able to play in the inside-wide/half-spaces channels and link the play.

Record signing Alice Sombath missed out today due to Martin Ho taking a cautious approach with her due to her injury history but because she can play either as a Rb or at centre-back, she should suit that role quite nicely. Drew Spence and Eveliina Summanen anchored the midfield well as the double pivots ahead of the defensive unit, as they were able to shuttle the ball to the front line and they were generally solid defensively. Cathinka Tandberg was the starting 9 today and had a quiet game but with a seemingly increased emphasis on crosses this season, she should still be ok as the season goes on.

For as well as Spurs played today there are still some defensive concerns which will need to be looked as they will get exploited against bigger teams. Due to Spurs playing with a high defensive line and pressing player-to-player aggressively, West Ham did exploit the Spurs right flank as Dijkstra and, to a lesser extent, Toko Kōga got spun a few times which allowed West Ham into the final 3rd a bit too easily. The goal they conceded came from Asseyi receiving a through ball from newly signed Saki Kumagai, who had too much time and space just ahead of the centre circle to pick out a pass, allowing the Frenchwoman to slot past the onrushing Lize Kop to pick up a consolation goal. 

Overall this was a near perfect start to Spurs' WSL campaign and they'll be looking to continue this momentum next week against Liverpool in St Helens.