Spurs 0-2 Chelsea, Women’s Super League | Martin Ho’s verdict

Martin Ho was pleased with large parts of our first half performance against Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but says 'we just weren't clinical enough' with our chances as goals either side of half-time from the Blues saw them claim a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Returning to N17 for the first time this season in the Barclays Women’s Super League, we were very much on the front foot in north London and carved out a number of opportunities - Olivia Holdt striking the woodwork from distance before Bethany England fired just over the bar from close range after Julie Blakstad’s looped cross from the byline found our captain outside the six-yard box.

However, five minutes before the break, Keira Walsh capitalised on a half-cleared corner to put the away side ahead, which was arguably against the run of play, and then shortly after the restart, Alyssa Thompson delivered a sucker-punch as she doubled the visitors advantage, which ultimately left us an uphill task for the remainder of the second period as Sonia Bompastor's side saw out the win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Speaking to SPURSPLAY after the game, Martin said: “First half, I thought we were good. [There were] lots of positives to take from the first half in terms of how we played and how we applied ourselves. [We were] unfortunate not to go in at half-time with some goals, then [it was] a sucker punch for the first goal they scored.

“Second half, we started well, but then we got caught with the second goal, and I think that deflated us a little bit when that second one went in. We had other small moments in the second half and some chances but, after that goal in the second one, it deflated us a little bit.

“We just weren't clinical enough in front of goal in the first half and, if you're not ruthless enough when you get your chances against these teams, then you mainly only get a handful of big chances. We had them in the first half and we didn't capitalise.

"I think you have the opportunity to respond in another game, which is the beauty of football, and we have the opportunity to do that next week against Aston Villa. We have to make sure we park this one, we review it and, after we've done that, we focus on Aston Villa and make sure we can get back to winning ways."

While it wasn’t the result he would have wanted for his first time in the dugout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, our Head Coach praised the support from the stands and being on the sidelines at our ‘iconic stadium’.

“It's important because when you play at an iconic and unique environment, it's the best stadium in the world. We need to make sure that when we're here, we entertain the fans because you want them to come back.

“We've got two games here still to play against Everton and Manchester United and we want to make sure that we can keep increasing the numbers that come to watch because today, again, the noise from the stands was great.

“When you're attacking, the chances you're getting, their support, even when we're behind, that means a lot to the group. Hopefully, we can bring them back when we play the next two games and they continue to support us in these next few games coming up before the international break.”