Spurs sense Champions League after 4-0 thrashing of Brighton
By football reporter
Spurs continued their push for Champions League places with a dominant 4-0 win over Brighton at The Hive.
Kyah Simon put them into an early lead after she lofted past Megan Walsh, before three goals in seven second-half minutes overwhelmed the visitors.
Ashleigh Neville doubled Spurs’ lead, before Shelina Zadorsky and Simon struck twice in 60 seconds, both from close range, to complete an excellent afternoon for Rehanne Skinner’s side.
Strong winds in the capital made for difficult conditions, leading to a scrappy opening 45 minutes.
And capitalising on the gusty weather, Molly Bartrip’s ball over the top had the Brighton defence caught between two minds, goalkeeper Walsh unable to judge the flight of the ball.
Simon took full advantage of Walsh’s hesitation, smartly lobbing her to put Spurs ahead.
Struggling for any sort of fluency, Brighton were fortunate not to be two down when Rachel Williams’ perfectly-placed header from a corner cannoned back off the crossbar.
Ria Percival and the industrious Eveliina Summanen then combined to produce an opening for the Finnish international, who could only drag her effort wide – but it was a different story after the interval as Spurs quickly put the game to bed.
Percival delivered a sumptuous, arched ball in behind the Brighton back four, finding Neville on the run. The substitute produced a brilliant, composed finish to double her side’s advantage.
Captain Shelina Zadorsky then tapped home after a goalmouth scramble, Simon lashing home at the far post a minute later to complete a difficult day for the south coast side.
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Brighton and Hove Albion manager Hope Powell said: “There’s disappointment, naturally. It was a really tough day today and they know they can and should do better than they did.
“It felt like we had quite a bit of ball possession, certainly in the latter stages, but we didn’t create much, if anything. So, really, really disappointing, and in the manner we conceded as well. It’s a really unhappy changing room if I’m honest.
“It’s really silly, especially when we consider where there second goal came from. Experienced players just not really on it, and it wasn’t good enough today. As a result, we got punished for it.
“We’ve got to work harder. We’ve got to take heart from the Chelsea and Arsenal performances, if we can draw on that again, and recognise that we’ve got to work for 90 plus minutes and be committed to it.”
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Rehanne Skinner said: “I’m delighted. The team have worked incredibly hard today and I’m just so proud of the energy, the enthusiasm and resilience we showed after a really tough week,” said Spurs head coach, Rehanne Skinner.
“To get four goals at home, and a clean sheet, is just a fantastic effort from everybody. They’ve done exactly what I’ve asked and stuck to the game plan and exploited Brighton’s weaknesses as best as we possibly could. That created some quality chances.
“Ash (Neville) has been desperate to score and I’m delighted for her to get on the scoresheet today; she needed that. Shelina’s scored as well, and I think it shows we’ve got players committed to scoring.
“I think the second goal summed us up. You can always count on Ria (Percival) to work incredibly hard in midfield, and she covers some distance. Ash is more than capable of scoring goals like that, and her desire to get forward to support the attack, and finish how she did, was top quality.”
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Rebecca Spencer; Kerys Harrop, Shelina Zadorsky (c), Molly Bartrip, Asmita Ale; Eveliina Summanen, Maeva Clemaron; Angela Addison, Ria Percival, Kyah Simon; Rachel Williams
Substitutes: Ashleigh Neville for Addison 52, Rosella Ayane for Summanen 67, Viktoria Schnaderbeck for Zadorsky 74
Substitutes not used: Tinja-Riikka Korpela (gk), Jess Naz, Isabella Lane
Goals: Simon 12, 63, Neville 57, Zadorsky 62
Bookings: Summanen 57
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