Lauren Pickett made a dream start to her Spurs career after her hat-trick secured a 3-1 win in the FA Women’s Premier League Charity Trophy fixture against Ex-England All Stars on Sunday.
Pickett, who has been at the club for a little over a week, came off the bench after 25 minutes to score three times while Ellen Maggs pulled one back for England.
With an attendance of over 500, fans got to see some of the greats that have performed in an England shirt with legends such as Marieanne Spacey MBE, Pauline Cope-Boanas and Kelly Smith on the field. Spurs manager Karen Hills even got involved in the fun as she took a break from her management duties to play in the last 15 minutes!
The Lionesses, who were all wearing ‘GORE’ on the back of their shirts in tribute to the late Sylvia Gore MBE, almost conceded in the opening minutes as Lindsay Johnson nearly turned the ball into the back of her net after a dangerous cross into the box delivered by Bianca Baptiste.
Six minutes later, Sarah Wiltshire’s quick feet in the box set up Maya Vio whose thumping effort from 12 yards rattled the crossbar and fell to Ronnell Humes but she couldn’t guide the ball goalwards.
Before eventually going off injured, Humes was involved again as she drilled a tempting ball into the box that Baptiste almost poked in but Cope-Boanas reacted quickly to make an important save off the line.
The Ex-England All Stars had their first effort after 36 minutes when Karen Walker attempted to head the ball in from a long free kick but Toni-Anne Wayne denied the former Doncaster Belles forward.
Just before the break, Pickett showed what she is capable of and improvised superbly with a tremendous flick from a Baptiste corner but her attempt went just inches wide.
Pickett gave Spurs a well-deserved lead in the 47th minute with a composed finish after she had dribbled past the keeper to knock the ball in the bottom corner from a tight angle and score her first goal for the club.
Spurs doubled their lead 11 minutes later as Pickett latched on to a ball over the top and slotted past Rachel Brown-Finnis from 12 yards as England showed that they were struggling to contain Spurs attacking threat.
The Lionesses pulled one back with 20 minutes to go after referee Lucy Oliver awarded a penalty kick that Maggs calmly struck past Wayne.
Shortly after, Spurs increased their advantage and Pickett unlocked the England defence once more to complete her hat-trick and make it 3-1, as she wriggled her way through the back line to drill the ball into the bottom right corner.
Spurs Ladies: Toni-Anne Wayne, Lucia Leon (Karen Hills 75), Leah Rawle, Josie Green, Renee Hector, Sarah Wiltshire, Bianca Baptiste (Kelley Blanchflower 59), Wendy Martin, Jenna Schillaci, Maya Vio, Ronnell Humes (Lauren Pickett 25). Substitutes (not used): Chloe Morgan, Ryah Vyse.
