Kelly Gago’s 83rd-minute goal consigned us to a 2-1 Barclays Women’s Super League defeat to Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday lunchtime.
Having trailed inside 12 minutes to a precision strike from Yuka Momiki, we fought hard in search of a leveller but couldn’t come up with much of a cutting edge in the attacking areas until substitute Olga Ahtinen teed up Signe Gaupset to drill home with just under a quarter-of-an-hour remaining.
Instead of spurring us on to victory, though, that goal only kicked Everton into another gear and they restored their lead seven minutes later when Gago finished off a devastating counter-attack, while it was only some sharp saves from Lize Kop to deny Melissa Lawley and Inma Gabarro that prevented the Toffees from adding to their side of the scoreline.
We took to the field in what was our first WSL outing for a month without the services of three of our regular back four this season, the virtually ever-present centre-half duo of Clare Hunt and Toko Koga away at the Asian Cup and left-back Amanda Nilden suspended after an accumulation of yellow cards. Young forward Lenna Gunning-Williams, meanwhile, came in for her first WSL start as one of two changes from the Women’s FA Cup win over London City Lionesses last time out.
Only 59 seconds were on the clock when the threatening Toni Payne broke forward into space down Everton’s right, but Kop stood strong to block her attempt with the pair subsequently colliding at the near post. Cathinka Tandberg’s looping header was gathered at the other end by Courtney Brosnan but on 12 minutes we fell behind when Zara Kramzar attacked down the left before finding Momiki, who arrowed a fine low strike into the far bottom corner from 18 yards out.
Payne fired just off-target and then shot straight at Kop as Everton continued to threaten, but while we produced some clever bits of play at times, not least a wonderful turn on the ball in the visitors’ area by Olivia Holdt in the run-up to the interval, we couldn’t pose any serious problems for Brosnan.
Bethany England added some attacking impetus when she came off the bench as part of a triple substitution by Martin Ho just prior to the hour mark, planting a header wide and then driving in from the left to set up Gaupset, whose shot across the face of goal was claimed by Brosnan, while Maz Pacheco’s header for Everton landed on the roof of our net before we finally found a breakthrough in the 76th minute, Ahtinen coming in off the right and setting up Gaupset, who found the far corner with a clinical finish from the right angle.
Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t capitalise and after Gabarro steered a shot over the bar, the visitors scored on the break with 83 minutes gone, Gabarro racing onto a ball down the left before squaring for Gago to convert from close range. Everton’s substitutes had really made a difference for them and another of those – Lawley – was left wondering how she hadn’t scored when her angled volley from the right was superbly touched onto the near post by Kop. Gabarro was then denied by our Netherlands international stopper at her other upright, as we were left frustrated at the end of the game.
