Spurs Ladies progress in FA Cup

Spurs Ladies progressed to the fifth round of the SSE Women’s FA Cup following a commanding 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday, matching their best run in the competition, writes Rosie Bonass.

Goals from Jessica Naz, Ashleigh Neville and Coral-Jade Haines confirmed the Lilywhites’ place in the next stage of the competition, with our opponents set to be revealed during the fifth round draw on Monday (4 February, 6.45pm).

Spurs made the trip to Hayes Lane to take on Palace for the fourth time already this campaign – the victory in the FA Cup is the third time they have defeated their London rivals this season.

Manager Karen Hills made several changes to her side who have been in fine form after three straight wins in January and new signing Emma Beckett made her first start after arriving last month. In addition, Lucia Leon and Anne Meiwald came into defence, Josie Green and Anna Filbey slotted into midfield, while Bianca Baptiste started in attack.

Spurs looked lively going forward and Eagles’ goalkeeper Lucy Gillett was called into action on several occasions in the first half. Key chances from Neville, Baptiste and Rianna Dean should have put Spurs out of sight within the opening 30 minutes, but their efforts weren’t enough to break the deadlock.

Despite dominating play, the Lilywhites were made to wait until the 40th minute to get their opening goal. The breakthrough came when Naz pounced on Dean’s blocked strike to convert from close range and give her side a warranted lead heading into the break.

Neville then increased our advantage in injury time of the first half through a superb solo effort. The left-back carried the ball from the half-way line before bursting into the box to slot it past Gillett – a stellar goal from the defender who looked majestic throughout the contest.

Haines came off the bench and scored our third within 10 minutes of the restart. The midfielder had only been on the field for six minutes before she fired home following an indirect free kick, laid off by Leon in the penalty box, which was awarded after Gillett handled Freya Holdaway’s back pass.

Dean had a late chance to make it four, but her header at the far post from Baptiste’s cross was saved well by Gillett and the match finished 3-0 as Spurs eagerly await to hear who they’ll face next in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Match reaction

Manager Karen Hills said: “I’m happy, from a manager’s point of view you always want more and expect more, but I thought we dominated from the first to the final whistle.

“We worked on a lot of things in training and that all came through today. We’re all very pleased, but critical that there should have been more goals. We got that third goal which settled us down, before we just saw the game through. This is the furthest we’ve ever gone in the competition so roll on the draw, and we’ll take whoever and give a good performance.”

Lucia Leon, who played her first 90 minutes in nearly two months, added: “It was a great game and we dominated, they didn’t have many clear chances. We took three goals and it could have been more, but we’re happy to go through and excited to see who we have next. Considering I haven’t had many minutes this season, this was a great opportunity for me to show the coaches and everyone what I can do. I felt comfortable and enjoyed the game, which overall is excellent.”

Match data

SSE Women's FA Cup, fourth round

Goals: Spurs Ladies – Jessica Naz 40, Ashleigh Neville 45+3, Coral-Jade Haines 55.

Referee: Matthew Pollington.

Venue: Hayes Lane (Bromley FC).