Spurs Women defeat Blades in pre-season clash

Spurs Women continued their preparations for the new campaign with a 2-0 win over Sheffield United in a training ground friendly on Sunday afternoon.

Rianna Dean gave us the lead with a first-half penalty but saw a second spot-kick hit the post moments later, before Ashleigh Neville made sure of the victory with a close-range finish from a corner six minutes after the break.

We controlled the game for long spells at Hotspur Way, adapting well to the wet weather conditions, with new signing Aurora Mikalsen comfortably saving the Championship side’s two best efforts on target from Jade Pennock and Katie Wilkinson to keep her clean sheet intact.

Head Coaches Karen Hills and Juan Amoros handed youngster Elisha Sulola a start in central midfield alongside Josie Green, while Ria Percival had a big influence from the beginning, helping to drive us forward.

Kit Graham was denied by an early off-side flag while Dean slid the ball dangerously across the face of goal but there was nobody on hand to convert. Graham’s well-struck free-kick was deflected behind, but the same player was fouled in the box by Pennock as we took the set-piece short, with Dean emphatically dispatching the resulting penalty into the roof of the net to give us a 28th-minute lead.

Four minutes later, Dean was stepping up from 12 yards again after the lively Gemma Davison was brought down by Chloe Dixon. The striker fired the same way, but saw her penalty hit the post and bounce away to safety.

Pennock worked herself into space and tried a curling shot from just outside the box in United’s best chance of the half on 38 minutes but goalkeeper Mikalsen was always behind it, while her fellow summer signing Rachel Williams squeezed a shot the wrong side of the post for us after good work down the right by Lucia Leon.

We effectively made the game safe with a second goal on 51 minutes, Davison’s corner dropping dangerously in the six-yard box with Neville on hand to lash high into the net, despite the best efforts of Alethea Paul defending on the line. Sophie Walton’s long-range effort for the Blades dipped onto the roof of the net while Green steered a shot wide for us, before Hills and Amoros made a handful of changes just beyond the hour mark. Kerys Harrop shifted over from centre-half to left-back and proved a real threat down her flank, linking up effectively with substitute Angela Addison, while Lucy Quinn and Rosella Ayane – both also coming off the bench – tried shots from a variety of positions but couldn’t find a breakthrough.

Wilkinson went close with a couple of late free-kicks for the visitors, the first one sailing over and the second well gathered by Mikalsen after squirming through the wall, but we held firm to see out the win.