Sat 13 April 2024, 16:00
Tottenham HotspurWe have already created history by reaching the semi-final of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup for the first time in the team’s history and Martha Thomas doesn’t want to stop there, with a place up for grabs in May’s showpiece final at Wembley.
It has been some journey in the competition so far, including late drama against Sheffield United and beating three-time winners Manchester City on penalties, and the latest test is Leicester City on Sunday afternoon (12pm UK) who are also making their first appearance in the last four of the FA Cup.
We will also be returning to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for our eleventh fixture there and have enjoyed some good memories in our previous visits, most notably, our first-ever win over Arsenal in the north London Derby back in December, 2023, and it was Martha who netted the winning goal in that fixture – her first goal at the world-class stadium.
Taking a trip to N17 earlier this week and soaking in her surroundings, the Scotland international is excited to be returning here this weekend ahead of the huge clash in the FA Cup.
“We have made history by reaching the FA Cup semi-final, but we don’t want to stop here… we want to get to that final,” our number 17 said.
“We are playing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with our own fans, on a great pitch and with great facilities, and this is what it’s all about and where we feel we deserve to be. To have the opportunity to play here for a chance to reach the FA Cup final is huge and we are really excited for it.”
“We are excited to have the fans, we felt and heard them last time and having that true home advantage, with the stadium packed out in Lilywhite, will be massive and we will need them on the day. We hope they come loud and proud, support us like they have all season.”
Reflecting on her historic goal over the Gunners, she added: “The goal and the game itself was huge, we had some many players inside our box that were so calm in that moment. It was such a good team goal and I felt like I lost consciousness when I was doing that knee-slide – it meant the world to do that in front of such a great crowd.”
Watch - Thomas' historic north London derby winner
The 27-year-old became a Lilywhite ahead of the 2023/24 campaign as she joined from Manchester United and she certainly made a quick impression, scoring six goals in the opening four Barclays Women’s Super League games, and is the Club’s leading goalscorer with nine goals in all competitions so far.
“I probably didn’t expect the start I had personally,” Martha replied when asked about her time at Hotspur Way. “I saw so much in Spurs and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come here as I knew we could compete with the top teams. It has been so fun to be here, it’s such a good group of girls. To come here and be part of such a great group meant the world and I believe that is one of the reasons why we are getting results we are because we gel so well.”
Martha hasn’t featured since our victory over City in the previous round of the FA Cup, missing the Leicester City and Bristol City fixtures in the WSL, and the forward admitted it was difficult being on the sidelines ahead of her possible return this weekend.
“It has been tough to miss out on the last few games, it always sucks being injured as a footballer because you can’t do what you are supposed to be doing. It’s difficult but it happens. When I got injured, it was like ‘what is the time frame’ and ‘can I get back for the semi-final’ and luckily, I can.”
