England scores for Tottenham but it’s her old club Chelsea who seal important win in five-goal derby thriller
EMMA HAYES joked she almost applauded after watching Bethany England and Drew Spence combine to cause Chelsea problems.
Despite the Tottenham heroines haunting their old side– with England netting– it was the Blues who came away with a 3-2 win.
The victory, which included a classy Lauren James strike, saw the visitors return to top spot, with Manchester United held to a scoreless draw by Everton.
However the title-holders had to withstand a late fightback from Rehanne Skinner’s side in the game’s dying stages.
And they sealed another significant win in their push for a fourth consecutive WSL title.
Of England scoring her first goal against Chelsea since her Tottenham move, Hayes said: “I nearly clapped.
“I’ve seen it thousands of times in training. I’m always proud of former players when they go on (to other clubs).
“When you have players that used to be part of your team, they’re going to have a point to prove.
“I think our former players played very well and (Mana) Iwabuchi adds a lot of quality to them.
“Beth has brought a lot to that team and for me Drew is unbelievable in their side.
Hayes jokingly added: “And I hope Rehanne doesn’t mind me saying this – their two best players are Chelsea’s players.
“On a serious note, I’m happy to see them thriving and I’m happy to see Tottenham are making this progression because Rehanne is a really good coach.
“I’m glad to see that she’s been able to get an upturn in performance from her team.”
Tottenham’s home clash with Hayes’ side came 11 days after the Blues knocked their hosts out of the Conti Cup.
Spurs are yet to pick up a point against Chelsea in the league having lost their six previous encounters.
But they put in a battling first-half shift against the title holders.
Hayes added: “There’s such a thing as home advantage and they played it to perfection.
“They knew their pitch, they knew the conditions and I thought they were aggressive
“That’s something I know Rehanne has talked about wanting for her team.
“There’s always an expectation of, ‘oh it’s Chelsea, they’ve won lots and they’re going to dominate every week’.
“But everybody else are professionals, everybody else has internationals, we should expect more of other teams.”
Tottenham found themselves on the back foot in the eighth minute with an unmarked Jess Carter heading home from an Erin Cuthbert cross.
But the visitors were caught cold on the counter eight minutes later.
Some neat trickery from Spence was followed by her setting up England for a tap-in which the striker chose not to celebrate.
The score remained level until the 27th minute.
At that point James drove into the box from the wing with her shot deflected into goal off the post.
And Guro Reiten doubled Chelsea’s advantage, slotting past Tinja-Riikka Korpela in the 64th minute.
With two minutes of normal time remaining Nikola Karczewska nabbed a consolation for Tottenham who face Manchester United next.
Spurs boss Skinner hailed England’s efforts and admitted to being frustrated not to see her side get something from the game.
When asked if England gets enough credit for her clinical displays in attack, Skinner said: “The short answer is no.
“Her stats prove it for themselves. I don’t think she has anything to prove.
“She’s already done what she’s needed to over a number of years.
“What she really needs is time on the pitch. We see straight away the goals she’s scored in a short space of time.”
On if England should be in contention for a Lionesses spot with the World Cup looming, Skinner added: “If you’re playing well for club you have to be considered for your national team – it’s as simple as that.
“Obviously she’s going to keep working hard.
“Everything we do here and what comes from that is out of her control she can only control what she’s doing here.”