History was waiting to be made for the FA Cup Semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City. Both teams desperate to make it to Wembley, the stadium quickly filled to an attendance of 18,078.
Leicester looked promising in the early minutes of the game, taking an early shot at goal that sadly went wide. Jessica Naz made a strong run down but shoots straight into the safe hands of Lize Kop. Eveliina Summanen took a corner, but it was confidently defended again by Kop. Still only 10 minutes into the game, Bizet had fans on the edge of their seats, aiming only too high to push Spurs into the lead.
Jutta Rantala broke the deadlock in the 12th minute, assisted by C.J Bott. Leicester keep Spurs on their toes, almost pushing the lead in the 16th minute but captain Bethany England defends it well. A yellow card to Amy Turner earns Leicester another chance, but it fell short of making the box.
JUTTTAAAA 🤩#TOTLEI pic.twitter.com/OFpxpKtpfX
— LCFC Women (@LCFC_Women) April 14, 2024
Drew Spence made a promising run down the pitch giving Naz a chance to level for Spurs but to no luck as it just missed the net. Summanen whips the ball into the penalty area, but it was strongly punched away by Kop, protecting her team’s lead. Frustration starting to rise, a small misstep costs Naz the chance to score. Takarada makes a crucial tackle, relieving the home side of possession, and soon after achieving another vital chance for them to score but to no avail.
Approaching half time, with only 1 minute of added time, both teams fought well and hard for the lead, but the visitors came out on top with a 1-0 scoreline.
The second half began with Spurs immediately challenging Leicester’s back line and pushing for a goal.
Not withstanding Momiki, who fought for the Blues to regain dominance. It’s fair to say that although Spurs have come out with determination this second half, Leicester definitely stunned them in the first 45 minutes. Just before the game reached its 60th minute Martha Thomas replaces Bizet for Spurs. The Blues soon followed suit, with Emilia Pelgander coming on for Sam Tierney.
A slight formation change for Spurs also in the last part of the game, as Grace Clinton moved out to the wing. It was a solid shift from Drew Spence, a very experienced player in the competition who only came back from injury last month, who was subbed off for Kit Graham. A misstep from Deanne Rose allowed Neville to regain possession of the ball but Spurs are still unable to find the back of the net.
A triple substitution for Spurs as Nildén comes off for Grant, Clinton comes off for Vinberg and Summanen is replaced by Ahtinen. Meanwhile, the Blues also make a change with Rose being subbed off for O’Brien.
It took 83 minutes, but Jessica Naz finished off a stunning assist from captain England, keeping Spurs in with a chance of going through to the FA Cup. The scoreline sat at 1-1 at the 90th minute with an extra 6 minutes of added time.
Premature celebrations for home fans as they have 2 near misses as the final whistle approaches. The final whistle goes with the scoreline being 1-1, putting us into another 30 minutes of added time. Before the 2nd start, Leicester made two more substitutions, with Green and Momiki coming off for Thibaud and Whelan.
We saw performances slow from both teams in extra time. A flawless pass from England to Vinberg missed the back of the net by inches. Pressure starts building as only 2 minutes of added time are allowed at the end of the 15 minutes. Frustration from both sides as neither team can find the back of the net to avoid going to penalties.
Refusing to give up, in the 118th minute, Martha Thomas managed to get lead for Spurs after a header. After 30 minutes of extra time, the score was 2-1 to Spurs with an added 3 minutes to go.
MARTHA THOMAS SHE'S DONE IT – YOU BEAUTY! pic.twitter.com/XVr0rdUn3j
— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) April 14, 2024
The stadium erupts at the final whistle as it’s confirmed, for the first time in history, Spurs are through to the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final! Leicester City played a strong game but unfortunately just fell short of a historic trip to Wembley as after a long 120 minutes, Martha Thomas pushed her home side to a 2-1 win.
Starting Lineups:
Tottenham Hotspur:
Becky Spencer (GK), Amy James-Turner, Amanda Nildén, Jessica Naz, Grace Clinton, Bethany England, Celin Bizet, Luana Bühler, Drew Spence, Eveliina Summanen, Asheleigh Neville.
Leicester City:
Lize Kop (GK), Sam Tierney, C.J Bott, Sophie Howard, Deanne Rose, Jutta Rantala, Lena Petermann, Janice Cayman, Josie Green, Saori Takarada, Yuka Momiki.
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