When the ball landed at Barbora Votikova’s feet, she had no doubt someone would be ready to show for it.
Kit Graham had not even started moving but she knew exactly where she should be and, after receiving the ball, easily moved it out wide to Ashleigh Neville. Her clipped pass into Grace Clinton was well-controlled, which meant Martha Thomas could comfortably turn and play out to Celin Bizet. With her head down, looking like she was going to try to take the Arsenal defenders on, Bizet calmly sent the ball centrally for Thomas to sweep home.
It was a 40-second move that encapsulated everything about how Tottenham Hotspur manager Robert Vilahamn wants his team to play.
His commitment to this kind of style has attracted its doubters over the past few weeks. Their positive performance against Chelsea and demolition of Aston Villa had faded into the background as they lost their previous two Women’s Super League matches 7-0 and 4-0 to Manchester City and Manchester United respectively. With Arsenal visiting off the back of an astonishing victory over Chelsea, it was easy to feel concerned that this could be another hefty defeat for a team that had not won in the league since October.
Instead, it proved to be a historic 1-0 win for Tottenham, with Vilahamn not quite bullish…
