With five of our summer arrivals in the matchday squad for our London derby at Brisbane Road, four of them featured at Brisbane Road on Sunday afternoon as Kirsty Hanson and Caitlin Dijkstra both started the game while Shekiera Martinez and Victoria Pelova entered the fray in the second half.
Making their first appearances in Lilywhite in a competitive fixture, they all had a significant impact in helping us earn three points in our season opener – particularly Caitlin who put in a huge shift at right-back and centre-back while, at the other end, Kirsty netted a sensational brace to set us on our way to victory.
Our Head Coach was pleased to give our new signings their first competitive minutes, but believes we can expect even more from them once they integrate even further with the squad.
“There were four debutants in there [for the game against West Ham],” Martin told us, speaking after the game with SPURSPLAY. “For them, it’s about understanding one another. In pre-season, there’s not as much pressure in the games, but then you step into the actual league campaign where the results start to matter.
“Those players are settling in, getting a feel for it, playing with new team-mates, knowing what we expect and seeing what the fans expect. It was really nice for those players to come on and get their debuts.
“I thought Caitlin was outstanding in an unfamiliar position that we put her in for tactical reasons, and then to go into centre-back when Toko [Koga] came off. I thought her performance was top class.”
Kirsty understandably stole the headlines with her stunning brace on her debut and while he was full of praise for her impact on the game, Martin insisted this is just the beginning of what we could see from her in a Spurs shirt.
“Wonderful,” he added, when asked about Kirsty’s double in the contest. “The movement for her first one, the pass from Signe [Gaupset] and then a really good finish to try to get it up, over and around the goalkeeper was excellent. It takes a bit of a deflection, but the movement against that opposition was outstanding.
“Then, for the second one, she cut inside and gives herself half a yard to finish, and it’s a wonderful strike. When she’s in those positions, with that quality and control, I think she’s really hard to play against.
“There’s a lot more to come from Kirsty. She wants more, but all I expect from her is to keep working hard and, if she does that, anything else is a bonus.”
Highlight | Spurs 3-1 West Ham