SheKicks

Tottenham Hotspur took a bonus point from their Subway Women’s League Cup match against Aston Villa – and Martin Ho gave a lot of credit to goalkeeper Lize Kop.

With the score at 0-0 after 90 minutes, the competition rules say that a penalty shoot-out decides who gets an extra point to take into the group standings.

And Kop not only stopped two penalties, she had the nerve to step up and take one as well.

“Penalties are the cruellest way of deciding games,” Ho told the club’s official website afterwards. “I don’t envy anyone in those situations – I don’t even enjoy watching them!

“But the players who stepped up showed real courage and personality. It’s a pressured moment, and I’m proud of them. Lize made two brilliant saves and even scored a penalty herself – she’s effectively won us the game.”

The score in the shoot-out was 7-6, with Sarah Mayling, Anna Patten, Jill Baijings, Oceane Deslandes, Lynn Wilms and Lucia Kendall scoring for Villa, and Kop making crucial saves from Miri Taylor and Georgia Mullett.

Indeed, if Taylor had managed to get past Kop with her spot kick, Villa would have won the match, as Spurs’ Lenna Gunning-Williams had the first penalty of the shoot-out saved by Ellie Roebuck.

But the seven team-mates that followed her did not miss: Bethany England, Amanda Nilden, Matilda Vinberg, Eveliina Summanen, Drew Spence, Kop and Toko Koga.

Villa had one less penalty taker to choose from after Noelle Maritz’s late red card reduced them to ten players.

Martin Ho: We need to be more consistent going forward

Reflecting on the match during normal time, Ho described it as “a scrappy game”.

“In the first half, we created some good moments but maybe lacked a cutting edge in the final third,” he said.

“In the second half, we got into some good positions, but the final ball or action was a little off. When we got it right, we found good shooting and crossing positions. We just need to make that more consistent.

“Clean sheets are important – they give you confidence. But we still need to defend the goal better because they had some big moments. Our pressure also needs to be a bit more aggressive and consistent. This performance was the response we expected. The players would’ve felt the City defeat, and hopefully tonight has taken that out of their system so we can now move on to Leicester City.”

Chelsea have completed the permanent signing of goalkeeper Becky Spencer from Tottenham.

The Jamaican international goalkeeper originally joined the Blues on loan back in March.

This move came after Femke Liefting suffered a long-term injury and Zecira Musovic’s pregnancy.

The 34-year-old was on the Chelsea bench for all but two games during her loan stint with the club, as they completed a domestic treble.

Spencer spent five-and-a-half seasons at Tottenham where she made 95 appearances and kept 18 clean sheets.

She played a huge role in Tottenham reaching the final of the 2023-24 Women’s FA Cup, saving penalties from Chloe Kelly and Alex Greenwood during a penalty shootout against Manchester City in the quarter-finals.

Why have Chelsea signed Becky Spencer?

The signing of Becky Spencer comes after Chelsea also signed Livia Peng last month.

Peng will offer competition to England and Chelsea No.1 Hannah Hampton, after Zecira Musovic left the club at the end of June.

Chelsea’s head of women’s football, Paul Green, said Spencer will also provide cover for Chelsea’s No.1 goalkeeper.

Green said: “Her experience will provide cover and enable the younger goalkeepers to pursue valuable development opportunities.

‘‘She settled in well during her loan and is a great character to have in the group. We all look forward to working with her again next season.”

Spencer meanwhile told Chelsea’s official website: “I’m over the moon to be given the opportunity to stay at this magical club, it somewhere which has always felt like home for me.

“We have amazing fans and I look forward to coming back into this environment on a permanent basis and working alongside the great goalkeeper’s union we have.”

Who else have Chelsea signed this summer?

In total, Chelsea have signed four players so far during the summer transfer window.

Becky Spencer is the second goalkeeping addition, following the previous arrival of Switzerland’s Livia Peng.

Earlier this month, Chelsea strengthened their defence with the addition of two-time Champions League winner Ellie Carpenter.

The Australian arrived on a four-year deal from Lyon after five successful years in France.

The deal for Carpenter involved another Chelsea star returning to her former club in Lyon, as Ashley Lawrence – who was also competing with Bronze at right back – heads back to France.

Chelsea last month also signed German U23 international Mara Alber from Hoffenheim.

The 19-year-old can play on either flank or in midfield, and also signed a four-year deal with the Blues.