Wed 29 October 2014, 17:05
Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur Ladies aim to get back to winning ways against Gillingham on Sunday after a fortnight of mixed fortunes.
It all started with a penalty shoot-out defeat after an incredible tie in the London Capital Cup against West Ham before recovering with a 7-0 win against Bury Town in the Ryman Women's Cup and then a 5-2 reverse against Brighton back in FAWPL action on Sunday.
West Ham led on no fewer than four occasions in the London Cup tie but the ladies hit back every time as it ended 4-4 after extra time.
Wendy Martin and Avilla Bergin struck in normal time and Wendy was there again to level at 3-3 on 109 minutes.
The Hammers looked to have won it when they scored a fourth goal with only two minutes left but Leah Rawle was there in the final seconds to take the game into a shoot-out that West Ham won 5-4.
"It was a huge disappointment to go out on penalties," said manager Karen Hills.
"The players showed such character to come back time after time and it was such a shame to go out like that in the end."
The team was soon back in action in the Ryman Women's Cup, a new competition.
They travelled to Suffolk to face Bury Town and ran out 7-0 victors - Katie O'Leary led the way with four goals with Wendy Martin, Lucia Leon and Andra Marcoci also on target.
"It was a long trip for us on a midweek night and Bury had a great crowd there, but we did a professional job," said Karen.
"The important thing was bouncing back after the disappointment against West Ham and we did that. It was a good performance and we had a couple of debutants in Kitty Lyons and Renee Williams who both did well."
High-flying Brighton - who travelled to Ware FC with five wins in eight - were next up as the ladies returned to FAWPL action on Sunday.
Karen was impressed with the performance but Brighton ran out 5-2 winners. "We couldn't have given any more," said Karen.
"We started well, Avilla Bergin had an early chance and we defended well in the first half.
"We went 1-0 up at the start of the second half when we pressed high, forced a mistake and Wendy Martin went through to score.
"Brighton equalised soon after and went 3-1 up, we then had a chance through Bianca Baptiste but missed it, Brighton made it 4-1 and then Wendy scored a fantastic goal for 4-2.
"We pushed forward after that, switched to three at the back and went for it but we got caught out chasing the game.
"It was a disappointing result but I can't argue about the performance, we were just beaten by the better team on the day."
After a run of tough fixtures, the ladies now face matches against teams below them in the FAWPL South starting with Gillingham on Sunday.
"It's an important game for us," said Karen. "We've played all the top teams and I'm hoping we can now take the positives from those performances and turn that into good results."
Spurs Ladies vs Bury: Lauren Picton; Leanne Mabey, Alex Keown, Renee Williams, Sophie McLean; Shannon Maloney, Wendy Martin, Maya Vio; Avilla Bergin (Kitty Lyons), Lucia Leon (Andra Marcoci), Katie O'Leary.
Spurs Ladies vs Brighton: Toni-Ann Wayne; Sophie McLean, Natalie Grafton, Leah Rawle, Jenna Schillaci; Shannon Maloney, Wendy Martin, Maya Vio; Katie O'Leary (Lucia Leon, 7), Bianca Baptiste (Andra Marcoci, 75), Avilla Bergin.
