Women’s Under-19s earn hard-fought point against Arsenal

Jhanaie Pierre got us off to the perfect as she opened the scoring after two minutes at Hotspur Way to net her third goal in as many games at this level and although that was cancelled out by Freya Woods for the visitors, we reinstated our lead on the stroke of half-time, Eloise Summers-Mee slotting home a penalty for her first of the campaign.

We knew last season’s PGA League champions would come out with plenty of fight after the restart and we managed to keep them at bay with very few opportunities but with seven minutes left on the clock, we were dealt a blow as Angelina Bramble capitalised on a mistake at the back to net the all-important equaliser for her side as we were forced to share the points.

Despite the late heartache for our youngsters, Matt Sharman’s side still remain unbeaten this season across all competitions – four points from two league games and an emphatic 7-1 win over London Bees in the senior cup.

We couldn't have made a better start in our first home game of the campaign as, just two minutes in, Holly-Mae Elmes found Heidi Hills on the far right, she advanced to the byline before cutting back to Pierre in the centre of the box and she slotted home into the bottom corner to hand us the lead. Summers-Mee guided a header into the side-netting from Ruby Mace’s corner as we looked to build on the strong start, which saw Rania Oukriss denied in twice by Chimela Ude.

Summers-Mee had a golden opportunity to double our lead on 20 minutes after excellent pressure from Oukriss at a short goal-kick saw the ball fall kindly to our forward inside the box, but Ude produced a fantastic save to deny her from close range. Despite us dominant proceedings for large parts of the first half, Arsenal found an equaliser on 35 minutes when a long ball over the top set Woods through on goal, she took it around Sophie Jackson and slotted into an empty net.

Pierre looked for an instant reply at the other end as she sent a low drive into the side-netting but, in the final minute of normal time in the first period, we were awarded a penalty after Summers-Mee collided with the goalkeeper as she tried to latch onto Elmes’ ball over the top. The forward stepped up to take the spot-kick and slotted into the bottom corner to put us ahead at the break.

The Gunners looked for a response after the break, Phoebe De Bohan firing over the bar from the edge of the box while, at the other end, Pierre showcased good speed from a standing position but her low cross was defended well. In truth, there were very few chances for the first 25 minutes of the second half, but Arsenal began to ramp up the pressure for an equaliser in the final quarter-of-an-hour, Bramble denied by Jackson before Cairo Antoine-Eva sent a header over the bar.

We continued to create opportunities, though, Hills’ cross finding Summers-Mee in the middle but she was unable to direct her header on target before Nife Aramide, Mace and Oukriss all had efforts blocked in quick succession. However, on 83 minutes, Arsenal found the leveller as Jackson’s attempted clearance ricocheted off Antoine-Eva and Bramble was there to collect the loose ball, take it past Jackson and slot home into the empty net.

Bramble then a golden chance to put her side ahead for the first time in the closing minutes of the contest but her attempted lofted attempt was routine for Jackson. In the end, we had to settle for a point in another strong display for our young side, although there will be a feeling we could have got maximum points.

"We're leaving the match where we are gutted that we didn't get the three points"

Speaking after the game, coach Matt told us: “It's a very, very strong display for where we want to be this season. The performance was fantastic and we're leaving the match where we are gutted that we didn't get the three points. I'm just really proud of the team, whether they got on the pitch, didn't get on the pitch, the people not making the squad, every single member of our team are so important and what they bring is so valuable to the group. I believe that this is one of the reasons why we're getting these results that we have done. We have maintained our unbeaten run [this campaign] is really good and I think it just fuels more confidence for our goals going into our Wednesday’s match against London City Lionesses.”

Line-ups

Spurs: Jackson, Northwood, Elmes, Prosser, Bush (Withey 78), Aramide, Mace (c), Oukriss, Hills, Summers-Mee, Pierre (Johnson 72). Substitutes (not used): Shields, Neill, Bird.

Match data

Goals: Spurs – Pierre 2, Summers-Mee 45; Arsenal - Woods 35, Bramble 83.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Oukriss 45+5; Arsenal – De Bohan 45+5.

Venue: Hotspur Way.

Weather conditions: Sunny with a bit of overcast, 21 degrees.