The day may have ended in disappointment with Arsenal running out 2-0 winners against Spurs Women on Sunday afternoon, but Ria Percival was full of gratitude for the support she and her team-mates received from the stands as a league-record number of fans were in attendance for the match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A new divisional high of 38,262 supporters were in the bowl to watch our Women’s side take on our rivals for the first time in the Barclay’s FA Women’s Super League.
Despite a strong performance from our girls where we matched our opponents for large parts of the game, it was the Gunners who took all three points thanks to second-half efforts from Kim Little and Vivianne Miedema.
The result was, of course, disappointing to take for the team but, after the squad spent time signing autographs and taking pictures with fans after the game, Ria was keen to express her thanks for the backing the players received throughout the contest.
“It was a great opportunity and day for us to be here at the stadium with this crowd and the fans and I think, for all of us, we’re disappointed with the result and with the way the game went,” New Zealand’s most capped player admitted.
“It was a bit frustrating to go into the break at 0-0 but at the same time, I think we did well, we dominated large parts of the game and we had our chances - and to get opportunities against these sorts of teams and to go in at 0-0, I think we had a bit of confidence coming out for the second half.
“We’ve had games at other big stadiums before but the support this time was huge for us. To have the home fans behind us and so much support, it’s a big credit and big thanks to the fans.”