Man Utd 2-1 Spurs, Women's League Cup | Martin Ho’s verdict

Martin Ho was once again full of praise for his player’s efforts to go toe-to-toe with Manchester United, but he was left disappointed with the final result as Manchester United produced a second half comeback to win 2-1 at Leigh Sports Village on Sunday and progress in the Women’s League Cup.

Similar to last week’s clash with United in the Women’s Super League, where we eventually drew 3-3, we started on the front foot in Manchester and deservedly took the lead on 16 minutes through a lovely volley by Drew Spence.

We had the advantage at the break after a strong first half performance but United staged a turnaround in the second period, Jess Park netting an equaliser six minutes after the restart before Fridolina Rolfo grabbed the winning goal four minutes from time.

Although our journey in the competition has come to an end at the quarter-final stage, our Head Coach was pleased with large spells of the performance – specifically taking the game to the home side in the first half.

“Performance for large parts was good, I thought we were competitive,” Martin told us, reflecting on the game with SPURSPLAY. “We pushed right to the end, and I think it shows how far we’ve come. They were trying to wear down the clock and waste time near the end, which shows they respect us. We’re very disappointed with the result, but the performance for large parts was very good.

“If we’d just maintained our level a little more between maybe the 65th and 80th minute, we could have pushed the game even further. But I can’t ask any more of them - they’ve done everything again this week. We’ve lifted our level, we’ve been more creative and more dominant, especially in the first half. In the second half, we had moments too, but they gave me absolutely everything and we should be proud of the team.”

Asked about United's late winner, but the character for the team to push for an equaliser instead of putting their heads down, Martin added: “It’s very easy when you go behind to let that affect you, but the mentality of the group is shifting. They want to win. They want to come off the pitch having been successful, and they showed that again. They pushed right to the end and I can’t ask any more. They’ve given me absolutely everything.

"I’m disappointed. There are so many emotions, but there’s also a lot of pride because this team has taken big steps - as a collective - and this is only the start for us. It was a really strong first half and that’s one of the big positives we can take. We took Manchester United at home and pushed them all the way in that first half.”