Summanen previews Chelsea cup clash: “We're really hungry to improve”
Sat 04 April 2026, 10:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
A determined Eveliina Summanen reiterated ‘there are going to be ups and downs’ in a long season – but sees our next fixture against Chelsea in the quarter-final of the Women’s FA Cup on Monday (1.30pm UK) as an opportunity to bounce back.
While there has been a difficult run of results in the Women’s Super League, suffering defeats in our last three games on the bounce, there have been plenty of aspects in the performances that Martin Ho and his players can build on in the closing stages of the campaign.
But, for now, league football stops and the attention turns to FA Cup action at Kingsmeadow as we look to reach the semi-final for just the second time in our history.
Experienced midfielder Eveliina, who was part of the squad for our historic FA Cup run in 2024 where we reached the final for the first time, says ‘anything can happen’ in a cup knockout game and go into the fixture with plenty of motivation.
There are going to be ups and downs, and all the difficult moments actually give a little bit more than those good moments.
“We know that Chelsea is a good team, but we'll have this week time to prepare for it and give our best shot,” she told us, previewing the clash with Chelsea in the cup. “We've not had the best performance the last few games and we're really hungry to improve.
“We have a good chance against Chelsea and obviously it's a cup as well, so that adds that little extra bonus to the game. We know that's our opportunity to win something and get to the final this year, so that's the extra motivator behind it. It's 90 minutes of football - anything can happen.”
When asked about the recent run of the results, she added: “The football season is long. There are going to be ups and downs, and all the difficult moments actually give a little bit more than those good moments.
“There is something to build on and it's a good chance to learn as well, it's still the first season with Martin as well - it's not a sprint, it's a marathon in a way. We kind of need to keep on building and be resilient in that way.
“We just do the basics well and then stick to the plan and see it as a little bit longer project as well. But, at the same time, we know that we want to get results when we have the chances.”
