West Ham 1-2 Spurs, Women's Super League | Martin Ho's verdict

Martin Ho was pleased with the fight and character shown by his side to produce a second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 victory at West Ham in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.

Despite a positive start from us at Chigwell Construction Stadium, it was the home side who struck first in the London derby minutes as Shekiera Martinez capped off a quick counterattack move to hand the Hammers the lead on 10 minutes.

Having carved out 28 shots in total during the 90 minutes, five of those on target, we needed two moments of quality in the second period to earn us the three points. The first coming from Matilda Vinberg with a lovely, left-footed strike to pick out the top right corner from the edge of the box.

Olivia Holdt then rifled home from distance in the final quarter of the game to secure us the win in east London and earn us our first victory on the road in the WSL since late September.

Our Head Coach spoke of his delight for Tilly and Olivia with their wonderful strikes but, more importantly, for the response from his players in the second half.  

“In the first half, we were very good in terms of creating opportunities, shots on goal and attacking third entries. We were very good, but we just lacked a bit of composure - maybe that ruthless edge in front of goal.

“It’s tough when you’re breaking down a resilient side. They had eight to ten players behind the ball, defending the half and we just needed to be a little bit more ruthless with the chances we were getting - I think we did that in the second half.

“Tilly’s strike is wonderful. We ask a lot of her to do that more because I know what she can do from those positions. I’m delighted for her because that will give her so much confidence.

“When the second one drops to Oli in the middle of the pitch, you know if she hits it well, it’s going in. She has such a nice strike on the ball and, when she’s in those positions, she’s very dangerous. Sometimes you need those moments of brilliance to open up a game, so I’m delighted for both.”

That is a thing of beauty 🚀😮‍💨

pic.twitter.com/lbhnfwSih4

— Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) February 1, 2026

On the second half performance in general, he added: “We showed character. You’re 1–0 down and you have 45 minutes to change it, and I asked that of the group. We needed to go out there and wear the shirt with more pride, really put ourselves about physically.

“If we want to come out of games like this, we must fight when we’re asked to fight. I’m delighted the two goals went in today and the players got what they deserved, especially after last week when we didn’t show enough in the final third.”

Next up in the WSL sees us return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for another London derby – this time against league holders Chelsea – and Martin is looking to use the momentum from this weekend’s game to put on a performance in front of a good backing in N17.

“You always want to go into a game with confidence and momentum, and we definitely have that now. The players know what I demand of them and this is a big game for us in terms of our levels, where we are and where we want to get to. Playing at the stadium is important for us as a team and for the club.

“We want to put in a good performance. You want fans to come and watch and be excited about this team. If we can make them proud, I’m sure we’ll get more backing.”

Join us in N17

Haven’t got your ticket yet for our WSL clash with Chelsea next Sunday (8 February) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? Don’t worry as you still have time to secure your seat in N17 for what promises to be an entertaining London derby.

Grab your tickets now and get behind Martin’s side!