Tottenham Hotspur Women vs Birmingham City Women. Women's Super League.
Tottenham Hotspur StadiumAttendance4,681.
Report as Kit Graham's first-half goal earns Tottenham Women only a third league win of 2021; Birmingham Women's woes continue under new boss Scott Booth, with Blues now winless in 15 WSL games
Monday 27 September 2021 16:42, UK
Kit Graham's first-half cross provided the only goal of the game as dominant Spurs Women missed a hatful of chances to earn more than a 1-0 win over Birmingham.
Spurs were totally dominant at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from the first whistle without providing Emily Ramsey too many problems before half-time, until Graham's cross from a short corner was missed by everyone in the middle and beat the goalkeeper at her back post.
Graham, debutant Jiali Tang and substitute Angela Addison came close to adding to the scoreline as Spurs missed the opportunity to produce a scoreline their performance had deserved.
And they were nearly made to pay by a couple of Veatriki Sarri efforts late on in an otherwise limp attacking performance from Birmingham, whose inability to find a way through condemned her side to a 15th WSL game without victory.
With the added pressure of playing at the huge arena of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tottenham Women kept plenty of early possession without the confidence to cut through the Birmingham backline.
Jessica Naz bent two early efforts wide from distance without Spurs ever really threatening the Birmingham six-yard box, and a hopeful ball into the area from Ashleigh Neville which Josie Green poked well wide was as close as they came to troubling Ramsey.
Their dominance was constant, however, and would eventually bear fruit. Graham's take and turn found Ria Percival in space and after her shot was diverted behind for a corner, Graham's cross from the short delivery bamboozled everyone in the box before nestling inside the far post.
Graham's confidence was up and seven minutes into the second half she nearly doubled the lead, beating the far post by a matter of feet, before Tang, on as a substitute for the goalscorer, nearly caught Ramsey out of position from a defensive mix-up when firing just wide from 20 yards.
She went close again on her Spurs debut before Green went closer, forcing Ramsey into a rare save. Sarri then looked to make Tottenham pay for failing to kill the game off but was guilty of her own wasteful finishing, firing at Tinja-Riikka Korpela on her goalkeeping debut, and soon after riding a couple of challenges before shooting over.
Late substitute Addison looked eager to make her own impression with a pair of near-misses in the closing minutes, and come the full-time whistle Tottenham were grateful to have Graham's fortuitous goal behind them.
Tottenham are on Sky Sports next weekend when they visit Manchester City on Sunday, September 12 live on Sky Sports Football from 6.30pm; Kick-off at 6.45pm.
Birmingham host Brighton and Hove Albion earlier that day; Kick-off at 2pm.
