Last-gasp equaliser by Arsenal in thrilling 1-1 draw at Spurs

By Football Reporter

Arsenal’s perfect start to the season came to an end as they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by bitter rivals Spurs at the Hive.

A dramatic 90th minute equaliser from Vivianne Miedema spared Arsenal their first Barclays FA WSL defeat of the season and cancelled out a scrambled effort by Rachel Williams.

The Gunners will remain top of the table at the end of Women’s Football Weekend in a contest which saw 2896 fans descend on the Hive – a record for Spurs women at at the ground.

Arsenal almost made the perfect start when Beth Mead found herself free in front of goal with barely a minute on the clock, only to have her close-range effort denied by Tinja-Riikka Korpela.

The visitors dominated early proceedings and were unlucky not to go ahead in the 25th minute, when Mead’s looping free kick was tipped onto the bar by the impressive Korpela and frantically scrambled clear from the Spurs goalmouth.

The hosts’ determined defending paid off in the 65th when Williams capitalised to force the ball home past Manuela Zinsberger, putting the Gunners behind for the first time this season.

Spurs should have pulled further ahead in the 70th when Zinsberger’s parry fell to Ashleigh Neville, only for the right-back to blaze over with the goal gaping.

The hosts looked to be on course for a famous upset, but were denied when Miedema rose highest to home a late Arsenal corner and preserve their unbeaten record.

Spurs must be sick of the sight of Miedema, who has scored in all four games she has played against Rehanne Skinner's side, netting six times.

To follow the action and sign up for The FA Player’s live Barclays FA Women’s Super League coverage visit womenscompetitions.thefa.com

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Rehanne Skinner said: “We were emotional at full time, we were so close to getting three points and having a great day, but a point is massive and we’re happy. They finished well but ultimately I’m proud of our performance throughout the course of the game, we made life difficult and increasingly so as the game went on.”

“Ultimately we’re aiming for the champions league, but when that’ll arrive I’m not sure. We’ve got to improve, take each game as it comes and the biggest thing is to deliver a better version of last week’s performance.”

Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall said: “It’s a difficult one: if you looked at the game objectively as a whole we should’ve one. We had so many opportunities but we just couldn’t get the ball to go in. But then we conceded at a vulnerable time, which created stress for us and belief for Spurs, and it’s important that we regained control.

“It’s a two-way street: We’re disappointed overall but a valuable point and lesson for us in terms of our mentality.”

“We’ve had such a tight schedule. We played on Sunday, then again on Wednesday on a different surface, and then on Saturday lunchtime. When you add on travelling to that we knew it would be difficult across the three games, but I’m proud of our performances.”

[On the ref’s decision not to play advantage late on]: “When you talk about other professionals, if you don’t have anything positive to say don’t say anything at all.”

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): 1 Tinja-Riikka Korpela; 3 Shelina Zadorsky; 12 Ria Percival; 5 Molly Bartrip; 6 Kerys Harrop; 29 Ashleigh Neville; 18 Chioma Ubogagu; 21 Maeva Clemaron; 10 Rachel Williams; 16 Kit Graham; 17 Kyah Simon

Substitutes: 14 Angela Addison for Ubogagu 63’; 23 Rosella Ayane for Simon 80’; 4 Josie Green for Clemaron 81’

Substitutes not used: 25 Eleanor Heeps; 13 Asmita Ale; 2 Esther Morgan

Bookings: Clemaron 49’; Neville 82’; Ayane 90+1’

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): 1 Manuela Zinsberger; 3 Lotte Wubben-Moy; 6 Leah Williamson; 7 Steph Catley; 9 Beth Mead; 10 Kim Little; 11 Vivianne Miedema; 12 Frida Maanum; 13 Lia Walti; 15 Katie McCabe; 16 Noelle Maritz

Substitutes: 8 Jordan Nobbs for Maanum 68’; 14 Nikita Parris for Catley 68’; 19 Caitlin Foord for Mead 85’; 23 Mana Iwabuchi for Walti 84’

Substitutes not used: 18 Lydia Williams; 4 Anna Patten; 20 Simone Boye Sorensen; 29 Teyah Goldie; 77 Tobin Heath

Bookings: Mead 82’

Attendance: 2896

Referee: Amy Fearn