Chloe Kelly to the fore as Manchester City make light work of Tottenham
It has taken a few weeks for Manchester City to find their feet, but this dismantling of Tottenham, just three days after they saw off their title rivals Arsenal to earn an FA Cup final berth, indicated that new signings have been embedded and balance found.
The manager, Gareth Taylor, was keen for his team to start this game with the same “high energy” they demonstrated on Thursday night, and Chloe Kelly’s early warning in the sixth minute, which forced a fine save from Becky Spencer, before her double to put City in the driving seat showed his team had got the message.
“Second half, some of the play was exceptional,” said Taylor.
Kelly’s warning strike seemed to shake the visiting team awake, as they found their shape and did well to match City’s high press when out of possession.
“We’re still very new to this league, said the Spurs co-manager Karen Hills. “We’re two seasons in, we’ve still got players out there that have been semiprofessional and are having to learn very quickly because the games are coming thick and fast and the teams are quality.”
Those hoping for a showdown between the new Spurs signing Alex Morgan and her World Cup-winning teammates Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle were in for disappointment.
“The hardest part about coming back after pregnancy is being patient with myself,” Morgan tweeted before the teams were announced. “I can’t wait to get on the pitch with my team, but that will have to wait until I’m 100% fit.”
In Tottenham’s 4-0 defeat by Arsenal the star forward was named on the bench but did not come on. A trip to Manchester, away from her five-monthold daughter and with the forward still fighting her way back to fitness, for a possible cameo was deemed to be too much too soon. The patience of managers Hills and Juan Amorós was perhaps wise given the huge scrutiny on the two-time World Cup winner.
But Spurs are struggling for goals and the longer that situation continues, the greater the pressure to rush Morgan in. The risk, though, is a lack of service to the forward.
“We’re going to need her. She can bring experience and leadership and we’re going to work really hard to get her the ball but at the same time she knows that she’s got to be part of the team and work hard in those moments when we haven’t got the ball,” said Hills.
“Alex has the qualities and capabilities to help us in those moments.”
Somewhat predictably, it was the dynamic Kelly who made the breakthrough. Having collided with the Spurs forward Kit Graham, Kelly recovered to collect the ball on the left before switching on to her right foot and smashing into the far corner, much to the fury of the Tottenham players: Graham was still down injured.
In the second half City started to tear at the Spurs defence. The gentlest of nudges in the back of Gemma Bonner led to them doubling their lead from the spot, the penalty executed by Kelly with a strange hop-skip-jump run up, and just two minutes later City had their third. Mewis played a one-two with Janine Beckie and lifted a left-foot finish high into the net.
Shortly afterwards White rose highest to flick in, double her tally and extend the City lead.
A late corner saw the ball ricochet off Anna Filbey’s shoulder and into the goal for Spurs to claw a goal back, but it was too late to alleviate the pressure on the visiting team’s forwards.