View: Robert Vilahamn makes good on Tottenham Women ‘magic’ claim in 6-0 thrashing of Reading
Robert Vilahamn said prior to the start of the WSL season that he was hoping to produce some “magic” with Tottenham Women, and they certainly did that against Reading.
During the build-up to his first game in charge of the club, Vilahamn outlined his goals as Spurs Women manager via an interview with the Evening Standard (28 September).
“Year two for the Champions League spots is what I’m thinking of, and year one to make sure we play good football and start to win games. The position in the table this year is not the most important thing for me or for the board.
“We shouldn’t expect Tottenham to win the league this year. But hopefully, we can do magic together.”
And if “magic” is what the boss was looking for, he certainly got that on Wednesday (11 October) during his third game in charge as his side took Reading to the cleaners, beating them 6-0 in the opening game of their Continental League Cup campaign.
Not only did they put six past Reading without response, but they got six different players on the scoresheet, which will give the team plenty of confidence as they continue to go about life without last season’s top scorer and recently named club captain, Beth England.
Striker Martha Thomas, who was brought to the club on deadline day to help cope with the injury to England, scored her third goal in as many games off the bench to round off an empathic win as she continues a fine start to life in north London.
However, it was another summer signing who stole the show as China international forward Zhang Linyan opened the scoring just 10 minutes into her Spurs debut at Brisbane Road.
Another fresh face, Barbora Votikova, was making her debut between the sticks and made a wonderful save late on to ensure she kept a clean sheet during her first outing in Spurs colours.
Vilahamn told SpursPlay after the game, via the club’s official website (11 October), “I think it’s a good way for the other players who haven’t played the first games to show me where they are and also to show the fans that they are really good players as well, and to show that this new Tottenham style is about togetherness.
“We do it together and I think the players showed that tonight – 10 new players, they still played the way we should do and I liked that.”
One thing is certain, with ten goals in three games and two wins from those matches, Vilahamn is certainly making a good start toward achieving his goal of “magic.”
In other Tottenham news, John Wenham believes the club are “walking on the limit” with Fabio Paratici.