“I have no idea who crossed it,” said Martha Thomas of Tottenham Hotspur. “I remember Luana (Buhler) jumping up and thinking, ‘She’s going to direct this and light it.’ I just saw the defender looking at him and I thought, ‘I have to get in front of this defender.’
Thomas rose highest, his header flying over the Leicester keeper. She sprinted, sliding to her knees in front of 18,000 fans and Daniel Levy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. His 118th-minute winner put Spurs through to their first Wembley FA Cup final in the club’s history. “She is what Tottenham stands for,” said Spurs manager Robert Vilahamn. “To dare is to do.”
“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Thomas, who will face his former club Manchester United in the final after beating Chelsea 2-1. “I was just relieved, honestly, so happy. I feel so proud of everyone in the group. It means everything to us to arrive at Wembley and make history for this club, for the girls, for the staff, for the whole team, for the fans, for everyone. We are in heaven. »
This is a new stage and “proof”, in the words of Vilahamn, of the journey of this team, which had to rebuild its foundations after the dismissal of Rehanne Skinner last March, when it finds itself in a relegation battle in the Women’s Super League.
Vilahamn has established a clear identity. He admitted he didn’t expect to get this far in this competition, but the quarter-final victory on penalties against Manchester City and Sunday’s victory are proof of progress.
The Swedish coach, who has in the past shown clips from the film Gladiator to reach the players in different ways, has kept preparations largely the same ahead of this weekend’s cup match, especially as the time was running out. Like other clubs, it only had a full squad on Friday due to those returning from the international break. The only difference was playing a midweek match against the under-21 team, who set up tactically like Leicester. For goalkeeper Becky Spencer, it was “one of the best weeks of training”, “very hard work” and “good preparation”. The manager also had some down time: playing football with his 13-year-old twins, dining with his wife at the Shard before attending the James Blunt concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Tottenham were favorites heading into this match, but the visitors made Spurs work, taking the lead after 12 minutes with a Jutta Rantala goal and almost doubling their lead when captain Sam Tierney was denied by Spencer’s outstretched feet.
“It was horrible to watch,” said Ellie Brazil, who was available but not selected. “You feel every nerve and you could see they were a little nervous in the first 20 minutes.”
Spurs lost their chances. Grace Clinton, who will have to miss the cup final against her parent club, worked tirelessly in midfield to set up Celin Bizet, only for her best friend to fire over the bar. England Under-23 international Jessica Naz also advanced on several occasions, but lacked composure in the final third.
The message to Naz remained the same: continue to use your pace to get behind the defense. When Leicester defender Josie Green missed a clearance in the 83rd minute, Naz, with three defenders in her wake and the crowd screaming, seized her opportunity.
“I was trying to get to the center of the goal and then put it in,” the 23-year-old Naz said. Athleticism. “I thought if I could just get it into the corners, then I would have a good chance of scoring.” “She was so calm in her finishing,” Vilahamn said after the match. “It was a big step for her because in pre-season she would have missed those opportunities.” When asked how she remained mentally strong despite her previous failures, Naz replied: “I just believe in myself, everyone on the team gave me the confidence to keep going.”
Spurs were pushing for a winner in normal time, but Leicester could have claimed victory in extra time if not for Spencer’s fingertip save from Rantala’s free-kick. Spurs teammate Olga Ahtinen told Spencer moments before the free kick: “Be careful because she likes to go up and over the wall.”
“I just wanted to keep us alive, I was just doing my job and the girls were doing the rest for me,” Spencer said.
At halftime in overtime, captain Bethany England told her team to stay calm, don’t rush, keep controlling the game and the moment will come. And three minutes later it did, the stadium erupting as Thomas headed home.
“I lost my voice because I screamed so much on the field,” Thomas said. She is “shining”, according to Vilahamn, and has now played in back-to-back FA Cup finals with two different teams. “It’s a bit different being here with the impact I’m having on this team, it’s maybe a lot bigger than what I would have had at United,” she said. “It was history for United last year, but to be honest it’s just a bit more special with this group.”
This team bond is demonstrated by Brazil, who didn’t even play, describing the post-match celebrations in the locker room “as the best locker room (she) has ever been a part of.” “I don’t think I’ll ever forget this moment in my career,” she said. As John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” blared through the speakers, England at center rallied his team, pointing toward the camera, while the players cheered and danced.
Nothing but vibrations 🎶 pic.twitter.com/pOrX45VYm1
– Tottenham Hotspur Women (@SpursWomen) April 14, 2024
“It was a classic, we got all the staff and players involved,” Brazil continued. “Charli Grant takes the best dancer…members everywhere.”
Naz, who said making the final was “a dream come true”, will be “chill” tonight, “feet up and relaxed” as his legs “are literally exhausted”, while Thomas had, before the match, booked a pub dinner with his family. Tottenham are very aware they haven’t won anything yet and attention is quickly turning to their WSL match against United next Sunday.
“We have to make sure we get back on the training pitch and work really hard,” Vilahamn said. “Then when we go to the final, we will aim for victory. Of course we want to win a title for the fans and this club, so we will do everything we can, but we won’t be favorites in this match and that’s fine.
(Top image: Paul Harding/Getty Images)