Tottenham 0-2 Arsenal
Second-half goals from captain Kim Little and Vivienne Miedema give Arsenal the victory in front of a new record Barclays FA WSL crowd
Arsenal proved too much for Tottenham Hotspur as they won the north London derby 2-0 in front of a record Barclays FA Women’s Super League crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Second-half goals from captain Kim Little and Vivienne Miedema gave the Gunners victory in front of 38,262 fans as they kept up the pace with Chelsea and Manchester City at the top of the table.
Little opened the scoring with a curling left footed effort from just inside the penalty area in the 66th minute as Arsenal showed their quality after a cagey first half.
Miedema confirmed the victory in the closing stages after capitalising on a sloppy Anna Filbey back pass to round a stranded Becky Spencer before finding the back of the net.
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KEY MOMENTS
In an evenly matched first half the best chance fell to Tottenham’s Kit Graham in the 19th minute.
Having broken through Jennifer Beattie’s tackle, Graham was clean through on goal but shot straight at Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger.
At the other end Arsenal’s best opportunity to break the deadlock came through Beth Mead who jinked past two challenges before narrowly curling her effort wide.
As the half developed, Spurs began to assert their dominance on the game and twice went close in as many minutes.
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First Graham struck wide from the edge of the area before Rianna Dean collected Filbey’s perfectly weighted through ball but could not convert from a tight angle.
Arsenal took control of the game after the interval and Miedema flashed a shot past the post just before the hour.
The visitors’ pressure eventually told in the 67th minute as Little opened the scoring with a well-placed left footed effort from just inside the penalty box.
Miedema secured the win as she doubled the Gunners’ advantage with eight minutes remaining from close range.
GOAL OF THE GAME
Arsenal’s first goal came as the visitors asserted their dominance in the second half, and it was a beautiful finish as Little clinically found the bottom corner.
WHAT THEY SAID
Tottenham striker Rianna Dean said: "We are obviously disappointed but we are not going to dwell on it. I thought we were brilliant. Every single player put in the effort and it is credit to the players and staff the performance we put in.
"Coming in at half-time 0-0 when we could have put chances away was disappointing but it gave us momentum and going into the second-half I thought we were on top. Arsenal put their chances away and we did not.
"There were 38,000 here today for a London derby which is brilliant, it's a credit for the fans for coming down to support.
"It is massive to be able to play in this stadium with such a big crowd - it definitely gives you an extra 5 per cent on the pitch."
Arsenal centre back Leah Williamson said: "It was a big day, I loved every minute of it. I always try to rise to the occasion and I love a bit of pressure so that was good today.
"I grew up as an Arsenal fan so nobody wants to lose these games, there's pride at stake. I loved being a part of the occasion.
"When the goal went in and we got the chance to go over and celebrate with the travelling Arsenal fans was special. I could hear their support loud and clear which gave me goosebumps. It was also a bit surreal, I don't know if I ever expected to play in a game like this during my career.
"Vivianne Miedema is one of if not the best player in the league so when she plays like she did today she is almost unstoppable."
Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): Becky Spencer; Ashleigh Neville, Anna Filbey, Hannah Godfrey, Siri Worm; Josie Green, Rachel Furness, Chloe Peplow, Ria Percival; Kit Graham, Rianna Dean
Substitutes: Lucy Quinn for Peplow 76, Rosella Ayane for Green 79, Gemma Davison for Worm 83
Substitutes not used: Chloe Morgan, Jenna Schillaci, Lucia Leon, Coral-Jade Haines
Goals: Little 66, Miedema 82
Bookings: Peplow 36, Furness 58, Neville 79
Arsenal (4-3-3): Manuela Zinsberger; Lisa Evans, Leah Williamson, Jennifer Beattie, Katie McCabe; Lia Walti, Kim Little, Jordan Nobbs; Danielle van de Donk, Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead
Substitutes: Leonie Maier for Mead 85, Jill Roord for Nobbs 88
Substitutes not used: Pauline Peyraud-Magnin, Louise Quinn, Viktoria Schnaderbeck, Emma Mitchell
Referee: Abigail Byrne
Attendance: 38,262