Centre-back Shelina Zadorsky has called on her side to improve their “winning mentality” and focus on putting in a full 90-minute performance after Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 London derby defeat to Chelsea in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.
Spurs were left ruing missed chances after a positive start to the match in which forwards Drew Spence and Jessica Naz did well to unsettle Chelsea’s backline and win the ball back in dangerous areas. Yet, defensive frailties came to the fore as Sam Kerr slotted home before the quarter-hour mark to gee up a three-goal deficit courtesy of Erin Cuthbert and Guro Reiten before the interval, which proved impossible to recover from.
Zadorsky recognised the positives from the performances, including promising combination play and spells of possession, but was ultimately left feeling frustrated at the lack of consistency and cutting edge that has plagued Spurs in recent seasons and kept them at bay from challenging the top sides.
“I know the qualities that we have in this team and I know that we can put in a performance across 90 minutes,” the Canada international told Tottenham's media team after the defeat.
“But I think three goals that are preventable, so we can look back on that and improve on that. On the flipside, the positives were some combination play we had, when we did press high winning the ball high, getting shots off, you know Drew's chance in the end as well.
“We have the quality and the players who love combining, love one-two touch play and can exploit opposition. But I think now it's about getting forward, getting into their final third with more numbers so that we can relax, keep possession in their final third and come away with the best opportunity, and create the best opportunity.”
Zadorsky said the half-time talk from manager Rehanne Skinner was “intense”, focused explicitly on ensuring Spurs took pride in their second-half performance. And Zadorsky believes that conviction will be critical in the team’s ongoing evolution in the women’s game.
“Continuing to improve our winning mentality is a must and we can look at the positives, be able to take that but self-reflection on your individual performance and say that you've given it everything,” she said.
Spurs recovered well after their 4-0 loss to Arsenal earlier in the season, claiming successive victories before losing 3-0 to Manchester City. For Zadorsky, they are the margins separating Spurs from the upper echelons.
“I think we've come a long way in our style of play. I thought we had some great possession today and some great passing sequences. It's just being able to have the killer edge and putting the ball into the back of the net. And for me, I want to keep clean sheets. So it's eliminating those opportunities that they get, especially on set pieces and what not.
“I'm always super critical of my performances as well, so I just want to be able to push us to do more and continue on a path that we can be proud of.”
Tottenham return to action this weekend when they welcome Championship side Coventry United to Brisbane Road for the FA WSL Cup.
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