A Night to Remember, A Result to Forget – Blues Women Fall to Spurs at Goodison

Well, it wasn’t the fairytale start we’d all hoped for.

Everton Women kicked off a new era at Goodison Park on Sunday, but the occasion was dampened by a frustrating 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Over 6,400 fans packed into the Grand Old Lady for the first women’s match at our iconic home — a historic moment, and one filled with pride. But on the pitch, things didn’t quite click.

After the high of the 4-1 derby demolition at Anfield, there was a real buzz around this one. Brian Sorensen made a couple of changes, bringing in Clare Wheeler and record signing Ruby Mace to freshen up the midfield. The atmosphere was electric from the first whistle — flags waving, chants ringing out, and the Gwladys Street got behind the girls just like the lads on a Saturday.

But Spurs had other ideas.

They were sharp out of the blocks and almost went ahead early, Drew Spence rattling the post. Courtney Brosnan pulled off a cracking fingertip save to deny her. Unfortunately, we didn’t stay level for long. Just before the half-hour, a scrappy bit of defending saw the ball fall kindly to Tandberg, who slipped it across for Ahtinen to tuck into the corner. It felt like a gut punch — not because they hadn’t threatened, but because it came from nothing.

Still, the response was strong. Vignola and Pacheco both had big chances just before the break — either could’ve drawn us level, but Spurs’ bodies were everywhere, throwing themselves in the way.

Whatever was said at half-time, it didn’t get the chance to take effect. Just four minutes after the restart, disaster struck. Bethany England robbed Rion Ishikawa, played it to Tandberg, and the 21-year-old pulled out a worldie — a 40-yard lob over Brosnan that stunned everyone in the ground. You don’t see many of those.

To be fair to the girls, they didn’t let their heads drop. Ruby Mace nearly pulled one back with a belter from the edge of the box, and we pushed and pushed in the final stages. Sorensen made changes — Holmgaard, Payne, Hayashi, and Gago all came on to inject energy — but Spurs held firm.

It’s one of those days where the result doesn’t quite reflect the effort. We had spells where we looked bright, but just lacked that cutting edge in front of goal. And Spurs, to their credit, defended like their lives depended on it.

The bigger picture? This was more than just a game. Seeing our women’s team walk out at Goodison, under the Everton badge, was special. A new chapter has officially begun, and even if the scoreline didn’t go our way, it’s a step forward.

Next up, we’ve got a Friday night fixture under the lights against London City Lionesses. Let’s dust ourselves off, turn up in our numbers, and make Goodison a fortress.