Lucy Quinn fired Tottenham to their third win on the spin with a hard-fought 1-0 derby success at West Ham.


Olli Harder’s first match in charge of the hosts ended in frustration as Spurs kept their maiden Barclays FA Women's Super League clean sheet of the season.

It was an even encounter in which both sides will feel they should have done more with the chances they created.

In the ninth minute, Emily van Egmond ran clear for the hosts but her shot was comfortably saved by Spurs goalkeeper Becky Spencer.

Visiting boss Rehanne Skinner was forced into a change after 20 minutes in her first away game as Tottenham manager, with Rachel Williams pulling up with a leg injury while in pursuit of goal.

And it was her replacement Quinn who gave the visitors the advantage in the 35th minute, making no mistake from a Gemma Davison cut-back to guide the ball through a crowded six-yard box for her first goal of the season.

The Hammers came close to a breakthrough at the start of the second period, but Adriana Leon’s backheel attempt fell kindly into Spencer’s hands.

Newham Recorder: Tottenham Hotspur's Josie Green (left) and West Ham United's Adriana Leon battle for the ball during the FA Women's Super League match at Chigwell Construction StadiumTottenham Hotspur's Josie Green (left) and West Ham United's Adriana Leon battle for the ball during the FA Women's Super League match at Chigwell Construction Stadium (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Davison had a corner tipped over by Mackenzie Arnold, before Czech midfielder Katerina Svitkova thwarted Spurs on the line.

Spencer’s goalkeeping kept Harder’s side at bay, saving goalbound headers from van Egmond and then Martha Thomas.

Spurs had a counter-attack opportunity with 10 minutes to play, only for Rianna Dean to strike Kit Graham’s ball against a post.

And Spencer denied the Hammers with just two minutes left on the clock, stopping Thomas’ stinging shot to ensure Spurs clung on for a third FA WSL victory in a row.

Newham Recorder: West Ham United's Martha Thomas (left) and Tottenham Hotspur's Shelina Zadorsky battle for the ball during the FA Women's Super League match at Chigwell Construction StadiumWest Ham United's Martha Thomas (left) and Tottenham Hotspur's Shelina Zadorsky battle for the ball during the FA Women's Super League match at Chigwell Construction Stadium (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

West Ham boss Harder said: “I'm disappointed we didn’t get three points, or get anything out of the game, but two weeks in, we’re pleased with a lot of the things we saw on the pitch. We’re up the pitch, chasing people around after 80 minutes, and that’s fantastic for me.

"We’re missing a bit of quality in the final third. Two or three moments in the game, if they go the other way, it’s a different result.

"It’s nice to get the first game out of the way - obviously it's not nice to lose, but now we can crack on with the rest of the season.

"There’s a lot of positives to take from it, without sounding too cliché. If we can perform like that, and tweak a few bits, we’ll get a few results in the future.

"We need a bit of restitution - we need to get ourselves organised. We’re only going to have one session before Durham (League Cup quarter-final tie on Thursday), but if we can do something similar to what we did today, we can expect a result.”

Tottenham’s Skinner added: “I am delighted. We were trying to keep some momentum going from prior to Christmas. We desperately wanted to get back on the grass. It was a test at times, but we managed to get the result out of it.

"I think my team put in a real hard shift. We’ve probably not put in as big of a performance in terms of our defensive work as what we have today.

"West Ham made it really difficult for us, they got a lot of balls in the box. We needed to get pressure on higher up the pitch a lot earlier - we put ourselves under pressure with that. But the commitment in and around the box, you can’t fault.

"The players are putting in the work on the pitch. We’re working hard as a team and we’re getting a real team culture together at the moment. Ultimately, the hard work’s paying off.”

*To follow the action and sign up for The FA Player’s live Barclays FA Women’s Super League coverage visit womenscompetitions.thefa.com.

West Ham: Arnold, Fisk, Flaherty, Vetterlein, Redisch Kvamme (Lehmann 87), Cho (Mustafa 87), Longhurst, Svitkova (Pacheco 67), Dali (Leon 46), Thomas, van Egmond. Unused subs: Brosnan, Joel, Cissoko, Cruickshank.

Tottenham: Spencer, Percival, Godfrey, Zadorsky, Neville, Kennedy, Green, Davison (Addision 59), Williams (Quinn 20) (Graham 77), Ayane, Ngunga (Dean 46). Unused subs: Mikalsen, Leon, Filbey, Whitehouse, Morgan.