Tottenham's trophy drought might finally be coming to an end in unexpected way

13/04/2024 11:18

Sixteen long years of waiting for a trophy at Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou’s side are set to extend that wait this season.

The side are out of the men’s FA Cup and Premier League glory will elude them once more.

But all might not be lost for Spurs fans this season.

In a surprising turn of events, Tottenham Women have defied the odds to make it through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time.

They emerged victorious after a nail-biting penalty shootout against Manchester City in their quarter finals, shocking the three-time champions thanks to their cool performance.

Now, Tottenham host Leicester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday 14 April from midday in a match that will decide which of these sides makes their debut in the Women’s FA Cup final.

An FA Cup trophy would transform Spurs’ season from ‘good’ to ‘exceptional’.

It is hard to imagine that it was just last year they were fighting for their survival in the WSL.

A very respectable season thus far sees them currently in sixth place in the table.

They are looking certain to finish in the top half of the table at the very least with them five points ahead of Aston Villa and four behind Liverpool – with the knowledge they also have a game in hand.

Their campaign is a great testament to the skill of this season’s new manager, Robert Vilahamn.

In a season where so many WSL managers have come in for criticism, he has been unassuming, but very shrewd and very successful.

It bodes well for next season and beyond, and with some clever summer signings this team look to have a bright future.

One focus will certainly have to be the permanent signing of the young Lionesses starlet Grace Clinton, who is on-loan from Manchester United.

A player like Clinton could ultimately make the difference if Spurs one day hope to challenge for the WSL title.

Where is the Leicester threat?

Though Spurs into this fixture as the favourites, Leicester are more than capable of pulling off an upset.

Like Tottenham, they have had a much better season than many expected.

Their opening games were particularly strong and at one point they even sat at the top of the WSL table.

Their performances have tailed off recently – they are currently winless in their last four WSL games – and they are being overseen by assistant manager Jennifer Foster after the sacking of manager Willie Kirk.

But they are not lacking when it comes to goal threats.

Finnish striker Jutta Rantala has been the club’s top WSL scorer this season with six goals so far, with German forward Lena Petermann also netting five.

It was Rantala who secured her side a place in the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time ever as she scored a brace to overcome high-flying Liverpool in the quarter finals.

And Leicester have good defensive options too – Kirk told talkSPORT earlier in the season that their goalkeeper Janina Leitzig was the best in the league.

Since then, it has been new Dutch signing Lize Kop who has started many recent games between the sticks with Leitzig recovering from a shoulder injury.

The previous FA Cup rounds have seen Leicester register two comfortable wins, win a 4-0 defeat over Derby County and a 6-2 win over Birmingham City.

Last time out

Leicester and Tottenham met less than a month ago in the WSL in a game which was decided by the finest of margins.

It was Spurs who came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to Matilda Vinberg’s goal in the second minute.

The extremely tight encounter gave a good indication as to just how close this semi-final could be.

And as defender, penalty shootout-hero (and coffee-van owner) Amy James-Turner told the Official Tottenham Hotspur website, they are taking nothing for granted.

She said: “It's a great occasion for the Club and we have worked hard to get to this point so we will do everything we can to progress into the final of the competition.

"We always enjoy playing at this stadium, especially with the supporters behind us and cheering us on throughout the game. So, hopefully, there's a big crowd there this weekend to support us.

"However, for us, this is just another game and we are trying not to put too much pressure on ourselves, we certainly don't want to underestimate Leicester City.

“We know they have plenty of quality in their squad and we will have to be at our best to beat them on the day. Our complete focus is on this weekend's game and we can't look at previous encounters against them."

Tottenham vs Leicester City is live on talkSPORT 2 on Sunday 14 April from 11:45am.

Tickets to the match are available here.

You can tune into talKSPORT’s Women’s Football Show on Mondays from 7pm on talkSPORT 2.