Ash Neville made her first appearance of the season for Tottenham Hotspur – and helped them to a 2-1 win over Leicester City that lifted them to fourth place in the Women’s Super League table.
The full back had suffered a knock in pre-season and had not played any role in the opening matches of the campaign.
But she came on for the last 25 minutes of the match, replacing Josefine Rybrink, to safely anchor the winning effort.
“It felt great to be back out on the pitch,” she told the club’s television channel. “I know it’s been a while, so I’ve been really looking forward to it.”
Martin Ho’s side have now won three of their four WSL matches so far this season.
Cathinka Tandberg opened the scoring for Spurs at the King Power with Olivia Holdt adding a second.
Sam Tierney pulled one back for Leicester just before half-time, and Neville added that Spurs had expected the tough game they got.
“We knew coming into this game it wasn’t going to be an easy one,” she said. “When the scoreline gets to a one-goal lead, you know you have to work hard. I think the girls worked really hard today to grind it out. It’s a massive three points on the board.”
Ash Neville: We’ve got a big week next week
Referring to the midweek Subway Women’s League Cup match against Aston Villa that went to penalties, Neville reflected: “To get three out of four wins on the board now, to come off a three-game week with a big three points at the end of it, it’s a true credit to how hard the girls have worked this week, so we rest now and then we’ve got a big week next week.”
And speaking about her frustration at not being able to play combined with her pride in her team-mates’ success so far, she said:
“It’s been great. I’ve been on the sidelines, it isn’t ideal. You obviously want to be out there playing, but we’ve had a great start to the season. That’s just going to continue now, I think.”
Tottenham’s next challenge is hosting Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday, 5th October, and Neville hopes she will be even more involved in that match.
“It was nice to come on and get those first minutes. Hopefully next week I can get a bit more. We know it’s not going to be an easy game. We don’t want anyone to come to our pitch and think they can take us. We’re looking forward to that game.”
