Tottenham Hotspur captain Bethany England insisted that “pressure is a privilege” after she converted the decisive penalty in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over West Ham in the opening weekend of the Women’s Super League.
Having finished last season as Spurs’ top scorer with eight goals in all competitions, England picked up where she left off.
With just four minutes remaining, Eveliina Summanen was fouled inside the box and the responsibility fell to the captain. She converted the penalty with calmness, firing into the bottom corner to secure victory in Martin Ho’s first competitive game in charge.
For the forward, the only thing that mattered was starting the season with three points and showing resilience in a London derby.
What did Bethany England say after her winning goal for Tottenham against West Ham?
Reflecting on her penalty against West Ham, Tottenham star Bethany England explained: “I always say pressure is a privilege.
“Even with West Ham fans booing me as I stepped up, I felt calm and collected. The keeper went the right way so it was close, but luckily that’s why we practice them every day.
“I was delighted to see it hit the back of the net and secure the three points.
Despite scoring the decisive goal, England made clear that the result was about the team’s effort and resilience. “I’m just proud,” she said. “I think we needed those three points to start our season off strong.
“I don’t think it was pretty. In some parts of the game, I thought West Ham gave us a good test. It’s always tough playing a London Derby on the first game of the season, but we stuck it out and got the three points, and that’s all that matters, the winning feeling.”
She also pointed to the importance of defensive improvements this year. “The fans want to see fight and pride in our performances. We don’t want to be a team that gets rolled over easily. We conceded a lot last year and our aim is to concede far less this season, so we want clean sheets.”
After three pre-season fixtures away from home, Spurs returned to action in front of their supporters.
She said: “It’s amazing we love having the fans here. Their support is so crucial. Their noise lifts us in difficult moments, so it was great to have them back today.”
What’s next for Tottenham?
Bethany England will hope to add to her goalscoring tally when Tottenham face Everton on September 14th.
Everton are coming off a 4-1 win over Merseyside rivals Liverpool, in which new signing Ornella Vignola scored a hat-trick.
The Toffees manager, Brian Sorensen, hailed Vignola for her ‘superb’ performance, and the Spaniard will be a player that Tottenham will aim to stop in their next WSL outing.
