Marie Hobinger scored a late penalty to seal Liverpool’s first win of the season at Brisbane Road
Matt Beard put his head in his hands. After captain Taylor Hinds diverted the ball into the back of her own net, the Liverpool manager was surely wondering how this had happened again.
For the third week in a row in the Women’s Super League (WSL), Beard had witnessed his side take the lead, only to concede a costly equaliser in the second half. For the third week in a row, the Reds looked destined to drop points in a game they really ought to be winning.
After the unexpected euphoria of last season, when Liverpool defied expectation to secure a fourth-place finish, this term has so far been something of a reality check. The fixture gods had appeared to look favourably on the Reds by allocating Leicester City and West Ham United as their first two opponents.
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That both of those matches had ended in a 1-1 draw seemed to hint at the fact this could be a long season for Beard and his players, with Sunday’s opponents – Tottenham Hotspur – representing their sternest test so far.
“Both goals we’ve conceded this season we’re disappointed with,” Beard had said ahead of the Reds’ trip to Brisbane Road. “We’ve got ourselves to blame. We’ve had chances and we’ve not taken them.”
His words proved almost prophetic as Liverpool’s profligacy in the first half against Spurs once again looked like it might be their undoing. The Reds had taken the lead inside 10 minutes in the capital thanks to a sublime strike from summer signing Cornelia Kapocs, who did well to intercept Rebecca Spencer’s miscued clearance before her exquisite lob from distance looped over the head of the Tottenham goalkeeper and rippled the back of the net.
By the break, Liverpool were good value for their slender lead, having seen a number of chances fall the way of club-record signing Olivia Smith, who was unable to harness the same brilliance that helped her net a stunning goal against West Ham last weekend. Despite their wastefulness, and in spite of the ominous-looking injury sustained by midfielder Sofie Lundgaard – installed in the starting lineup in place of the sidelined Ceri Holland – the Reds battled gallantly against a Spurs side who have looked to be in the ascendency since the arrival of Swedish coach Robert Vilahamn last summer.
But, in the second half, it looked like it might be a case of ‘Same Old Story’ for Liverpool, with Hinds’ farcical own goal coming mere minutes after the restart. “It was like history repeating itself from the first two games where we’ve had really good chances to two maybe even three nil up,” Beard would go on to admit after the game.
“This is the problem now because the league is so competitive. If you don’t take your chances then at some point you’re going to be under pressure.”
Liverpool rode that pressure relatively well for much of the second half and were able to restore their advantage 15 minutes from time through an inch-perfect Marie Hobinger free-kick. However, Tottenham – perhaps sensing their visitors’ defensive fragility – lay siege to the Reds’ penalty area and got their reward when Clare Hunt’s strike took a wicked deflection off Gemma Bonner to make it 2-2.
At that point, it seemed Liverpool would be lucky to escape with a point, with goalkeeper Rachael Laws called into action to brilliantly keep out the electric Jessica Naz. But, after being severely punished for two of their own defensive blunders for the two Tottenham goals, perhaps there were some karmic forces at play when referee Kirsty Dowle awarded the Reds a late spot-kick after Ashleigh Neville was adjudged to have fouled Sophie Roman Haug inside the area.
If it takes a cool head to deliver when the stakes are at their highest, then Austria international Hobinger must have ice running through her veins; the midfielder holding her nerve to squeeze the ball past Spencer and seal the three points for Liverpool.
“It was important we got the three points because the girls have been a little bit up and down confidence-wise, especially in the last week with the way it panned out for us,” Beard admitted to BBC Sport post-match. “It’s a big three points.”
Indeed, it is a three points that propels Liverpool up to fifth in the WSL table, with the Reds now undefeated in their past seven WSL games – their best run in the competition since 2013. That is not to say Beard’s side looked wholly convincing in the capital.
They will need to up their game significantly if they are to get any change out of title-chasing Manchester City at Anfield next weekend, while their mounting injury list could prove problematic in the weeks ahead. But, for now at least, it feels like the Reds’ season is finally up and running.
