Tottenham 2-2 Everton Women - 12th Feb 2020

Everton Women played out an entertaining 2-2 WSL draw in the capital as Willie Kirk's side were held by Tottenham at The Hive Stadium.

Stunning strikes in each half from Chloe Kelly and Inessa Kaagman gave the Blues a two-goal lead just inside the hour mark.

Bu Spurs hit back, as goals from Angela Addison and Emma Mitchell - a minute after the hosts had been reduced to 10 players following Rosella Ayane's red card - completed the comeback.

Storm Ciara played havoc with the weekend's fixtures, as Sunday's historic Merseyside derby fell to the adverse weather conditions, and after a weekend off, Everton intended to assert their dominance from minute one against Tottenham.

Rebecca Spencer had to be alert to hook the ball away from the feet of Kelly after the forward latched onto Lucy Graham’s inch-perfect pass.

In nip-and-tuck opening exchanges, goalscoring opportunities were few and far between. However, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah was presented with the perfect chance to open the scoring on 22 minutes but she was unable to squeeze the ball past the Spurs keeper before Kelly was hounded on the goalline to shut out any chance of a rebound.

As the contest wore on, the Blues continued to assert their dominance and a lively Graham was given two chances to open the scoring. The Blues captain saw her original shot blocked before she failed to direct Kelly’s cross inside the post.

The persistent pressure was bound to tell at some point and the breakthrough finally came on the half-hour mark. Kelly was given ample time and space on the edge of the box to pick her spot, and the forward happily obliged by arrowing the ball into the bottom corner.

After a strong end to the first period, the Blues wasted no time in trying to add to their one-goal advantage. Straight from kick-off, the ball was played over to Boye-Hlorkah, whose cross found Kelly, but the striker was unable to get her toe to the cross.

Kelly - whose movement on and off the ball was causing the Spurs defence nightmares - tried to replicate her opener. The 22-year-old got time to unleash a fierce strike, but she could only watch as the ball drifted wide.

Breathing space was needed, and it finally came. Great play in the centre finally found Kaagman for the Dutch international to drive a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner, leaving Spencer rooted to her spot.

The comfortable two-goal lead didn't last long, though, as the hosts drew one back. Ria Percival's cross from the right found substitute Addison, who was able to nod the ball past an outstretched Tinja-Riikka Korpela in the 67th minute.

What looked like a routine Everton win suddenly saw a dramatic twist as the visitors were made to pay for missed chances. The game looked over when Ayane was given her marching orders for kicking out at Maeva Clemaron.

However, with the free-kick already awarded to the hosts for an initial foul by the France international, Mitchell's 30-yard curling effort flew past Korpela to complete the comeback.

Despite the blow, the Toffees continued to find a way through their opponents. Kaagman firing over with just three minutes of normal time remaining.

The Everton defence stayed resolute in the closing stages to deny a late flurry from the hosts, as the Blues played out a stalemate in the capital.

Everton FC