Spurs leave it late to end season on high after beating West Ham

Jessica Naz and Drew Spence struck late on as Tottenham ended their Women’s Super League campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 win over London rivals West Ham.

Bethany England put Spurs ahead after just four minutes following a Mackenzie Arnold mistake at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but Riko Ueki levelled shortly after the interval from a narrow angle.

Tottenham left it late but ended the season with a flourish as Naz struck in the 86th minute before Spence made sure of the points in added-on time against a West Ham side who finish the campaign in 11th.

The north London club end Robert Vilahamn’s first season in charge in sixth while they reached the FA Cup final for the first time, losing last week to Manchester United.

They went ahead from their first real sight at goal and had Arnold to thank for dropping a straightforward catch, with Martha Thomas then teeing up England to thump past the West Ham goalkeeper.

Rebecca Spencer was equal to Risa Shimizu’s strike but it was a rare foray forwards in the opening 45 minutes for West Ham, with Arnold atoning for her earlier mistake as she twice denied Martha Thomas.

Tottenham’s inability to make use of their first-half dominance came back to haunt them in the 50th minute as a simple long ball forward was collected by Ueki, who angled a strike from the edge of the area across Spencer and in off the far post.

Amy James-Turner had an opportunity to restore Tottenham’s lead just before the hour mark but her header cannoned off the crossbar while Olga Ahtinen’s snapshot was kept out by Arnold.

The hosts would not be denied, however, as Naz latched on to Grace Clinton’s cross and rifled beyond Arnold with five minutes left and Spence struck a third to end a five-match winless streak.