Geordie Al's Groundhopper Scrapbook: Tottenham Hotspur Women 5-0 Barnsley Women, Sunday 26th January 2020

Monday, 27 January 2020

Tottenham Hotspur Women 5-0 Barnsley Women, Sunday 26th January 2020

Tottenham Hotspur Women 5-0 Barnsley Women, Women's FA Cup 4th Round, att. 621

Welcome to ...

For a second time in two days I'm seeing the Wembley arch, only this time it's for the Women's FA Cup. 4th tier Barnsley have joined the big boys (girls?) and have drawn Tottenham away, and since we support the (Barnsley) men's team, it's only right that a few of us Londontykes show the other half some support. It's a tall order though. One glance at the match programme shows the home side bedecked in internationals, some foreign, while Barnsley's is homegrown. Bethan, Jade, Laura and Kathryn take on Lucia, Siri and captain, Jenna Schillaci. I wonder who's who?

Yorkshire! Yorkshire!

As much as it's good to see the women's game receiving more promotion, I can't help but think it reflects all that's wrong with the men's game. Big teams paying inflated wages, hoovering up all the talent, while provincial sides are left to share the leftovers. Gone are the days when the likes of Doncaster Belles and Millwall Lionesses could win the league on merit; now they're denied even promotion to the bigtime cos they aren't professionals being bankrolled by their male brethren. Ho hum.

The teams line up.

The match is also at The Hive, home of Barnet FC. So why aren't they Barnet Ladies? Why aren't Arsenal Ladies known as Borehamwood (for that is where they play)? If these teams are good enough to share the names of their famous men's teams, why aren't they good enough to play at the stadium's of the men's side they're named after? (Actually, Spurs v Arsenal WAS played at Spurs new ground, with a sparkling attendance of 38,262, driven mainly by many folk having their first chance to experience the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.) More mundane fixtures are played out in front of a few hundred at The Hive. It's all just a bit of PR fluff to the Big 6.

...and Tottenham Hotspur Women.

We're not the only Barnsley fans here though. A coachload have come down, including a few Reds fans who've been to see the men's side at Portsmouth the day before. So they've travelled from Barnsley to Portsmouth, to Barnsley, to London, in the space of 24 hours or so. Insane. They saw some goals too, both yesterday and today. And two defeats.

The match was predictable. Plucky Barnsley held out for a decent stint, but once the levee was breached, the goals came. It really was women v girls. Spurs looked stronger, faster, fitter and bigger. Some of Barnsley's team looked like they were just there to make the numbers up (which, to be fair, they probably were.) That's not to underestimate the effort put in by the Reds, but the gap was insurmountable. A shame too then that the opener was down to poor goalkeeping, as a speculative effort was spilled for a tap-in.

I do like the stadium though. Very tidy. A large cantilever down one side, a smaller stand with social club opposite, a small covered home terrace and a large all-seated away end, rebuilt since I was last here. Shame it's not in Barnet. Didn't they once have plans to build a new stadium at Barnet Copthall, got turned down, only for bigger, richer, Saracens to put forward stadium plans of their own and be accepted? Sounds about right. Whothehell wants a football team on their doorstep when you can have the rugger buggers?

Looking towards the away end.

After pre-match beers in The Hive's excellent social club, we joined the main throng in the West Stand, and found a decent, heated bar there too. Perfect for not deciding which pub to go to next week when the Super Reds are at Charlton.

The Damage:
£6 ent
£2 prog
£27 a round of 2 Birra Moretti, 2 Guinness (Guinni?) and half a pint of white wine
= £35

The Tunes:
The Best of Clannad* (Clannad)
Quality Street (World of Twist)
Back to the World (Curtis Mayfield)

*terrible. Don't do it.