The experienced goalkeeper discusses the recent games with Millwall and Durham and explains why next season will be even better

Goalkeeper Toni-Anne Wayne says it’s important Tottenham Hotspur Ladies ‘finish strong’ in their bid for six points starting with Aston Villa on Sunday, followed by the season-ender at Cheshunt Football Ground against London Bees.

The Lilywhites head into the final two games of a debut season in the FA Women’s Super League 2 having taken four points off two of the established teams residing in the top four places of the league.

A 6-3 win over fourth-placed Durham preceded a frantic 1-1 draw with second-placed Millwall Lionesses, and after spurs were more than unfortunate not to have finished with three points when they were pegged back by the Lionesses in their last outing, Wayne says big improvements are evident and their learning experience is coming full circle.

“Against Sheffield we did not play how we expect ourselves to play so we had a lot to prove,” she said.

“We all got together and said that we need to show what we are made of and I think that we developed an extra strength in our mentality after that game and that showed in both games.

“Obviously to get a draw against second in the league is great, but we felt we deserved more. We were the better team, had more chances, shots cleared off the line, three disallowed goals and my defence made sure I was kept fairly quiet. But in this league teams can have one chance and score and that happened.

“It’s frustrating because the last two games we have excelled in defending set pieces so to concede from one is annoying.

“Sarah’s header was great, matched by a great save and some great goal-line defending from Leggy’s (Katie O’Leary) shot, but neither player allowed that to ruin their game and both showed the quality players that they are.”

The experienced stopper feels the side have already overcome a personal hurdle from earlier in the season after finding a more clinical edge, which Wayne can only see going from strength to strength.

“We have shown that we can compete with the top teams and that at this level teams can have one or two chances and put them away,” she continued. “Last two games we have taken a lot more of our opportunities and that is only going to get better from our strikers.”

As touched on, Karen Hills’ side finish with two sides which they beat 2-0 and 1-2 respectively back in October, after seeing off the Villans at Cheshunt before numbing the Bees at The Hive.

And Wayne’s confident that a repeat can happen, as long as Spurs stick to their game plan and sees no reason why the club can’t push on next season.

“This is our main goal, six points,” she finished. “We feel as long as we turn up on the day, that we have the quality to do this. No game is easy in this league, so it will be hard work.

“It’s been a very on-off season with so many breaks in between games, so I think now we have a few consecutive games that will play in our favour and allow us to get momentum. It’s really important for the team to finish strong.

“This season was a good lesson for us and I know next season will be great for Spurs Ladies, because of the lessons learnt from this year.”