‘It’s too bad because I love the FA Cup’ – Vilahamn reacts to Spurs’ FA Cup exit | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Robert Vilahamn expressed his disappointment after his side exited the Adobe Women’s FA Cup with a 2-0 defeat to Everton at Walton Hall Park last night.

Second half goals from Kelly Gago and Heather Payne sent Everton into the fifth round and left Spurs crashing out at the first hurdle.

Reflecting on his side’s defeat in the post-match press conference, Spurs boss Vilahamn admitted that The Lilywhites didn’t perform to their best levels on Merseyside.

“The first half was a half where there wasn’t too much happening,” Vilahamn said. “I think both teams had spells of possession, but no-one created many chances. The goal that they got [early in the second half] gave them the energy to win this game and that’s what gave us the problem.

“We didn’t create enough chances to do it, but it was a tired game. It felt like we didn’t really come up to the standards.”

Vilahamn went on to explain that the month-long winter break can have an impact on the condition and fitness of his players.

He said “We have had a long break and then we came into this block where there are a lot of games in a short time. We have to reload and that takes energy. Today, we changed a few players to make sure we were using the squad and then you have new relationships that are going to try to find chemistry and it takes time.”

Vilahamn admitted that it was disappointing to see Spurs exit the Adobe Women’s FA Cup and said that the rearrangement of the fourth round tie following the postponement earlier this month made things more difficult.

Commenting on his side’s cup exit, he said “It is a combination of different things. We got Everton away in the first draw, which is a tough first game. When we moved it from that first day to this day, then we needed to rotate the squad and that affects how we want to play as well. We needed to focus on the squad and what is good for the squad. It’s too bad [to lose] because I love the FA Cup. We need to go again next year.”

Tottenham Hotspur are back in action on Sunday evening when they play host to Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.