West Ham 2-0 Tottenham: Spurs suffer fifth consecutive WSL defeat

Viviane Asseyi scored late on as West Ham recorded a 2-0 home victory over rivals Tottenham, who have now suffered five consecutive Women’s Super League defeats.

A 16th-minute own goal by Tottenham’s Josefine Rybrink looked like it would prove to be the difference in a tight clash on Sunday.

But West Ham made absolutely sure of the points when Asseyi whipped in a dangerous free-kick from close to the touchline in the 90th minute, which eluded everyone before finding its way into the far corner.

West Ham leapfrog their rivals in the standings, with Spurs dropping down to ninth as their miserable form continued despite hitting the woodwork in both halves.

LONDON pic.twitter.com/6T894sc4SW

— West Ham United Women (@westhamwomen) March 23, 2025

The hosts’ opener arrived in fortuitous fashion, with Asseyi involved in the build-up before Verena Hanshaw’s cross-shot was inadvertently diverted into her own net by Rybrink.

West Ham had chances to extend their lead, with Shekiera Martinez and Oona Siren both guilty of missing good opportunities.

They almost paid the price for that profligacy when Spurs’ Eveliina Summanen hit the crossbar with a fine free-kick just before half-time, while Martha Thomas – making her 100th WSL appearance – was unfortunate to see a second-half effort come back off the post after cleverly diverting Ella Morris’ cross towards goal.

Spurs goalkeeper Lize Kop made an excellent save from Katrina Gorry at the other end as the match remained in the balance until the closing stages, but Asseyi’s sixth WSL goal of the season wrapped up a good victory for West Ham.

Data debrief: Spurs’ struggles continue

West Ham had only beaten Tottenham in one of their last five attempts at home, while they had also lost nine of their last 11 London derbies, but this is a struggling Spurs team.

A fifth straight defeat means this is Tottenham’s worst WSL losing run since they suffered nine losses in a row from November 2022 to March 2023.

Since the beginning of February, they have not earned a single point and have scored just one goal while conceding 11.

Spurs had plenty of efforts here, racking up 14 shots, but only three of those were on target and they have now failed to score in seven of their 17 games, with only Leicester City (nine times) and Crystal Palace (eight) failing to score more often in this season’s WSL.

As for West Ham, their home form has been key to a solid campaign. They have taken 17 of their 18 points in home matches, and this is the first time they have won five games in front of their own fans in a single WSL season.