Robert Vilahamn has emphasized that Tottenham’s penalty victory over Manchester City was well deserved as his side secured their spot in the Women’s FA Cup semi-finals.
This historic win marks Tottenham’s first-ever entry into the competition’s semi-final stage. The victory came after a tense shootout, which Spurs won 4-3 following a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.
Manchester City took the lead early with a deflected strike from Australian international Mary Fowler and appeared dominant in the first half. However, despite their early advantage, City failed to capitalize further, and Tottenham capitalized on a mistake from City’s goalkeeper Khiara Keating, with Bethany England equalizing in the sixth minute of injury time.
In extra time, Tottenham took control of the game, leading to Amy James-Turner’s winning penalty kick.
Vilahamn believed that his team’s victory was well-deserved, highlighting their strong performance throughout the match.
Vilahamn said: “I actually think we deserved it. The game the girls played tonight was amazing.
“All the players coming in, you could feel it. When we scored to make it 1-1 in the last second, we deserved that and in extra-time we were actually going for it.
“To then win the penalties, it’s a wonderful feeling.
“It was very frustrating to give them a goal so easily early on but that’s football. The character we showed after that was really good.
“We pushed them down and showed we wanted to dictate this game. We won the duels, were very sharp with the ball.
“I’m very proud of the girls because we show now that we not only compete but we can actually beat the top three teams.”
Vilahamn added: “She’s been training very well the last few weeks and then she got her chance in the last game. I thought she was great against Arsenal.
“She’s so calm in the goal with her feet, making her saves and then in the shootout. I’m so happy for her.”
Spurs join holders Chelsea, Manchester United and Leicester in the semi-finals, with the draw set to be made on Tuesday morning.