Match reportLFC Women fight back to beat Tottenham Hotspur in WSL

Emma Koivisto and Missy Bo Kearns both struck in the opening half to secure victory, after opposition forward Rosella Ayane had earlier broken the deadlock for the visitors.

The Reds started on the front foot as Ceri Holland shaped a shot wide of the mark having stolen the ball in midfield.

Taylor Hinds also had an effort blocked from the edge of the area after clever build-up play by Katie Stengel and Holland.

Liverpool continued to dominate the early exchanges, as Stengel burst down the flank to square to Kearns inside the box.

The midfielder saw her shot fall into the path of Yana Daniels in the six-yard area, though visiting goalkeeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela thwarted the resulting close-range effort.

It was Spurs, though, who opened the scoring in the 17th minute against the run of play with Ayane firing low into the goal from distance.

The Reds, meanwhile, took just three minutes to respond and haul themselves back into the contest in somewhat bizarre fashion.

Koivisto charged into a tackle on the edge of the area with the defender seeing the ball fly from her boot and loop over the stranded Korpela and into the goal.

Liverpool then earned a deserved lead ahead of the half-time interval thanks to a well-worked effort, which saw Kearns find the back of the net with a neat low finish.

Fuka Nagano slid the ball into the feet of Koivisto, who turned provider from the right to earn the Reds’ second of the afternoon.

Goalkeeper Rachael Laws was also forced into her first meaningful action ahead of the break, halting a looping header from Beth England with a stern hand.

Tottenham started the better of the teams after the interval, with England again going close thanks to a low shot that fired just past Laws’ near post.

A period of control for Matt Beard’s side then followed with both teams vying for possession in a scrappy spell.

Gemma Bonner was forced into two last-ditch tackles inside the area, while Angharad James drilled a shot over the bar from range.

The Reds, though, almost added a third deep into added time through Stengel’s quick break, which had followed a stunning block from Leighanne Robe at the opposite end, but the American’s effort fell wide of the mark.

LFC Women: Laws, Koivisto, Kearns (Taylor, 83), Bonner, Robe, Holland, Nagano, Campbell, Daniels (Lundgaard, 76), Hinds (Roberts, 76), Stengel.

Unused subs: Kirby, Humphrey, Silcock.

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