Tottenham Triumph A Collective Effort, Says Howard

- LCFC Women claimed a Vitality Women’s FA Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday
- Sophie Howard described the special nature of the team as crucial to coming out on top
- Howard netted the Foxes’ second goal in extra-time before a third from Esmee De Graaf
- A late Shannon O’Brien stunner had taken the fourth-round tie at The Hive to extra-time

LCFC Women came from a goal down to force extra-time at The Hive, thanks to Shannon O’Brien’s equaliser, and then stunned Spurs with two further strikes, including a terrific lob from Howard herself, to book the visitors’ place in the next round.

Speaking to LCFC TV after the 3-1 away win in the capital, the 28-year-old, who played as an auxiliary centre forward for the final half an hour, felt the Foxes displayed their team spirit and togetherness to battle back and claim victory.

“As we always say, anything can happen in the cup,” Howard commented. “We went into the game wanting to win it and I think we showed that from minute one. I think that’s why we could perform and why we got the win.

“There’s something special about this team. You can see that we never give up. We always believe in ourselves and one another and I think we showed that again today. We went down but we had the bravery just to keep going and then it paid off.”

Talking through her goal – a third of the season across all competitions for the defender-turned-forward – Howard applauded the pass from Ashleigh Plumptre to set up her sensational finish, which arrived just 20 seconds into the extra-time period.  

She explained: “It was just one of those, we wanted to start bright (in extra-time) because we finished bright after the 90 minutes. Ash clipped the ball in behind and I just gambled for the bounce and then a one-touch finish and it went in.

“I was hoping that she (Becky Spencer) was coming off her line. I didn’t really look at her, but what goalies typically do is try and come for it and I just gambled, and it worked out.”

There was some backs-to-the-wall defending on display as City looked to see out the remainder of extra-time, but rather than Spurs, it was Leicester themselves who grabbed the game’s fourth goal during stoppage time, in contrast to the previous weekend’s disappointment against Aston Villa.

The Scotland international believes it can act as a catalyst for further successes in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, as they prepare to head into a crucial contest at Birmingham City on Sunday.

The former Reading defender added: “We learned that from the last game where we lost the game in the 93rd minute. We knew we wanted to improve in that area and that’s what we did today and saw the game out. It was a scrappy game towards the end, it was ugly, but we didn’t really care.

“We went up 2-1 and Esmee [De Graaf] then scored that third goal. This game gives us confidence and momentum going into next week’s massive game for the league. But it’s just another competition that we can compete in and have more games and see how far we can go.”