TOTTENHAM 1-0 LEICESTER: Bethany England strike gives Spurs breathing room with victory

Perhaps it is the goal that changes Tottenham’s season. Bethany England, on the left-hand side of Leicester’s box, curled a shot into the top right corner of the goal. That is what £250,000 buys you. Top flight survival, though, is priceless. The idea of Spurs dropping out of the Women’s Super League is unthinkable.

This is a club that finished fifth last season. A relegation battle was not part of the plan. But that is where Spurs are and the reason why Rehanne Skinner had to be sacked 48 hours ago.

The 9,000 empty seats and the relentless rain summed up the non-existent atmosphere before kick-off. But the fans in attendance, around 250 of them, did their best to rally their team on and when England found the net the roar of relief from the stands, the players and the Tottenham bench was palpable.

‘I can’t really describe how good it is to come away with three points when you’ve been in a game that’s a massive occasion, some would say it’s a six-pointer,’ said caretaker manager Vicky Jepson.

‘It relieves a little bit of pressure but we’ve still got seven games left so we have to keep our feet on the ground.

A moment of quality from January signing Bethany England was all that separated the teams

The Spurs players were ecstatic following their must-win clash against last-placed Leicester

Interim coach Vicky Jepson (right) has experience but isn’t yet confirmed to see out the season

‘As soon as we saw the goal go in, the burst of confidence within the team was fantastic to see and long may that continue.

‘They’ve not felt a win in so long so hopefully that will reinstall belief and confidence to take into the next games.’

This win gives Tottenham some breathing space and may bring new found confidence to a side that had lost nine league games in a row before tonight. Bottom-of-the-table Leicester would have gone above Tottenham had they won. The Foxes are a much improved team under Willie Kirk and while this defeat is a blow, they are by no means dead and buried.

The question for Spurs now is: do they stick with interim boss Jepson? The former Liverpool manager has experience and clearly the respect of the players here. It is arguably the decision that makes the most sense.

There are no ‘firefighter’ managers in the women’s game. Clubs cannot go out and recruit a Sam Allardyce or a Tony Pulis on a short-term basis.

Jepson and England were all smiles after the full-time whistle on what could be a vital match

Perhaps Kirk is the closest comparison. The 44-year-old went to Everton in 2018 when the club were bottom of the table. He kept them up then guided them to a sixth-place finish a season later.

When the Foxes sacked Lydia Bedford in November they were without a point and rock bottom of the table. Kirk, who had been director of football, took over and has made significant improvements.

They were unlucky here and but for the smallest of margins, could have left with three points. Sixty seconds before England scored the only goal of the game, Leicester had a header cleared off the line before a rebound effort from two-yards out hit the bar.

‘I thought it could have gone either way, I thought we deserved something from the game,’ Kirk said. ‘We had chances that we should have done better with, especially at 0-0.

Rosella Ayane was close to providing an assist for a second goal, but Spurs went without

Leicester goalkeeper Janina Leitzig kept Spurs from inflicting further damage on the Foxes

‘I’ve always said [we can stay up], I’ve been quite open about the fact we’ve got a points target internally. We’ve chunked the season up into blocks, we hit the points target for the first block and we’re still on course to hit the points target for the second block so nothing has changed.’

In the end it was a piece of brilliance from Spurs’ record signing who made the difference. The type of out-of-nothing goal England produced is what Leicester are lacking and if they are relegated this season that will be the reason.

Spurs next three fixtures against Arsenal, Everton and Aston Villa are tricky and they have to ensure they at least pick up a point from one of those. A five-club relegation battle makes this the most exciting WSL season at the bottom for some time. Liverpool look safe but are not out of the mix yet while Brighton and Reading are both vulnerable.

While tonight’s result will not define the overall fight for survival, it could prove to be the most important win in Tottenham’s WSL history.