England score for Tottenham while their old club Chelsea seal a vital win from a five-goal derby tie

EMMA HAYES joked she almost applauded after watching Bethany England and Drew Spence team up to cause trouble for Chelsea.

Despite the Tottenham heroines beating their old side – with a net from England – it was the Blues who won 3-2.

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The win, which included a stylish strike from Lauren James, put the visitors back in first place, with Manchester United retaining a goalless draw with Everton.

In the final stages of the game, however, the defending champions had to withstand a late comeback from Rehanne Skinner’s side.

And they sealed another significant win in their quest for a fourth straight WSL title.

Referring to England, who scored their first goal against Chelsea since joining Tottenham, Hayes said: “I almost clapped.

“I saw it a thousand times in training. I’m always proud of ex-players when they move (to other clubs).

“When you have players who used to be part of your team, they have something to prove.

“I think our former players played very well and (Mana) Iwabuchi adds a lot of quality to them.

“Beth has brought a lot to this team and to me, Drew is incredibly on her side.

Hayes jokingly added: “And I hope Rehanne doesn’t mind me saying that – their top two players are the Chelsea players.

“Seriously, I’m happy that they are thriving and I’m happy that Tottenham are making this progress because Rehanne is a really good coach.

“I’m pleased to see that she was able to get a performance boost from her team.”

Tottenham’s home game against Hayes’ side came 11 days after the Blues knocked their hosts out of the Conti Cup.

Spurs are yet to take a point against Chelsea in the league, having lost their previous six meetings.

But they put in a fighting shift against the defending champions in the first half.

Hayes added, “There’s such a thing as home field advantage and they played it perfectly.

“They knew their pitch, they knew the conditions and I thought they were aggressive

“That’s something I know Rehanne has talked about wanting for her team.

“There’s always an expectation, ‘oh, it’s Chelsea, they’ve won a lot and they’re going to dominate every week’.

“But everyone else is professionals, everyone else has international caps, we should expect more from other teams.”

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Tottenham found themselves on the backfoot in the eighth minute when an unmarked Jess Carter headed home from an Erin Cuthbert cross.

But eight minutes later, the guests at the counter were caught off guard.

After some clever tricks from Spence, she set England up for a tap-in which the forward refused to celebrate.

The score stayed the same until the 27th minute.

At this point, James drove from the wing into the box, her shot deflected off the post and into the goal.

And Guro Riding doubled Chelsea’s lead by passing Tinja-Riikka Korpela in the 64^th Minute.

Two minutes from time, Nikola Karczewska grabbed a consolation for Tottenham, who are next up against Manchester United.

Spurs boss Skinner applauded England’s efforts and admitted he was frustrated that his side weren’t getting anything out of the game.

When asked if England get enough credit for their clinical accomplishments in attack, Skinner said, “The short answer is no.

“Your stats prove it for themselves. I don’t think she has anything to prove.

“She’s done what she had to do for a number of years.

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“What she really needs is time on the pitch. We immediately see the goals she has scored in a short space of time.”

On whether England should be fighting for a place with the Lionesses with the World Cup approaching, Skinner added: “If you play well for club you must be considered for your national side – it’s as simple as that.

“Of course she will continue to work hard.

“Everything we do here and what comes out of it is out of her control, she can only control what she does here.”