{"id":571530,"date":"2020-11-07T14:28:41","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T19:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=571530"},"modified":"2020-11-08T11:39:13","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T16:39:13","slug":"alex-morgan-makes-tottenham-hotspur-women-debut-in-hard-fought-reading-draw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/11\/07\/alex-morgan-makes-tottenham-hotspur-women-debut-in-hard-fought-reading-draw\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Morgan Makes Tottenham Hotspur Women Debut in Hard-Fought Reading Draw"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Morgan<\/a> came off the bench to make her long-awaited Tottenham Hotspur Women<\/a> debut in a 1-1 draw with Reading in the Barclays FA Women\u2019s Super League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Both goals at The Hive came in the opening period where the visitors took the lead through Brooke Chaplen<\/a>, who headed in from Emma Mitchell<\/a>\u2019s cross.<\/p>\n

Ashleigh Neville<\/a> equalised for Spurs, flicking home an eventual header from a corner that Reading failed to deal with.<\/p>\n

USA international Morgan was introduced on the 70th<\/sup> minute, but couldn\u2019t inspire the hosts to a victory. The two-time World Cup winner made the move to north London<\/a> in September but has been using the time to build fitness following a 15-month maternity break.<\/p>\n

Alex Morgan Debuts for Tottenham Hotspur in Draw With Reading<\/h2>\n

Competitive Opening Period<\/h3>\n

Reading started the game looking the most threatening and nearly opened the scoring after just three minutes. Angharad James<\/a> latched onto Chaplen\u2019s pass across the face of the Spurs goal, but could only direct her effort into the side-netting.<\/p>\n

The Royals\u2019 early spell of pressure and possession paid off as the deadlock was broken on 12 minutes. A fantastic Jess Fishlock<\/a> pass set Mitchell free, whose deflected cross found Chaplen at the far post to nod in at close range.<\/p>\n

Spurs almost drew level several minutes later, after Neville\u2019s drilled cross from the right was fired narrowly over the crossbar by Angela Addison<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The home side were back on terms on 24 minutes after Reading failed to clear Siri Worm<\/a>\u2019s hanging corner. Kerys Harrop<\/a> connected with Worm\u2019s cross, followed by Rianna Dean<\/a> before Neville flicked over Royals goalkeeper Grace Moloney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Reading came close to regaining the lead before the break when Mitchell\u2019s corner was headed just over at the back post by early substitute Kristine Leine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tense Second Half Overshadowed By Alex Morgan\u2019s Introduction<\/h3>\n

An entertaining first half struggled to be matched in the second. The match turned into a tense affair, as chances for both sides came at a rarity.<\/p>\n

Alex Morgan was summoned with 20 minutes remaining in a bid to see Spurs\u2019 momentum shift. The 31-year-old, who has scored 107 goals in 169 appearances<\/a> for The Stars and Stripes, returned to make her first competitive appearance in 15 months.<\/p>\n

But Morgan’s presence was immediately stifled by the Reading defence, who quickly prevented her time and space on the ball.<\/p>\n

The hosts\u2019 best chance of the half fell to Harrop just seconds after the change. The defender lined up a speculative volley, which flew just wide of Moloney\u2019s post.<\/p>\n

Spurs survived an injury-time scare when Reading substitute Lily Woodham<\/a> forced an excellent stop from Rebecca Spencer<\/a> to ensure the points were shared.<\/p>\n

The result ends Spurs\u2019 run of four straight defeats in the WSL, but are still yet to record a victory. Reading remain in sixth on eight points following two consecutive 1-1 draws.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>