Martin Ho was left ‘disappointed’ after a late winner saw his Tottenham side crash out of the FA Cup quarter-finals at the hands of Chelsea.
An Eveliina Summanen free-kick evaded Hannah Hampton to bring Spurs level in the second half before Veerle Buurman smashed home the winning goal with four minutes of normal time to go.
“I thought we did well in large parts of it. First 15-20 minutes, we had some moments. We had chances in the first half. I thought between 30-60 minutes had the momentum of pushing them back, getting in their half more, but just lacked the little bit of cutting edge.
“Defensively I thought we were organised. The two moments we switch off, we get punished for. Disappointed for the group, gutted for them because they gave everything today. It’s a wonderstrike that beat us.”
Though it is a fourth defeat in a row for the Lilywhites, the Englishman was pleased with the improvement, particularly after a pair of back-to-back 5-2 losses against Manchester City and Arsenal.
“There wasn’t a lot of clear cut moments for them. There was the odd one. I think we had the same. There was a balance in the game with that. But there’s a lot we can take definitely because it’s a bigger performance than the last two.”
Spurs have three matches remaining this season against Manchester United, London City Lionesses and Brighton. Ho emphasised that a strong end to his debut campaign will be vital for the future.
“[We want] the same – personality, character, a real professionalism about us. Whether we’re in those cup competitions or not, you don’t want to think the season is done, because it’s not. We want to push, finish as high as we can, on as many points as we can.
“How we finish this season will determine how we leave it, what we think about it, and I want to make sure we do that in the right way.”
Easter Monday also saw a return to action for right-back Ella Morris, who made her first appearance since May of 2025 following her recovery from an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury.
“It’s really difficult [for] anyone who gets an ACL injury, and there’s a lot of them at the moment. She’s done wonderfully well over the nine-to-ten months to put herself in this position for selection again.
“She just needs time to get her feet back on the ground, focus on the smaller details of the game and then really adapt to the unpredictability of a game. Because you can give so much in training, but a game is so much different.”