Brighton & Hove Albion 0-8 Tottenham: Spurs go fifth with big win
- Published
Jessica Naz (right) scored her first straight from the restart after Ashleigh Neville (left) had grabbed her second goal
Tottenham Hotspur scored four goals in each half to thrash Brighton and go fifth in the Women's Super League.
Molly Bartrip opened the scoring early on before Nikola Karczewska rolled the ball into an empty net.
Ashleigh Neville and Drew Spence made it 4-0 by the break, and both added one apiece to make it 6-0 by the hour mark.
Substitute Jessica Naz added a double of her own to complete a humiliating home defeat for the side coached by former England manager Hope Powell.
Bartrip's opener was a training ground move from a corner, ending with the defender lobbing Brighton goalkeeper Megan Walsh from outside the area.
A Walsh error led to Spurs' second, the keeper failing to control the ball with her feet and allowing Karczewska to put the simplest of chances into an empty net.
But there was nothing Walsh could do about the third goal, a brilliant volley from Neville where she had latched on to a flick-on from a corner.
Neville was involved in the fourth with a superb backheel in the centre circle that enabled Spence to run in on goal before placing her shot past Walsh.
There was no let-up after the break, Neville sending in a looping header for 5-0 and Spence converting a pass from Neville after spinning round to shoot low across Walsh.
Naz, a second-half substitute, grabbed her first moments after Spence's second with a lob from long-range over a backpedalling Walsh, and she doubled her tally with seven minutes left when after nearly tangling with team-mate Cho So-hyun, she swept the ball past Walsh.
The victory put Tottenham six points behind league leaders Manchester United with nine points from five matches, while Brighton are second from bottom with three points.