Interim manager Jennifer Foster was "immensely" disappointed to see her side crash out of the Women's FA Cup after Leicester City lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur after extra time. 

The Foxes seemed to be dreaming of glory when Jutta Rantala gave them the lead early on with a stunning strike from the right flank.

They fought valiantly, but they were eventually pegged back in the 83rd minute by Jessica Naz. Josie Green failed to clear the ball, allowing the Enfield-born attacker to race one-on-one with the goalkeeper and slot her shot into the bottom, right corner.

The tension only built from there, but Martha Thomas dramatically won the match for the hosts with a looping header in the 118th minute. The heartbreaking defeat disappointed Foster.

"It's immensely disappointing, especially when it goes right down to the wire. This will hurt and it will probably hurt for a while. But [I know] this won't be the last time we're in a semi-final," she said. "Sometimes the best times have to take a hit in order to progress."

  • Leicester are full of ambition

Despite defeat, Leicester performed with passion, belief and intensity in N17. On another day, they would have walked away with a deserved victory against Robert Vilahamn's side, which would have epitomised their journey.

Last campaign, Leicester narrowly avoided relegation due to a second-half-of-the-season comeback. Former manager Willie Kirk was at the helm then, yet Foster has continued that since his departure. 

“We said at the start of the season that our ambition was to get as far as possible. We did that by getting to a semi-final and everyone always looks to us as ‘little Leicester’, but we’re not ‘little Leicester’ and we’re putting ourselves on the map. This won’t be the last time we’re here and hopefully next time we can get through to the final,” she said. 

“One of the reasons I came to the club in the summer was [the club’s] ambition that they set out. I think the structure and map we’re putting ourselves on is really exciting. We’ve had a couple of results that haven’t gone our way but we’re building momentum and we know where we want to be. It’s an exciting journey to be on and I’m really glad to be on."

Foster disappointed chances were not taken

Leicester were causing several issues for Spurs throughout the match. Not only did Rantala's early goal showcase her importance to the club this season, but they always possessed a threat when they eventually regained possession.

The Finnish forward even came close to scoring a free-kick in extra time, only to be denied by a fingertip save from Becky Spencer and the crossbar. Foster believed her side could have been more clinical. 

“As we scored earlier on, the longer it goes on that we don’t take our other chances, the more opportunity for the opposition to build momentum. I didn’t think we created enough clinical chances, but the chances we did create we could have taken and that would have helped massively," she said post-match.

"They had it at times when we scored that they left a few chances on the pitch and then they’re probably looking at it and thinking is it going to be one of those games."

The equaliser came from a mistake from Josie Green. The defender attempted to clear the ball, but she missed and gifted Naz space in behind to race one-on-one with Lize Kop. It was a disappointing moment for the visitors, but Foster didn't put the blame on her. 

“I don’t think you can put that on Josie because there’s a lot of things that happened. If the connection is made, that might help, but I always look at what happens prior to that and how the ball got in that position," she stated. 

"That’s not Josie’s fault. We could have dealt with that better as a team. It was really disappointing. There were just over 10 minutes left and we conceded."