Robert Vilahamn has stated he wants to have Bethany England on the pitch because she is a ‘great character, leader and footballer’ after the club captain scored the equaliser against Brighton.

Tottenham Hotspur went 1-0 down early on as a poacher’s finish from Elisabeth Terland saw the Seagulls fly into life, but – despite a strong defensive performance – they were unable to hold on.

England’s goal, which came in the 81st minute, saw her latch onto Ashleigh Neville’s teasing cross and guide the ball over the goalkeeper’s head.

It was England’s third goal in three consecutive WSL matches, which has seen her regain the form that everyone knows she has. Vilahamn was full of praise post-match for the former Lioness.

“In some parts, she’s amazing as a nine. When we push the team down, they are low and we can have crosses. Sometimes when we have an open game and we want to have threats from the build-up in behind, Jess [Naz] is better as a nine because she’s quicker,” he said.

“The main thing is I want to have Bethany on the pitch because she’s a great character, leader and footballer. The way we play, we will run an offensive three, so it’s not like she’s stuck as a nine or at right wing. She has the freedom.

“The main thing is the link play and the box play. That’s why I want her and if some games are more transitional, then I want Naz. Today was a mixture.”

The Swedish manager, 41, also provided reasoning for his tactics involving England. She started as a right winger, with the traditional winger, Jessica Naz, opting up front. That changed for the final 20 minutes, but Vilahamn made the decision to utilise Naz’s pace early on.

“We did that last game as well against Man United. It’s more like the form Jessica [Naz] has, with her high speed in behind — and her press as well. We wanted to make sure we were a high-pressing team and I thought Jess was the best player we had and that was the main reason,” he told VAVEL.

“Then we had the freedom for Bethany [England] to be a second striker and be in the box. Some parts worked well. Some parts didn’t, but Beth had a great game. Then she became a nine at the end and scored a beautiful goal. We’re working with offensive players that have a lot of freedom.”

“We started the game very well”

Tottenham’s unbeaten streak in all competitions now stands at six after a valiant point against Brighton. However, there is still work to do, with Vilahamn disappointed that they didn’t secure the win.

They lacked the final product for most of the match, which saw Grace Clinton and Charlotte Grant both miss golden chances. Vilahamn provided an assessment of the match post-match.

“If you look at the result, you want to win at home. We started the game very well. We had a few chances. If we scored them, we had momentum in the game. They scored quite early and then we needed to find new momentum,” the manager stated.

“Brighton [played] well. The rest of the first half was okay, but the second half was not good, because we didn’t really get the energy, but then the substitutes came in and gave us new momentum, and then we scored the goal. We were near to [making it] 2-1. If you summarise the game, it’s an okay first half, but we want to play better.”

Vilahamn delighted with centre-back options

The match at Brisbane Road saw Luana Bühler and Amy James-Turner chosen as the starting centre-backs once again. Molly Bartrip, who was once the first name of the teamsheet, has not started a match since the North London Derby at the start of March.

A spell of illness started this before impressive form by James-Turner and Bühler saw Vilahamn stick with consistency. Post-match, he stated that he is delighted with all three of them.

“Luana [Bühler] and Amy [James-Turner] has been brilliant since she’s [Bartrip] been gone. We have three starting centre-backs. They’re going to have good competition and I’m going to make sure everybody of those three feel like they are part of that,” he told VAVEL.

“But, of course, two can play and one can be on the bench. This was her [Molly’s] first minutes after being gone for a few weeks and she did great. 30 minutes today and we’ll find ways to make sure they can compete. All three of them have been amazing.”

Alongside the consistent trio, Grant started at right-back, displacing the ever-regular Neville. The Australian, who joined in January, missed a golden chance early on, but she also looked comfortable in and out of possession. Vilahamn was full of praise for her post-match.

“Amazing energy. She could have scored in the first few minutes. Of course, she’s adapting from the Swedish league to this league with her decision-making on the ball and so on, but I think she’s taking big steps,” he stated.

“That’s why I wanted to give her the chance to play today, because she’s trained so well. She was an amazing substitution in the semi-final against Leicester as well.”