When the final whistle finally blew at Hayes Lane on Sunday, there was a sense that something had shifted in the perception of London City Lionesses.
Their thrilling 4-2 win over Tottenham felt like not merely three points but a watershed moment in London City’s debut Women’s Super League campaign.
It meant they climbed to the top half of the table with four wins in eight matches.
They had already beaten Everton, Liverpool and West Ham – the bottom three – this season, but this was different.
Tottenham came into the match flying high – with 15 points collected from a possible 21 making for their best ever start to a WSL campaign.
But the promoted side matched them with poise, pace and purpose of a team that showed they belong in the big league, impressing not just with the result but also the manner in which it was achieved.
So when an excruciatingly long period of stoppage time was brought to an end, the Lionesses knew they had achieved something significant.
Manager Jocelyn Precheur spoke of “a good performance that will give us the confidence and the energy to keep improving even more”.
Freya Godfrey opened the scoring early, while Nikita Parris struck in her 200th WSL appearance, but Spurs clawed their way back on both occasions through a Cathinka Tandberg penalty and an Eveliina Summanen free-kick.
A late own goal from Amanda Nilden helped the hosts reclaim the lead before a second strike from Godfrey sealed the win.
“It was an important game for us to decide which part of the table we can stay [in],” said former Paris St-Germain boss Precheur.
“I prefer to go game after game. I don’t like to talk about vision and where we can be in the table at the end of the season. It’s really important to keep this dynamic.
“Despite the fact that we’re improving, I think we’re yet to achieve our full potential. It’s about how we can keep improving again. This will give the players the energy to keep developing.”
Precheur may steer clear of predictions, but his is a clear message that London City can carry on moving up in the world.
After splitting from Millwall in 2019, London City were a fixture in the second tier, but the arrival of American businesswoman Michele Kang, who bought the club when they were on the brink of liquidation in late 2023, has seen their fortunes change.
Money has changed their world, a rush of star players creating a team with elite aspirations. Promoted in May, what can the big-spending, clear-thinking Lionesses go on to achieve in their debut top-flight season?
“We said from the start, we’re not here to fight relegation, we’re here to prove we’re in this league now, we’re not here to go back down,” said their two-goal hero Godfrey.
“We’re here and we’re here to compete.”
Precheur added: “What are our limits this season? It’s up to the players to answer this question.”
