Hat-trick hero Lisa Evans' claimed Arsenal's place in the FA Cup Semi-Finals. 

The visitors wanted to cause an FA Cup upset at Meadow Park, but in the 73rd minute Jordan Nobbs lobbed goalkeeper Becky Spencer to open the scoring.

Scotland winger, Evans secured her hat-trick late in the second-half. 

Early in the first half, Caitlin Foord almost gave Arsenal the lead as her whipping header was denied by the woodwork.  

United States star Alex Morgan, who joined Spurs from Orlando Pride failed to feature in today's north London derby as she awaits to make her first competitive debut for Tottenham. 

  • Story of the match

The home side came close to break the deadlock when Foord’s looping header rattled the woodwork followed by Leah Williamson’s long cross.

Arsenal continued to dominate possession, but the visitors produced a quick counter when former Arsenal winger Gemma Davison’s cross flew towards the far post and was palmed away by Manuela Zinsberger.

In the second half, Arsenal continued where they left off and steadily grew into the game. Nobbs’ close-range effort went straight at the hands of Spurs keeper Becky Spencer from a tight angle.    

Spurs’ Alanna Kennedy had a glorious opportunity to take the lead, with a free header from Chloe Peplow’s corner which went wide of the target.

Moments later, Gunners’ forward Katie McCabe’s curling effort bent just wide of the top corner and the home side were getting closer to taking the lead.

With 20 minutes remaining, Spurs’ defender Neville gave away possession to Nobbs, whose perfectly executed lob opened the scoring.

Gunners’ doubled their lead when Vivianne Miedema slid a lovely ball through onto Evans, who slotted it calmly into the bottom corner.

Evans then scored her second goal of the game, when Kim Little played a tremendous ball to Arsenal’s no.17 who slid the ball with her left-foot to make it 3-0.

Spurs’ substitute Lucy Quinn’s close-range effort went straight at Zinsberger and denied a late consolation.

Evans secured a hat-trick as she found the roof of the net through Beth Mead’s low cross to secure Arsenal’s place in the FA Cup Semi-Finals.

  • Takeaways from the match

Spurs lacking quality in the final third

In the first half, we have to give Tottenham a lot of credit as they were calm and composed with the ball. The visitors were organised at the back and showed a lot of physicality. The game plan was simple which was to disrupt Arsenal’s play. The home side struggled to find their fluidity, which Alanna Kennedy did well to break up play and didn't allow them time on the ball.

Kennedy had a mixed performance in midfield. She was strong and physical for the majority of the game. The 25-year old had a free header on goal and committed fouls at the edge of the box in the second half. Kennedy’s presence was felt in the centre of the pitch.

Overall, Spurs failed to dominate in the final third which prove costly. In fact, Spurs have not scored yet this season (the goal they did have was an own goal in their opening game) and that’s the difference of having a quality striker that can get you goals. Spurs simply lacked quality in the final third and it’s a real concern.

In contrast, Arsenal have quality in the final third which makes them one of the best teams in the world for a reason. They simply punished Spurs as soon as they ceased an opportunity. The belief in the Spurs side simply faded away as soon as they concede late in the game.

Many fans are hoping that summer signing Alex Morgan will make her competitive debut very soon. All WSL fans knows about Morgan’s technical qualities in her game that could be the key difference for this ever-growing Spurs side.

  • The international break may have broken Arsenal’s momentum

Arsenal head coach Joe Montemurro admitted the international break has affected Arsenal’s momentum in the first half as they were not at their best. Montemurro’s side had to be smart in making sure that they keep their rhythm and getting into situations when it comes as a transitional game.

It was simply to keep the ball and give themselves a lot of distance. Most important of all, they found an orthodox way to secure the victory.

Montemurro’s side have taken a lot of lessons from their Champions League game against PSG. He strongly believes that teams will expose them in situations when they’re not protecting the ball or lose possession in the final third.

Learning to retain possession in areas that are tight and preparing for transitional moments is so vital in order to complete both domestically and in Europe this season. 

  • Player of the match

Lisa Evans – Let’s not forget that she had to play out of position for a while because of her injuries. You got to respect players like Lisa Evans because we normally talk about the super stars of the game. Sometimes, you need players like Evans that will always going to be there consistently and do a job for the team. When she arrived, Evans didn’t know if she would be in the starting XI.

She worked so hard and played out of position as a right-back. Today, she was allowed to play high up in the field and formed a great understanding with Miedema and the rest of the attacking players in such a short space of time.  She was so relaxed in front of goal and found pockets of space which was evident in all of her three goals that she scored.  The 28-year old is a special player to have around the team who brings a lot of qualities into this team.