Photo: Tottenham Hotspur. Shekiera Martinez against Crystal Palace, 11 November 2026.
Tottenham Women drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace in the Subway Players Cup on Wednesday, but missed out on the bonus point after losing the penalty shootout 5-3 at Brisbane Road.
Julie Blakstad’s equaliser cancelled out Bethany England’s first-half opener. Shae Yanez then saved Cathinka Tandberg’s spot-kick as Palace converted all five of their penalties.
Blakstad rescues a point for Tottenham Women
According to Tottenham’s official match report, Spurs had 16 attempts but struggled to turn their possession into clear chances against a compact Palace defence.
Former Spurs captain England put the visitors ahead before the break after running onto Molly-Mae Sharpe’s pass. Shekiera Martinez twice tested Yanez as Tottenham looked for a response.
Martin Ho made four substitutions early in the second half. One of those players, Blakstad, made the breakthrough in the 75th minute, meeting Toko Koga’s cross with a volley into the far corner.
Olivia Holdt had a late chance to win it, but hit the side-netting. The draw sent the teams straight to penalties for the competition’s additional point, rather than deciding who advanced in a knockout tie.
Palace take the extra point
Signe Gaupset, Drew Spence and Blakstad scored for Spurs in the shootout. Yanez’s save from Tandberg proved decisive, with Sierra Enge converting Palace’s fifth penalty to secure the bonus point.
The result left Tottenham sixth in the league phase, with two games remaining and the top eight qualifying for the quarter-finals. Their next cup match is at home to Leicester City on Wednesday 18 November.
Ho was unhappy with the performance. Speaking to SPURSPLAY, he said: “In the attacking third we lacked any kind of quality of execution with our final action.”
Watch the full match
The WSL’s full-match coverage is embedded below, as linked by Crystal Palace’s official viewing guide.
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What should Spurs improve most after the Palace draw?
