Hayes: Positive momentum not lost despite Spurs defeat

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Defender reflects on Sunday's defeat to Spurs.

Luke Nicoli

2025-10-07T06:00+01:00

Caitlin Hayes started in Albion's narrow defeat to Spurs. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

Caitlin Hayes insists there is still plenty of optimism in the camp despite our women's team's 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.

Cathinka Tandberg's first-half strike ended a three-game winning streak for the Seagulls and the defender is mindful of the positive strides made in recent weeks.

“I recently spoke about momentum, which doesn't stop as quickly as it builds, so this is just a bump in the road,” she reflected. “It's an obstacle to learn from and hopefully a real positive for us later in the season when we've learned to grind out the result in these type of games.

“We're obviously disappointed as there was nothing in the game and it could have gone either way. When we did play we cut them open fairly easily, but it's about doing that repetitively and not every so often.

“If we were a bit more patient with the ball in the final third, taking our shots when they came, it could have been a different result. As a defender I was also disappointed with the way we conceded our goal but we'll learn from the loss and move forward.”

The Seagulls have little time for reflection, with a Women's League Cup tie at West Ham United on Wednesday night preceding Sunday's WSL visit to European champions Arsenal.

“It's a quick turnaround and the games don't come easy,” she added. “In fact, there is no easy week in this league, which is a credit to it, so we are looking forward to West Ham and Arsenal.

Caitlin Hayes joined Albion from Celtic in January. 📷 by Kyle Hemsley.

“There are plenty of things we can learn from going into the week, there's always positives to find, and I'm confident that's what we'll see. I would have preferred more points, that's the type of personality I am, but it's only been five games and there's plenty to be optimistic about.”

Indeed, Albion currently sit sixth in the table with seven points but Hayes reveals there will be no complacency with Dario Vidosic in charge.

“I haven't been here terribly long, but you know what he wants, you know his expectations, his demands – and he lets you know them very quickly,” said the January arrival from Celtic. “I'm sure he won't be too happy today but, as I say, we'll learn from everything that happened and move forward together.”