Hayley Raso scores stunner on Tottenham Hotspurs debut in Women’s Super League

Hayley Raso, the mercurial Matilda with a touch of magic in her boots, has begun her comeback to England’s Women’s Super League with a magnificent individual goal for Tottenham.

The 30-year-old, whose year-long spell as the first Australian ever to play for Real Madrid proved a frustrating stop-start affair but featured some dazzling moments, kicked off her third spell at a WSL club with a beauty to launch Spurs’ 4-0 win over newcomers Crystal Palace on Sunday.

On another busy day for the Matildas’ contingent in the WSL, summer signing Raso really introduced herself to the Spurs’ faithful at Brisbane Road in the 19th minute when she found space in the Palace half and, despite being shadowed by three defenders, embarked on a speculative run.

Trademark ribbon flowing, Raso first turned Katrine Veje inside out, weaved into the right of the box, and swivelled to strike the ball into the opposite corner, not with the greatest connection but directed perfectly to give keeper Shae Yanez no chance.

“I feel like it was rolling slowly, so I just said ‘please go in, please go in’ ... Really good team performance, everyone’s happy to start off the season like that and to get a goal topped it all off for me,” smiled Raso, who was making her bow alongside Spurs’ other new Matildas’ signing, central defender Clare Hunt.

Hunt, snapped up from French club PSG, didn’t have much to do, while Tottenham’s other Australian international Charli Grant just enjoyed a few minutes off the bench, while Raso may have been left frustrated by missing a golden chance for a double minutes after her goal.

But the former Everton and Manchester City winger continued to be a constant threat, and was Spurs’ player of the match as they went on to win with second-half goals from Jessica Naz, Drew Spence and Olga Ahtinen.

“They’ve been lovely, super supportive,” Raso said of her new teammates. “Credit to the girls here, they’ve made the transition easy for us, we’ve gelled well pre season and I think we’ve showed that today. I’ve found my feet pretty quickly.”

There was a titanic clash at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal starters Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord went head-to-head with Manchester City’s Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy, who both came off the bench in a thrilling 2-2 draw to open the season.

Foord helped initiate Arsenal’s opener with a bright run down the right flank that set up Frida Maanum’s goal but City, pipped for the title by Chelsea on the final day last season, equalised after the break through their new superstar striker Vivianne Miedema, the former Arsenal ace, who didn’t celebrate out of respect.

A brilliant long-range effort from England international Jess Park looked to have given City the victory but Arsenal sub Beth Mead volleyed in a late equaliser.

Fowler, who came on for Miedema after 74 minutes, had been dropped to the bench despite scoring for City in the Women’s Champions League win at Paris FC in midweek and she’ll have a fight to get her starting place back with star Jamaica striker Khadija Shaw also having returned to the starting XI.