Marc Skinner looked at the clock. Half an hour had passed and Manchester United were yet to impose themselves on Tottenham Hotspur.
But as half-time approached at Leigh Sports Village, summer signing Elisabeth Terland suddenly scored twice — two killer blows dealt in ruthless fashion.
The first goal came when former Spurs winger Celin Bizet curled a teasing delivery from the right and Terland timed her run perfectly. She connected sweetly with the cross first time, the ball hitting the underside of the crossbar on its way into the net.
The 23-year-old ran to the crowd, arms outstretched, before clutching the United badge on her shirt — a kit she once wore as a childhood United fan.
“If you ever want to watch how to volley a ball from a side-on position under pressure, that goal today, female or male doesn’t matter, it’s a fantastic hit,” said Skinner. “She slows the moment and seizes the opportunity under the most immense pressure. That’s the beauty of her. I’ve never seen a player dispatch with such calmness. (Former England striker) Ellen White was the same in the moments when it counted.”
In off the crossbar from Elisabeth Terland 🙌#BarclaysWSL @ManUtdWomen pic.twitter.com/vlyh3TTN36
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) October 13, 2024
Skinner first saw how “deadly” and “ruthless” Terland was when she carried Brighton & Hove Albion through the 2023-24 WSL season to a ninth-place finish, scoring half of their 26 league goals and finishing joint-second in the Golden Boot rankings with Chelsea’s Lauren James.
According to former Norway manager Leif Gunnar Smerud, Terland is a “fighter”, and it was the sting of missing out on the Scandinavian nation’s 2023 Women’s World Cup squad that drove her to new heights. “She handled her disappointment in a great way and showed everyone that she should have been there,” Smerud told The Athletic. “This attitude at the start of the season last year paved her way into more playing time.”
The Norwegian caught the eye of United’s recruitment team due to her goalscoring rate for Brighton, but also her age, contract status (her deal at Brighton was expiring this summer) and two years of experience in the WSL with the south coast club.
Although Terland is not the quickest, United identified her football intelligence, positioning, movement in the box and clinical finishing as key strengths, and secured her as a free agent on a two-year contract.
As the graphic below shows, Terland exceeded her expected goals (xG) value — a measurement of the quality of chances that fell her way — last season, which illustrates her top finishing ability. United have signed an out-and-out No 9, demonstrated by the fact she scored nearly all her 13 goals from within the width of the posts and took the majority of her shots from inside the penalty area.
On Sunday, she made her six touches in the Tottenham box count. With three shots on target, and an xG of 0.47, she scored two classy goals.
Credit also needs to go to Bizet for her deliveries while filling in at right-back for Jayde Riviere (currently being assessed for an injury). Skinner said the decision to play Bizet in that position rather than Aoife Mannion was a “no-brainer”, given he wanted an attacking full-back.
Bizet’s second assist came five minutes after the first. Terland checked her shoulder and held her run, before moving towards the ball in front of right-back Ashleigh Neville and then quickly readjusting to Bizet’s cross, timing her jump to head home. She could have had a hat-trick in the 50th minute had it not been for a finger-tip save by Rebecca Spencer, who nudged her shot onto the post.
Terland knows Manchester City striker Erling Haaland from their shared time in the youth ranks at Norwegian club Bryne, and in his post-match comments Skinner brought up her compatriot and fellow goal-scoring menace. “I think she knows Haaland personally and I don’t want to compare the two, but the immense and intense action of both of them is how she performs: ‘It’s in the box, I need to score’,” he said.
According to a source close to the United team, who wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships, since moving to Manchester over the summer, Terland has integrated smoothly into the squad, is “trusted” and “knows her role”.
“She is intense in a good way, always focused; she doesn’t dip, whether it’s pressing, whatever the task, she’s all in,” said Skinner. “She gives you that reassurance. She knows what the next picture is beyond the moment and she is trying to work that moment for herself. There’s not many forwards that have the ability to do that.
“If she doesn’t score, she takes that personally but doesn’t let it affect her. She just wants more and more and more.”
Terland scoring her second against Spurs (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Terland worked hard out of possession against Spurs, intercepting passes and hassling defenders.
Former Brighton interim manager Mikey Harris, who coached her from February to May last season, complimented her work ethic. “Her presence stood out,” he told The Athletic. “She trains really well, super-professional. I can’t speak highly enough of her as a human being.”
As a person, Smerud found Terland to be “quiet, almost shy” but the pair are from the same part of Norway and are known for their “stoic approach”. “That said, she has a great sense of dry humour,” he added.
There are still aspects of her game to work on, especially her hold-up play, one-v-one ability and left foot, but she is hungry to capitalise on her potential. If United can get Terland into the right positions, they have a proven goalscorer who can deliver. “Her performance gets us the reward of the three points,” said Skinner.
United sit third in the early-season WSL table with three wins out of three and without conceding a goal but have not been tested by their opposition so far, with their scheduled game against champions Chelsea last weekend getting postponed.
Terland, however, is quietly growing in confidence and could come back to haunt her former club at the Amex Stadium next weekend, before Arsenal visit on November 3 after the international break.
(Top photo: Terland after scoring against Spurs; Matt McNulty via Getty Images)
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