After flattering to deceive with a comfortable 5-0 run out against Hearts at the back end of last week, the start of our Premiership campaign commenced on a somewhat predictable note…., a loss at Old Trafford.
It’s been over 20 odd years since we won at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, so I half expected that we would be lucky to get anything out of this tough first game. Ultimately, the game was still a bit disappointing, not so much the loss itself, but the way we folded after the first goal went in on the 60 minute mark.
During the first half, I think we were well in the game and looked good value for at least a draw. Although Friedel had pulled off some smart saves, I did not think Man United looked any better than us, and in fact I think they actually had less shots on target at half time. I was glad to see Harry bring Corluka on for the second, as Ashley Young had been starting to look more and more threatening down that wing, and had Walker in his back pocket. Whilst Charlie is not the fastest, he is very solid, and put in a few telling blocks to keep Young quiet for the bulk of the second half.
Up until they scored, I thought that we were playing well within ourselves, even if there were no nailed-on goal scoring opportunities, and Friedel continued his great work in goal, keeping us in the game. At that point I thought we might hold on for a draw, or even grab a cheeky late goal on the break, but once Welbeck scored the whole team seemed to lose the plot.
For 10 minutes after their first goal I don’t think we even saw the ball, let alone put our foot on it to try and control it, and therefore it wasn’t long until a good bit of skill by Welbeck set up a sitter for Anderson to poke home. Kaboul & BAE gave Giggs far too much time to pick out a cross that found Rooney between the centrebacks, to direct a solid header across Friedel. Honestly, I was just glad we didn’t ship more than three goals, it could have been worse. As usual Pavlyuchenko came on and ran around a lot, but I thought Huddlestone showed well, and at least gave us some control back in the midfield.
Overall a disappointing game as a Spurs fan, not so much the result as the capitulation in the last 30 mins. I thought we played well in parts, considering we were playing the current Premier League Champions at their home ground, and we had chances before that which we just didn’t take. Bale did not get one cross in all game, and even Lennon seemed to struggle at time.
My Spurs player of the game had to be Friedel, who had a solid game and was not at fault for any of the goals. But I think our travelling fans deserve the highest praise, as they were the only fans that could be heard for most of the match, and never gave up singing even at the end… Proud to be a Spurs Fan
So now back to the Lane to lick our wounds and prepare for Manchester City next weekend.
My Player ratings: -
- Friedel - 8.0 - Heroic goalkeeping, kept us in the game
- Bale - 5.5 - Poor display, not enough crosses
- Kaboul - 6.5 - Reasonably solid display
- Dawson - 6.0 - Not a great game
- Walker - 5.0 - Could not handle Young's speed and trickery
- Assou-Ekotto - 6.5 - Very solid , at fault for the first goal..?
- Lennon - 6.0 - Seemed a little lost, not enough penetration
- Van der Vaart - 6.5 - Good for 60 mins, just like the rst of the team
- Kranjcar - 6.5 - Reasonable performance, but no Modric
- Livermore - 6.0 - Not enough endevor
- Defoe - 6.5 - Limited impact on the game, one good chance
- Corluka - 7.0 - Solid, dealt with Young when he came on
- Pavlyuchenko - 6.0 - Very little impact
- Huddlestone – 7.0 - Brought some control back to the middle when he came on
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