What a difference a couple of days make in the life of a Tottenham football fan. Thursday's uninspiring draw in Greece with the reserves team, was in stark contrast to the spectacular demolition of our Top 4 rivals from Liverpool. From the moment I saw the team sheet I was confident that we were going to get a result and continue our short run of beating Liverpool on a regular basis, with an almost a full strength team lining up. I personally think that we are a more attacking and stronger team with Van der Vaart or Lennon in the midfield somewhere, in favour of Krancjar, and maybe with Charlie at the back instead of Walker. We certainly have some depth in this department this season.
From the kick-off it was all Spurs...., but haven't we seen this a few times in the recent past, where we have flown out-of-the-gate with our typical 900mph start, only to fail to capitalise on it. We were all over them like a rash, and unlucky not to go ahead when Adebayor shot just wide from Kranjcar's through ball, but we didn't have to wait long for that vital first goal. Bale had the measure of Skrtel on the left, cut back to Defoe who lost the ball in the tackle, only for Modric to pounce on the loose ball and fire a medium size exorcet missile in to the top right hand corner of the net. KAPOW...! What a goal, completely unstoppable...
For the first 25 minutes Tottenham were in complete control. Bale & Walker were both allowed to run freely on the wings, throwing crosses into the box from either side, with Defoe, Krancjar & Adebayor all looking very dangerous and going close. Bale was having some particular success getting past Skrtel, and it was not long before both he & Charlie Adams got Yellow cards for some poor tackles on the flying Welshman.
Liverpool finally started to get a foot hold in the game and were close to getting an equaliser with a goal from Carroll pulled back for offside. But a minute later, their hopes were dealt a severe blow when another rash tackle on Scotty Parker got Adams his second yellow and the subsequent red card. An 11-man Liverpool were making hard work of dealing with a rampant Spurs, and going down to 10 men was not going to make their task any easier. The rest of the half went by with a couple of wasted free-kicks from Spurs , and a yellow card for Suarez who was losing his temperament by the minute....
I was hopeful that the 2nd half would bring a much needed 2nd goal for Spurs, as even though we were playing very well, a single goal lead is never safe, especially if you are a Tottenham fan. I also had placed a bet on BetFair that there would be 4-or more goals in the game, so I needed a few more in the back of the net to win that one. The chance of me getting the goals I needed improved when Skrtel received his marching orders after going through the back of Bale for the umpteenth time.
A 9-man Liverpool were soon punished after a great through-pass to Defoe, who turned his defender and shot low & hard past Reina for his 3rd goal of the season. This was closely followed by Reina failing to gather a shot from Defoe which Adebayor cleverly chipped over the prostrate keeper to make it three. Now we were 3-nil up and facing just a 9-man Liverpool, and we should be able to bag a hatful of goals right...? WRONG.... Unlike Man United or Chelsea, who would have gone balls-out and rack up a cricket score, the Spurs players lost all interest in scoring and played some very nice possession football, but created little threat in front of goal.
As we moved into extra time, I could see my BetFair account evaporating money if we didn't score a 4th goal, and low and behold, just when the whistle was about to be blown for full-time, Adebayor popped up alone on the right side of goal, and blasted a shot past the hapless Reina. 4-nil... Bet saved. Did I ever imagine that I would be celebrating Adebayor scoring a last-gasp goal at White Hart Lane..., NO I DID NOT...
My Player ratings: -
- Friedel - 6.5 - Would have probably rated higher if he had anything to do all game
- Bale - 7.5 - Finally a performance from our Welsh Winger... More Please
- Kaboul - 6.5 - Solid, even if he did not have much too do
- King - 6.5 - Another classy performance
- Bassong - 6.0 - Given a run out when there was not much left to do
- Walker - 8.0 - Great performance on the right, key to a lot of what was good
- Assou-Ekotto -7.0 - Solid, had Suarez in his pocket from the kick-off
- Parker - 8.5 - A real lynchpin in the midfield, solid and commanding
- Modric - 8.0 - Like Bale, the magician finally showed some of this real talent
- Kranjcar - 7.5 - Played well, strong and mobile on the right hand side of midfield
- Van der Vaart 7.0 - Looked spirited but never really got into the game
- Adebayor - 9.0 - The consummate goal poacher who scores where others have missed
- Defoe - 8.5 - Industrious and at the heart of nearly all the goals
- Giovani - 6.0 - Once again, not given enough time
No comments:
Post a Comment