Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Brom
Tottenham Hotspur started their Premier League season off with a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle in a game they were probably the better side in. In their second game they faced Liverpool's conqueror's West Brom who had surprised everybody in securing a 3-0 victory over Liverpool.
The home side, playing their first league game at White Heart Lane under Andre Villas-Boas looked the better team through the opening half as they dominated possession and created numerous chances that fell by the way side. The second half however saw West Brom coming alive and they grew into the game.
It appeared as if Tottenham had taken the lead in the 65th minute through Jermain Defoe, only for the referees assistant to rule the goal out with Defore standing clearly offiside as the ball was played into him. Just 10 minutes later Spurs did take the lead thanks to Benoit Assou-Ekotto's long range effort that took a deflection en-route to beating Ben Foster. It appeared as if the points were Tottenham's though, as we all know, Spurs don't have luck on their side and the visitors pushed hard to try and get an equaliser. As the match entered injury time West Brom managed to bag the necessary goal thanks to James Morrison who earned the Baggies a point.
This match will have been a hard pill for Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas to swallow as he came so close to securing his first win as Tottenham manager following the summer sacking of Harry Redknapp, a decision the fans didn't agree with. Despite the late equaliser Tottenham looked the better team however their play in the attack third was lacking cohesion and this left them perhaps not looking as much of a threat as one would expect. It was a long day for Defoe who rarely looked himself and the attack looked really toothless. At the back however Jan Vertonghen looked like a player who will be a commander in defense and looks to be a really impressive signing.
Steve Clarke will feel proud of his players for the second weekend running. They were incredible last weekend as they defeated Liverpool and they were brilliant again here in a match that they refused to accept they were beaten in. Despite looking poor for the first 45 minutes they really warmed to the occasion and looked like a team determined to get something from the match. If Clarke can keep the desire in his players to get something from every game then they could be a real handful for anyone.
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