Reading 1-3 Tottenham
Tottenham started this season with high expectations however their performances in their first 3 games failed to meet what the fans had expected. With pressure mounting on Andre Villas Boas it seemed only a matter of time before the team either got going or the manager was going to be out of a job, thankfully for "AVB" his team has finally managed their first win under his guidance.
Going in to this match neither team had managed to get a win and whilst that was somewhat expected of Reading (who had played the always difficult Stoke and European Champions Chelsea) it wasn't expected from Tottenham (who had drawn with both West Brom and Norwich as well as losing to Newcastle) and both teams obviously needed the points.
The match started well for Tottenham who finally appeared to have found 3rd and 4th gears, and with in 20 minutes they had a well deserved lead though Jermain Defoe. Following the opening it looked like they were going to bang them in for fun and could easily have been out of site by half time due to their sheer domination of the match. Somehow Reading's defense stood resolute and managed to hold out at 1-0 for the first 45 minutes.
Tottenham's dominance finally paid off in the 71st minute as Gareth Bale doubled the Spurs lead before Defoe scored his second of the match to seal the 3 points with 15 minutes to go. Despite the 3-0 scoreline Reading fought on and chalked up a late consolation thanks to Hal Robson-Kanu, however the game was well done by then.
Reading struggled through out the game. This was admittedly no shock but they were thoroughly dominated by a team who were low on confidence themselves. The biggest surprise of the game was that Tottenham only managed 3, though that was in part due to Alex McCarthy who genuinely had a blinder filling in for Adam Federici. McCrthy aside there was little for Reading fans to take from this game other than solace in the fact that it's over.
The monkey is now off Andre Villas-Boas' back however he will need to keep his teaming playing like they did here. They looked strong and purposeful, they were able to take control of the game and showed a number of excellent threats in a game that their midfield ran, thanks mainly to Belgian Mousa Dembele who looks to be the missing jigsaw piece. If Spurs can build on this they can once again challenge for a Champions League position, however they do need to build on it quickly and can't waste any more games whilst the top teams run away from them
Showing posts with label Mousa Dembele. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mousa Dembele. Show all posts
Friday, 21 September 2012
Saturday, 1 September 2012
Premier League Week 3-Write up Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Norwich
Andre Villas-Boas may have been a man tipped for great things but the pressure is really building on the Portuguese manager at White Hart Lane as he has started to feel the wrath of the angry fans. Whilst we all know that the firing of Harry Redknapp was unpopular with Spurs fans it just seems that poor AVB can do nothing right.
With the sales of Luke Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart in the past few days it was obvious that the fans would want nothing less than a win as Spurs hosted Norwich, as it turned out Spurs were lucky to even claim a point against the Canaries, who were also looking for their first win.
The visitors started very brightly and came close after just 8 minutes as they hit the bar. They forced Brad Friedel into action just before half time as Robert Snodgrass gave the Spurs defense real nightmares. It could very easily have been 2-0 to Norwich going into the break however we instead finished the half goalless.
The deadlock was finally broken midway into the second half as Belgian Mousa Dembele, playing for the first time since leaving Fulham, opened his account for Spurs with a solid strike from just inside the penalty area. Sadly for AVB his change of tactics following the goal allowed Norwich to attack and their pressure paid off with around 5 minutes left as Robert Snodgrass equalised after some penalty area ping pong.
Things went from bad to worse for Spurs. Not only had they blown what looked like a certain win but they also finished with just 10 men after substitute Tom Huddlestone was sent off just before the final whistle.
Despite dominating the possession Spurs struggle to really force John Ruddy into action as Norwich were all over the home side bring a lot of defensive pressure and doubling up on the key attacking Spurs players. The big issue however seems to be AVB, he's not Redknapp and he appears to be very unwanted by the Spurs fans who seem to feel annoyed that 'arry was sacked despite finishing 4th last season. AVB will need a win and a win soon if he is going to turn around the fans who have already turned on him.
Chris Hughton once again showed why he is highly regarded by many in the sport. Norwich aren't a rich club or a club full of superstar names but they are a well organised team who, opening day aside, have appeared very difficult to beat. The Canaries might not be a team pushing for Europe but they will be a team that could give anyone a tough day just due to how Hughton has them playing. Robert Snodgrass looks to be an excellent summer signing and seems able to pull the strings at this level and could well be the difference between Norwich staying up or going down.
Andre Villas-Boas may have been a man tipped for great things but the pressure is really building on the Portuguese manager at White Hart Lane as he has started to feel the wrath of the angry fans. Whilst we all know that the firing of Harry Redknapp was unpopular with Spurs fans it just seems that poor AVB can do nothing right.
With the sales of Luke Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart in the past few days it was obvious that the fans would want nothing less than a win as Spurs hosted Norwich, as it turned out Spurs were lucky to even claim a point against the Canaries, who were also looking for their first win.
The visitors started very brightly and came close after just 8 minutes as they hit the bar. They forced Brad Friedel into action just before half time as Robert Snodgrass gave the Spurs defense real nightmares. It could very easily have been 2-0 to Norwich going into the break however we instead finished the half goalless.
The deadlock was finally broken midway into the second half as Belgian Mousa Dembele, playing for the first time since leaving Fulham, opened his account for Spurs with a solid strike from just inside the penalty area. Sadly for AVB his change of tactics following the goal allowed Norwich to attack and their pressure paid off with around 5 minutes left as Robert Snodgrass equalised after some penalty area ping pong.
Things went from bad to worse for Spurs. Not only had they blown what looked like a certain win but they also finished with just 10 men after substitute Tom Huddlestone was sent off just before the final whistle.
Despite dominating the possession Spurs struggle to really force John Ruddy into action as Norwich were all over the home side bring a lot of defensive pressure and doubling up on the key attacking Spurs players. The big issue however seems to be AVB, he's not Redknapp and he appears to be very unwanted by the Spurs fans who seem to feel annoyed that 'arry was sacked despite finishing 4th last season. AVB will need a win and a win soon if he is going to turn around the fans who have already turned on him.
Chris Hughton once again showed why he is highly regarded by many in the sport. Norwich aren't a rich club or a club full of superstar names but they are a well organised team who, opening day aside, have appeared very difficult to beat. The Canaries might not be a team pushing for Europe but they will be a team that could give anyone a tough day just due to how Hughton has them playing. Robert Snodgrass looks to be an excellent summer signing and seems able to pull the strings at this level and could well be the difference between Norwich staying up or going down.
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