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 Tottenham Hotspur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tottenham Hotspur. Show all posts
Friday, 21 September 2012
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Premier League Week 2-Write up Tottenham Hotspur v West Brom
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.
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.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Premier League Week 1-Write up Newcastle v Tottenham Hotspur
Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
The late kick off of the opening day saw last year's 5th placed team hosting the 4th placed team in a match that on paper looked the best of the first days match ups. Sadly however the match took a while to really get going with the first 20 or so minutes being very stop start as Martin Atkinson booked 3 players in the space of 5 minutes in the opening half. Despite the poor nature of the half Spurs seemed the team more likely to scoring hitting the wood work twice with the only real attempts of note.
Despite being a slow burner the match came alive in the second half after Demba Ba scored his first goal for the club after a lengthy dry spell. It wasn't long however until Jermain Defoe equalised for Spurs after a poachers finish. Spurs sadly fell asleep almost immediately after equalising and as Hatem Ben Arfa was in the penalty area he was stupidly fouled by Dutchman Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon who gave away a penalty that Ben Arfa put away himself (after a small argument with Ba about who was going to take the penalty).
Also during the match Alan Pardew was sent to the stands after pushing one of the linesmen who made a decision that Pardew didn't agree with. I imagine that Pardew will have to suffer a touchline ban though hopefully what he takes from the match out weighs the penalty. His team didn't look as good as they did at times last season, though Ba's goal will hopefully help him get back to the form that saw him making a name for himself as one of Newcastle's key players. Whilst they didn't look great it is a very valuable 3 points over a serious rival and this is the sort of thing Newcastle need, wins over other top teams.
Andre Villas-Boas first competitive fixture in charge of Spurs after taking over from Harry Redknapp sadly didn't see Spurs playing to their best. A number of injuries left their front line very weak with only Jermain Defoe and teenager Harry Kane fit enough to play and this certainly didn't help. Though the loss falls squarely on the heads of Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon who had no reason to foul Ben Arfa in the penalty. Hopefully Spurs will be able to get their game faces on for their next fixture.
The late kick off of the opening day saw last year's 5th placed team hosting the 4th placed team in a match that on paper looked the best of the first days match ups. Sadly however the match took a while to really get going with the first 20 or so minutes being very stop start as Martin Atkinson booked 3 players in the space of 5 minutes in the opening half. Despite the poor nature of the half Spurs seemed the team more likely to scoring hitting the wood work twice with the only real attempts of note.
Despite being a slow burner the match came alive in the second half after Demba Ba scored his first goal for the club after a lengthy dry spell. It wasn't long however until Jermain Defoe equalised for Spurs after a poachers finish. Spurs sadly fell asleep almost immediately after equalising and as Hatem Ben Arfa was in the penalty area he was stupidly fouled by Dutchman Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon who gave away a penalty that Ben Arfa put away himself (after a small argument with Ba about who was going to take the penalty).
Also during the match Alan Pardew was sent to the stands after pushing one of the linesmen who made a decision that Pardew didn't agree with. I imagine that Pardew will have to suffer a touchline ban though hopefully what he takes from the match out weighs the penalty. His team didn't look as good as they did at times last season, though Ba's goal will hopefully help him get back to the form that saw him making a name for himself as one of Newcastle's key players. Whilst they didn't look great it is a very valuable 3 points over a serious rival and this is the sort of thing Newcastle need, wins over other top teams.
Andre Villas-Boas first competitive fixture in charge of Spurs after taking over from Harry Redknapp sadly didn't see Spurs playing to their best. A number of injuries left their front line very weak with only Jermain Defoe and teenager Harry Kane fit enough to play and this certainly didn't help. Though the loss falls squarely on the heads of Rafael Van Der Vaart and Aaron Lennon who had no reason to foul Ben Arfa in the penalty. Hopefully Spurs will be able to get their game faces on for their next fixture.
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