A third round FA Cup match from the Ninian Stadium in Cardiff, Wales ends in a 0-0 draw. Sometimes these scoreless draws can be exciting memorable affairs; sadly this was not one of the those. Both teams had a small handful of chances that they failed to capitalize upon, and most of those were created by mistakes from the defense, particularly the first chance for the Bluebirds on a errant back pass from Young-Pyo Lee to goalie Paul Robinson, leaving the goalie high and dry as the attacking Cardiff player shot wide right on an open goal in the 15th minute.
Jermaine Defoe had the best shots on goal for the visitors, I still can't believe the chip shot he missed, on a beautiful pass from Steed Malbranque in the 49th minute, although the Cardiff goalie Neil Alexander made a terrific save in the 62nd minute when it looked like Spurs were ready to break though finally.
Can't say this one was as boring as watching paint dry (there was a steady rain all match long, creating a slick pitch that lead to some slips here and there), but all too often entry passes into the midfield went astray, and most of the action was played between the boxes. There were a few organized attempts off of the corners for both sides, but nothing threatening resulted from those actions. Hats off to the crowd, 20,376 in a packed house, for a lively atmosphere, lots of singing to try and inspire both sides, it looked as though Spurs had a large contingent in the Grange End of the stadium.
Ah well, a rematch with Cardiff in 10 days time at the Lane, where the fortunes of Spurs have been considerably better, although adding another fixture to a crowded lineup probably wasn't high on the "To Do" list of Martin Jol.
MATCH STATS
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