Maybe it was the hangover effect from the Reading match or, more likely, the inability to enjoy prosperity on the pitch. The result is still too familiar though: a late goal conceded on a corner kick to give Villa the home victory in this New Year's Day match.
Spurs found themselves under attack almost the entire first half, and were not really able to sustain any kind of offensive momentum to generate any real scoring chances, definitely a 180 degree turnaround from the last couple of EPL matches, though a Martin O' Neill-coached team is one that generally tends to limit quick scoring strikes by the opposition.
Spurs were a bit lucky to down only 1-0 at the half, after Olof Mellberg netted a goal just before the half, as somehow Martin Laursen managed to boot a gift ball sitting in front of the net well over the bar into the crowd.
The second half was a bit better in terms of overall football, as Robbie Keane replaced Aaron Lennon and Tom Huddlestone came on for Kevin-Prince Boateng, but I got the feeling of a hardly deserved point when Jermaine Defoe, who started the match, beat a Villa defender to a carom in front of the Villa net and elevated himself to blast the ball home just before the 80th minute.
However, those good feelings were gone just a few minutes later when Laursen easily slipped in between the scant Spurs defense to head the fateful kick home, and the same old gloom that Spurs fans have grown accustomed to returned. Complacency on this team? Who knows, but assistant coach Gus Poyet was more than a little bit peeved afterward, promising that change will be made, the video for that exchange is HERE.
ESPN RECAP
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