Glad I avoided the web this morning and waited until FSC aired the replay of this match from White Hart Lane in the early afternoon. Spurs scored a goal at either end of the match, the first at the 1:51 mark of the first half by Aaron Lennon and the last coming in the waning moments of stoppage time by Robbie Keane, which was his 100th goal for Spurs.
In between the scoring was an exciting match that was roughly defined by Spurs absolutely controlling the first half and with the Black Cats going after the suspect Spurs back line in the second.
Jamie O'Hara took advantage of a poor clearance in the left corner by drilling the ball in toward the goal, where upon Dimitar Berbatov neatly clipped the ball toward the center of pitch in advance of a swiftly reacting Lennon. A quick and simple goal that clearly set the tone for most of what was to follow in the first half.
Jermain Defoe started alongside Berbatov up front and kept the pressure on the Sunderland defense, peppering them with some nice shots. There was also the usual amount of good passing as well, only to come up short, for instance, on the shot by Berbatov from Jermaine Jenas that barely made contact with the post and still wound up outside of the net. The possession percentage at halftime showed Spurs with having had the ball 62% while the visitors struggled with just one striker, Kenwyne Jones, up front, unable to create any chances at all.
Michael Chopra came on for Sunderland toward the end of the first half, and the offensive side of Sunderland began to move with a bit more purpose almost immediately. The chances for the visitors became more pronounced in the second half , especially early on as they found themselves in the same position as the home side by scoring a goal on a defensive mix-up in almost the same spot Spurs took advantage of. A ball from Micheal Dawson hit Paul Stalteri and bounded in front of Daryl Murphy, who took a couple of steps and blasted a shot that curled around the right side of the net thankfully.
If Sunderland goalie Craig Gordon made a few nice saves in the first half to keep the score close, then Spurs goalie Radek Cerny was up to the task in the second, combined with some good solid defending from the Spurs. It certainly made for anxious viewing for Spurs fans as the visitors continually sought out the equalizer, but any hopes of rescuing a point vanished as Keane took a long pass and put enough force on a shot to Gordon that allowed the ball to slip by the goalie after it had initially been stopped, and the celebration was on for the historic Keane goal.
A good solid victory in all aspects, and even though Sunderland may be in the relegation fight, the three points were sorely needed. COYS!
SPURS RECAP
No comments:
Post a Comment