Yes, it was "just" the Carling Cup. Yes, the home side wanted it more. It still doesn't detract much from a lovely afternoon of football as Spurs hounded the Gooners 5-1 before a raucous White Hart Lane crowd, and booked themselves into the Cup championship against either Everton or Chelsea, the opponent to be determined on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, I could not watch this one in person, having to be on the road for work, and I forgot my mobile to check in on the results, of which I expected a match in that Spurs would take an early lead only to lose it late in the game, same as it ever was in terms of recent Spurs matches versus the Gooners.
I was flabbergasted when I checked the score of 5-1 and had to rub my eyes to make sure that it wasn't actually 1-5. Wow! Jenas in just the third minute and an own goal from Nicklas Bendtner midway through the half. Goals from Robbie Keane just after the break and from Aaron Lennon at 60 minutes! Perennial thorn in Spurs side Emmanuel Adebayor gets one back 10 minutes later, but Steed Malbranque taps one in at the death for the final score.
Having seen the highlights though, it was certainly a well-deserved victory for Spurs, who were passing the ball around in style, particularly the goals for Keane and Lennon, and the Gooners were certainly a bit unlucky not to have scored another goal when Bendtner's bicycle kick hit the bar early on in the second half. However, the Spurs played sound defensively in all aspects while goalie Radek Cerny, who made some fine saves, seems to have replaced Paul Robinson as the number one keeper on the team.
As alluded to in the title, there are other factors to consider when placing this game in context, such as Spurs current place in the EPL table, the ability of getting into the Champions League, the fate of Berbatov, the defensive questions, etc. but thrashing one's rivals in this manner is something to be enjoyed. Immensely. COYS!
SPURS REPORT
SOCCERNET REPORT
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