A very good all-around effort from Spurs today resulted in the 0-1 victory. This ends a run of four games of 1-1 draws for Spurs, but is the sixth straight game without a goal for the home side Royals, only two of those having been draws.
Robbie Keane took a nice pass from Darren Bent and found the goal fairly easily in the 16th minute as the Reading defenders collapsed between themselves on the Spurs attack, and continued to dominate the play for the majority of the first half, they should have had a second goal just minutes later from Steed Malbranque, but he was ruled to have been offsides, though replays showed he was indeed onside. Oh well, at least this blown call didn't really affect the outcome of the match.
Reading showed more spark in the second half, with Spurs goalie Radek Cerny making some fine saves throughout to preserve the lead.
Dimitar Berbatov did not play due to a groin injury, and with all of the recent news regarding his wishes to play in the Champions League, who knows if this was a preview of what to expect if he is no longer playing at White Hart Lane. Keane and Bent did well today up front, though it wasn't quite as effective as when the Irishman had been playing with Berbatov. That may certainly change with time of course, but it was more than effective today against a team fighting for its survival.
Coupled with Man U's 4-1 destruction of West Ham today, Spurs can still finish the season in the top half. A win for Spurs at home versus Liverpool coupled with a Hammer loss or draw (at Upton Park) against Aston Villa will do the trick. With Liverpool having even less to play for than Spurs, it seems a golden opportunity to salvage something from a disappointing season. At the very least, and as always, COME ON YOU SPURS!
BBC REPORT
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