| Following a 1-1 draw
against Sunderland at Roker Park with Falco on the
scoresheet again, Spurs returned to UEFA Cup action. The
Semi-Final draw had given us Hajduk Split as opponents,
with the first leg in rainy Yugoslavia. Mark Falco gave
Tottenham the lead and a vital away goal following a
penalty awarded for handball after eighteen minutes.
Although Falco's spot-kick was saved, as indeed was his
follow-up, Tony Galvin picked up the loose ball and
crossed it into the crowded goalmouth where a grateful
Falco steered the ball into the back of the net. Two
Hajduk Split goals in the second half gave the home side
a narrow first leg advantage. For the first time in eight years
Spurs were going to have to appoint a new manager, with
Keith Burkinshaw announcing his resignation from the job,
to take effect from the end of the season.
Spurs played three league
matches before the return leg against Hajduk Split. Two
successive fixtures at White Hart Lane both ended in 2-1
home victories, goals from Graham Roberts and Mark Falco
giving us the points against Luton Town (whose
consolation was scored by 17-year old Garry Parker).
Roberts was on target again in our victory over Aston Villa, Gary Mabbutt scoring our other goal. On Easter
Saturday Arsenal achieved their third victory of the
season against us with a 3-2 win at Highbury. Stewart
Robson put the home side in front before Charlie Nicholas
scored (which he did with annoying regularity against
Spurs) to put Arsenal 2-0 up. In between two Steve
Archibald strikes (his 17th and 18th league goals of the
season), Tony Woodcock scored what proved to be Arsenal's
winner.
The second leg of the
Hajduk Split tie turned out to be one of the many
memorable European nights at White Hart Lane. A crowd of
43,969 saw Mike Hazard put us 1-0 up on the night and
level at 2-2 on aggregate with a sweetly-struck free kick
after only seven minutes. Mid-celebration, Hazard
suddenly ran off the pitch and headed for the dressing
rooms. All was later explained, with Hazard having gone
off to put a contact lens back in, after it had been
dislodged from his eye during the post-goal shenanigans
with his team-mates.
The rest of the match was
an extremely tense affair. It was vital that Tottenham
prevented the Yugoslavs from scoring. Somehow we managed
to keep the visitors at bay for the remaining 83 minutes.
Hajduk Split were an excellent side and it took an
outstanding Spurs performance to safeguard the slim
advantage. Hazard's goal proved to be the only one of the
night and Spurs went through on the away goals rule, with
the aggregate score 2-2, Mark Falco's goal in Yugoslavia
proving crucial. The winners of the other Semi - Final
were the Belgium side Anderlecht, who beat Notts. Forest.
The two-legged Final was to take place on 9 and 23 May,
with the first leg in Belgium.
We ended the month by
returning to league action with a visit to Queens Park
Rangers and a game on the Loftus Road's plastic pitch. An
excellent game played on a very warm afternoon in front
of a large crowd of nearly 25,000 (including a huge
contingent of visiting fans crammed into the School End)
ended 2-1 to Rangers. Wayne Fereday and John Gregory
netted for the home side, with Steve Archibald reducing
the deficit with a goal eighteen minutes from time.
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