| Match report
Struggling Crystal Palace put
up a good fight at a rain-sodden Selhurst Park, much as they did
against Arsenal, but they found that this Tottenham side are more
resilient than Spurs sides of old, giving little credence to claims
that they are still prone to lose games they shouldn't. The
1-0 win over the South London side came at a cost with Trippier
limping out of the action and Lamela coming off with a cut head, but
there was some redemption for Juan Foyth, who was harshly criticised
for last week's performance at Wolves and was this week's
match-winner.
With so many games played
recently, Mauricio Pochettino shuffled his team using the squad and
working around the injuries, with six changes from Tuesday night.
The rain lashed down at Selhurst Park and the conditions suited
Palace’s longer ball game, as without Zaha, they were looking for
Townsend to use his pace. When a cross from the left went to the far
post and came back in, it was Lucas Moura of all people who flicked
a header away with Kouyate, who was looking for a scissors kick
behind him. Juan Foyth was installed in the back four,
replacing Davinson Sanchez, who was missing with a hamstring pull
and the Argentine was being played on by the Palace players after
last week’s debut at Wolverhampton. He played a loose back
pass as Spurs tried to play out from a goal kick and forced Lloris
to concede a corner, but he showed confidence when he stepped out
with the ball a couple of times, feeling that he wanted to play his
normal game.
Townsend hit a shot from a tight angle into the side netting
(surprised ?) and it was only after 19 minutes that Spurs got a
decent effort on goal, when Moussa Sissoko beat four Palace
defenders, before cutting inside to shoot at goal from the left.
Sakho threw himself in front of the effort and the ball rebounded
out of the box.
Things got worse in the Tottenham defence after just 24 minutes,
with Trippier looking like he had done a hamstring, but Aurier was a
straight replacement and his opposite number Ben Davies almost
produced a telling cross, with Dele just unable to climb high enough
to reach it. It dropped to Aurier and he drilled a shot off
the greasy turf, but the ball pinged about before being cleared.
Davies was fouled out on the left touchline in the 26th minute that
forced a clearance for a throw in on the other side of the pitch.
Although that led to nothing, Lucas played Davies in on the left and
his cross picked out Alli, who was free and put a header wide when
he should have made Hennessey make a save. Coming back into
the side after a spell out injured, Dele looked a little off the
pace, but more like his old self, as he was getting into positions
from blind side runs and he played some lovely through passes that,
unfortunately, didn't lead to more goals.
The Spurs section of the crowd were making all the noise, as the
home crowd had quietened after their side made their initial
attacks. Hennessey was made to save when Kane struck a fierce drive
from 25 yards on the half hour, but the keeper got two hands to it,
as it was at a good height for his dive and so denied Tottenham.
Aurier then put in a decent cross to the far post, but Davies and
Alli got in each other’s way and then another Serge ball in almost
created a goal, but Moura could only stretch to head it over, with
Dele perhaps having a better run at it behind him.
Just before the break, Tomkins went through Moura from behind and
got booked, while Ayew prevented Dele taking the free-kick quickly
and resulted in a bit of a face-off, but it all fizzled out, just
like a firework at one of tonight's displays, as did the first half,
which didn't have too many highlights.
Anyway, half-time came and went, with the talk about Tottenham
playing the ball out from the back, trying to draw Palace players
out of position, but playing a risky game on this slippy surface.
Palace were closing down Spurs quickly, but it was Tottenham who
almost got a result from that tactic in the first period, when Moura
nearly got to Hennessey just made his clearance to a short back pass
from Sakho.
After the interval, Spurs kicked off and five minutes in, Lloris
flapped unconvincingly at a corner and had to get back to bat away
the ball as it was headed back towards goal by Tomkins. Hugo
hasn't looked himself this season. Whether it is a hang-over
from the high of the World Cup win or a result of his drink-drive
charge, but his decision making has been shaky so far.
Some loose passing prevented
Tottenham making more of the breakaway opportunities they had, but
Palace were stoically winning corners to try and get one of their
giants on the end of them. Tomkins got away from Dele at the far
post from one and the former Iron put his header wide of the goal
when he should have nodded it back across goal. Foyth cleared up a
messy Lloris kick out that went about ten yards and not very high to
save the keeper any embarrassment. When Spurs got upfield,
Dele shot from outside the box and it hit Moura on the way through,
forcing Hennessey to push it wide, even though it was well wide of
the goal. Kane headed a shot towards goal when Davies shot as
the ball dropped to him from a corner and he had bounced it into the
ground.
It was Kane’s vision that picked out a great ball across the pitch
to Dele on the left, but the ball got stuck under his feet and then
again, after he took a return pass from Wanyama. In the next
phase of play, Spurs won a corner when Davies found space on the
left and was blocked by Ben-Wissaka. When it came in from Lamela, it
was an out-swinger and Kane met it with full force off his forehead.
It popped up off Milivojevic’s thigh and as it hung in the air,
Jordan Ayew stood and watched, while Juan Foyth was more alert and
moved forward to win the header; planting it into the net. It
was a dramatic turnaround in his fortunes from last week, but he had
shown what he could do today and that is that he could be a talent
in the future for Spurs. It has been a while coming, but now
he has broken into the first team, he has shown Pochettino's faith
can be repaid.
Rattled by the goal, Palace were open straight afterwards, as Spurs
twice almost got through with good passes seeing Moura and Lamela
nearly get onto the ball, with both beaten to the ball by Hennessey,
but only just. Palace finally got into the Spurs box with 15
minutes left, but Lloris did well to dive low to gather a cross
along the ground aimed towards Sorloth from Ayew. It started when
Wanyama was bundled over in midfield and then Sissoko was pushed
down by Schlupp, but play was allowed to continue and Foyth had to
intervene to stop the ball going across goal. Coming after
Alderweireld was knocked over from behind by Ayew in the opening
stages of the game, it looked like Jon Moss was being overly
generous to the physical approach that Palace were taking.
Too many of Tottenham’s moves were being terminated by sloppy
touches and it was allowing the Eagles to get back into the game.
A free-kick caused confusion in the Tottenham defence when it
bounced high in the air and fell out to Schlupp, whose drive was
punched out by Lloris and referee Moss let play go on until it was
pointed out to him that Erik Lamela has sustained a cut head when
Schlupp fell onto him. With blood streaming from his forehead,
Harry Winks came on to replace our winger and this coincided with a
spell of pressure for Palace, with Wanyama coolly playing the ball
out when it got caught under his feet around the penalty spot.
Another ball into the Spurs box ended with van Aanholt’s ball coming
off Foyth and Townsend trying a volley on the turn, but it wasn’t
met with his laces, so he sliced it and Lloris could flop to his
right to get his body behind it and hold the ball. Winks was
booked for pulling back Ayew when he got away from him by the corner
flag at the Spurs end and Palace were flinging balls into the Spurs
area in an attempt to unsettle the defence.
The situation wasn’t helped by Tottenham’s inability to hold onto
the ball. Lamela’s departure had a lot to do with that, but it
appears something we are suffering with at the tail end of games
lately. In the first minute of added time, a shot from
Milivojecvic was blocked, but the ball dropped invitingly in front
of Sorloth. Palace's Norwegian striker drove it hard at goal
from eight yards out, but Hugo beat it out at his near post to keep
Spurs ahead. From the resulting corner, Heung-Min Son almost
made it 2-0, as Sissoko took the ball away and played Sonny in on
the right. He came inside and looked set to slot it past Hennessey,
but Kelly came from nowhere to take the ball off him for a corner.
The home team looked to bomb balls at the Tottenham defence, but in
the five added minutes, the back four held out and Tottenham had won
another away game, another game 1-0 over Palace and Palace had
failed to win at home again and failed to score again. Some
things never change !
Palace always put up a fight
against Spurs and make it difficult to play against them, but they
sacrifice their attacking options, looking solely to hit on the
break or through set-pieces. They should have done better with
the few chances they made, but Foyth's reading of the situation at
the other end was the difference between the sides in the end.
Not a classic display by Spurs and not conditions that were
conducive to a flowing game of football, but it was another three
points in the bag as the good start continues.
The good thing at the moment
is not just the points total, but players who are coming in are
playing well, as Sissoko continues to improve and Wanyama looked
more like his old self tonight. With a bit more depth added in
January, it could help Spurs in the run-in to the end of the season.
That is a long way off and tough games are coming, with Chelsea
next, but Pochettino can be satisfied with the first dozen games.
James from
Hertford |
