| Stevenage Borough
:
Woodman
Warner
Hocking (Goodliffe 66)
Rogers (c)
Gregory (Gould 63)
Brady (Boyd 46)
Bulman (Hodgson 72)
Quinn (Nurse 67)
Brough
McAllister (Maamria 46),
Elding
|
Tottenham Hotspur
:
Keller
Kelly (Ifil 46)
O'Donoghue (Mabizela 46)
Bunjevcevic (Doherty (c) 46)
Taricco (McKie 46)
Yeates (Ricketts 46)
Marney (McKenna 46)
Mendes (Hughes 46)
Jackson (O'Hara 46)
Keane (c) (Defoe 46)
Malcolm
|
| Well it was a nice evening,
weather wise, and I discovered that there is a new Asda supermarket on
the dreary walk (seriously featureless cycle paths and underpasses) from
the train station to the Broadhall Way ground. Incidentally,
they sell large, cold bottles of Tiger beer, which I enthusiastically
recommend as an alternative to Carlsberg (bland) and Stella
(predictable). This is worth noting owing to the absence of
any drinkers on the way to the ground. Next year I shall
bring a bottle opener.
I like Stevenage Boro. The
pitch always looks lush and it’s nice to stand as a matter of course
rather than have to stand as some of us do in South Lower, at WHL,
because of the inconsiderate gits in front who insist on standing.
Last time I was at Stevenage (for a reserves match) it was freezing, in
winter, and I only managed 45 minutes before transferring to the nearby
Pizza Hut for some warmer Stella.
The local Boro’, supporters were on
good form and had a few laddy songs, familiar tunes, of course, but
new words. I liked, “Santini, he went to Portugal, he came
back with fuck all”. It was spontaneous, funny and accurate. I
strained across the pitch, but couldn’t see the great man. I
assume he was there. Less acceptable was, ‘Premiership, yer
havin’ a laugh !’ This was far too close to home.
I can’t think of much to say about the
first half. The team was a mixed bunch of big names (a few)
and various others. It was good to see Robbie Keane, but it
always is. Treacle seemed a bit quiet and I suppose Mendes
was OK, although I’m a bit cautious after the Postiga fiasco. We’ll
have to see if he fits in although it was encouraging to see Robbie
paired up with him, in the warm up, before the match. I
wonder what they were talking about ?
We all know how lucky we are to have
Jermain Defoe in the club. The fact that his name rhymes with
‘yiddo’ is simply a fortuitous, substantially appropriate and
brilliant coincidence. He’s an absolute gem and he’s
Tottenham. Please, readers, pause and reflect on this.
It was a livelier second half and, apart
from Jermain and his tidy goal, OJ and Gary Doherty played well. I
worried about OJ last season, and his lack of first team opportunities,
but he was OK tonight and did his job well. He looked confident
and in control. Does he ever say anything ? The Ginger
Pelé is a bit of an enigma. Some say that he’s not up to the
Premiership and they may be right, but he looks so keen and tries so
hard. He was good tonight and he wore the captain’s armband. I
like him; he attentive, totally committed … but just a trifle dodgy. I
wonder how long his contract is ? I imagine that Jacques will
vaporise him in due course.
There’s no need for me to write a
blow-by-blow account of the match, you can look elsewhere for
that. We won by two goals to one but beyond that I can’t
say. The fact that Robbie and Jermain played separate halves made
it difficult and many moves look ragged, particularly early on.
The sum of the two players is, of course, far greater than each
individual … I wonder if one could derive some mathematical formula
… ?
Perhaps the weekend will bring something
more ? I’ll be there and I hope to report my views on Hull
and Sheffield. Until next time, come on you Spurs ! I
love it ! We all love it. It’s so intriguing.
MEHSTG TOP MAN : - JERMAIN DEFOE
|
