Tottenham
Hotspur 1-0 Newcastle United |
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Date:
Sunday 10th April 2005
Kick Off: 4.05pm BST
Venue: White Hart Lane
Ref: Steve Bennett (Orpington)
Att: 35,885
Comp: Premiership |
| Match
Preview In Association With Toon
Ale |
|
Mid-Table Team, Mid-Table Performance!
By Gosport Toon
With a packed fixture list Souness chose not to take the opportunity
to rest a few of our regular starters who will be vitally important
to us in our attempt to make progress in two Cup competitions in the
next 7 days. However it was good to see Boumsong and Babayaro back
in action even if Kluivert was once again notable by his absence,
why didn't we take him on on a pay as you play basis? The term "sicknote"
now comes to mind whenever his name is mentioned.
I assume the theory is that all the games are important and it is
equally important to keep our good run of results going in the lead
up to Lisbon and Cardiff, maybe not a view supported by our bit part
players such as Milner, N'Zogbia and Ambrose who we may need to call
upon in an emergency at a crucial time.
Shola, despite criticism from many supporters, was once again willing
to play through the pain barrier on the back of very little training.
Maybe he should follow Kluivert's lead and only play when 100% fit,
then any criticism he receives from the fans would be more palatable
to him and some of the fans who appreciate his efforts.
The team looked appropriate for a match in which we could expect to
be on the defensive for periods, especially in the first half, maybe
with the exception of JJ who would once again play in a position he
normally struggles in.
The game got underway and Baba got in a good early tackle. Butt quickly
appeared to carry on where he has left off recently i.e. totally off
the pace of the game. The solid centre to our team of Butt and Faye
was being bypassed too easily as Spurs got quickly into their stride
without too much opposition from the visitors.
A series of short meaningless passes in our own half saw Jenas lose
position going towards his own goal almost resulting in an early goal
for the home side. Worse was to follow with Shearer taking a heavy
knock on his thigh resulting in a dead leg and the decision to play
our top scorer seemed a poor one at this stage.
Robert's first corner after 11 minutes was atrocious and O'Brien gave
the ball away outside our box. Despite this totally predictable start
we were hardly threatened in the first 15 minutes and were in the
comfort zone. The game carried on, Faye picked up a stupid booking
for not retreating 10 yards at a free kick and O'Brien played one
of his long meaningless passes to no-one that makes Bramble look like
Zidane or Beckham when he hits his 40-yard passes.
Another trait of the away side reared its head after 23 minutes when
from our own throw in at the left back position, Spurs had a shot
at goal within seconds as they latched onto it. Do we practice giving
the ball away in our defensive third or does it come naturally to
us?
We then concentrated on knocking long hopeful balls up to Shearer
and Ameobi for them to flick on or lose to the two tall, strong Spurs
center-backs. Then totally out of the blue an overlap by Carr resulted
in JJ swinging in a fantastic cross, Ameobi leapt well at the back
post and did the right thing by heading the ball down but not close
enough to the goal to avoid it bouncing over the bar. A gilt edged
chance went begging and one wondered if we would pay dearly for the
miss.
Butt lost the ball twice in quick succession near to our goal resulting
in us almost going behind. In contrast JJ made a fantastic tackle
followed by a mazy run across the pitch followed by an almost defence
splitting pass to Robert that was cut out at full stretch by the Spurs
right back Kelly.
To give Butt a rest Faye took on the role of giving the ball away
in a dangerous area. And after 33 minutes 9% of the action had been
in the Spurs defensive third of the pitch.
The game continued with Faye providing Jenas with a hospital ball
and then a series of unnecessary short square balls in tight positions
putting ourselves under pressure, the only highlight being the odd
overlap by Carr.
Another crap corner by Robert and a loss of possession by the same
player on the halfway line led to the sloppiest of goals being conceded
just before half time. Baba was in an awkward position and laid a
reasonable back pass to Harper who kicked the ball straight to a Spurs
player who flicked the ball into the path of Defoe who stuck the ball
in the net from about 8 yards despite a desperate attempt by Harper
to rectify his error.
Robert managed to get caught in possession again just before half
time to end a totally forgettable first half. Milner replaced Shearer
at half time and Robert and Boumsong appeared a few minutes after
all the other players and Boumsong didn't even have his boot lace
tied up. Not an encouraging start to the second half.
It took all of 2 minutes before O'Brien managed one of his unique
exhibitions of thinking he is a much better player than he thinks
he is, as Brian Clough would have said, "he can't even trap a bag
of cement!" As a result Defoe got a shot at goal and would have probably
scored if Boum hadn't covered back well.
We had lost the last 11 games in which the opposition scored first
and there were few signs we were going to break that run. We continued
to cause ourselves as many problems as the opposition were causing
us.
Totally out of the blue Milner was presented with a gilt edged opportunity
to put us level but with just an on target chip over the keeper needed
from 25 yards Milner managed to miss the goal by at least 20 yards.
Back to the original script and Butt gets caught again in midfield
as a result of his sloth like movement when in possession. 61 minutes
signaled the substitution of the ineffective Robert and the downright
dangerous Butt with young guns Ambrose and N'Zogbia coming on.
The 63rd minute came and we still hadn't had a shot on target! How
can a team that attacks so well and creates so much at SJP be able
to be such a miserable attacking unit on their travels?
73 minutes and O'Brien miss hits the ball straight to a Spurs player,
then a minute later a hopeful high long ball by Spurs is too much
for Carr to cope with and Defoe almost gets through on goal.
N'Zogbia had a bright first 15 minutes on the pitch contributing more
than Robert in the 61 minutes he was on the field. The last 17 minutes
saw a relatively brighter spell for the Toon but it couldn't have
been more miserable than the first 70 minutes if we had tried.
All in all we were almost non existent as an attacking force, we didn't
put enough pressure on the Spurs players when they had the ball, there
seemed to be a total lack of understanding between our players when
it came to passing and movement.
We had little width and much of our game was based on long high balls
forward towards 2 tall Spurs CB's. Most of the loose balls were collected
by the opposition, we played too many short, square and inaccurate
passes and we lacked any decent forward runs (and any real fight-couldn't
resist it!) from midfield with Bowyer and Dyer missing.
May I suggest that part of Bowyers fine is used to reimburse the traveling
Toon supporters travel and ticket costs for a game that could not
be called entertainment by any stretch of the imagination.
Before the game I told my 16 year old son that I would like a young
supporters perspective on summing up the game. He duly obliged by
leaving the TV room early muttering under his breath "I have never
seen such a sh*te performance for a long time!" Maybe that should
have been the title of this match report.
Trying to take any positives from the game is difficult but I think
I can surprisingly manage 6:
1) Baba, Boum and Carr played ok.
2) Nobody got sent off.
3) I don't think we picked up any serious injuries.
4) JJ had a much improved game in a poor team performance.
5) N'Zogbia played well.
6) The result of this game wasn't as important as the result of the
last one and the next two.
Player ratings:
Harper 4 - had little
to do but he was guilty of gifting the winning goal to the opposition.
I have never been a great admirer of Shay's kicking abilities but
Harper has taken the skill to new lows.
Carr
6 - solid enough and managed to get forward much more than
Baba on the left. Didn't do a great deal wrong and continues to play
steadily but nowhere near as well as he did against Sporting last
Thursday.
Boumsong 6 - I possibly should
score him higher on the basis that he played well despite being alongside
O'Brien. Defoe's ability to be almost constantly off side probably
saved us from a beating.
O'Brien 4 -
bad control, dodgy positional play and atrocious distribution. Will
he really be playing against Sporting on Thursday? There must be a
better option!
Baba 6 - considering
this was his first match for 9 games he did very well. I hope he is
fit enough for Thursday. He got 90 minutes under his belt and that
is probably the biggest plus to come out of the game for us.
JJ 6 - a much better performance than against
Sporting but still nowhere near his best, hopefully he is saving himself
for the big games, he certainly owes us a few performances.
Butt 3 - absolutely awful and worryingly on
a par with his last outing, if he'd been in the Grand National they
would probably have shot him! He looks a cert to be in the end of
season clear out if anyone will have him on this form.
Faye 5 - possibly a 4 but he had to do Butts work
for him as well so I've been generous and given him a 5. I was expecting
Butt and Faye to be the rock upon which we get through against Sporting
this coming week. But like me I assume Souness will be having second
thoughts about his centre midfield pairing.
Robert
4 - slightly better than Butt and slightly worse than Faye.
Maybe he is one who should have been rested for this game. He owes
us a performance next Thursday.
Ameobi 5 -
I don't want to be too critical of a guy who is and always has been
willing to play carrying an injury and when not fully fit. He did
as much as Shearer and its a shame he failed to put his chance away
after getting into a good position and out jumping the Spurs defence.
Shearer 5 - not at his best when up
against 2 centre-backs who are good in the air, another who should
have been on the bench and brought on for the last half hour if needed.
Subs:
Milner 5 - one who needs more
playing time to build his confidence and become more effective
Ambrose 5 - injected pace and enthusiasm but
wasn't able to bring the quality required to go with it
N'Zogbia 7 - in a game with no real man of the match
he was the only "highlight" in a Toon shirt and definitely one for
the near future, maybe even this Thursday!?
| Spurs
|
Newcastle
United |
Match
Facts & Stats
Half-Time: 1-0
Full-Time: 1-0
Yellow Cards: 3
Red Cards: 0
Goalscorers: Defoe (43)
Yellow Cards: Michael Brown (14)
Sean Davis (86)
Red Cards: 0
Substitutions: 3
Davis (Brown 55), Keane (Defoe 78), Ziegler (Davies
84)
Injuries: N/A
Goalscorers:
Yellow Cards: Amdy Faye (19)
Shola Ameobi (51)
Red Cards: 0
Substitutions: 3
Milner (Shearer 45), N'Zogbia (Robert 62), Ambrose (Butt 62)
Injuries: Shearer (thigh) |
| Robinson |
Harper |
| Kelly |
Carr |
| King |
Boumsong |
| Gardner |
O'Brien |
| Edman |
Babayaro |
| Davies |
Jenas |
| Carrick |
Faye |
| Brown |
Butt |
| Reid |
Robert |
| Defoe |
Shearer |
| Kanoute |
Ameobi |
| Substitutes
Bench |
| Bunjevcevic, |
Caig |
| Ziegler |
Hughes |
| Davis |
Ambrose |
| Keane |
Milner |
| Cerny |
N'Zogbia |
| Possession,
Shots, Corners, Fouls, Offsides & Saves |
| Spurs
|
The
Game |
Newcastle |
| 45% |
Possession |
55% |
| 6 |
Shots
(on target) |
3 |
| 13 |
Shots (off target) |
3 |
| 4 |
Corners |
7 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
5 |
| 7 |
Off-sides |
2 |
| 0 |
Saves |
3 |
It's now 9 games without a win away in the League. 3rd defeat in 19
games. 5 Premiership game in which we have failed to score in. We
are still to win a League game in which we have went behind in. Our
4 game undefeated record on the road ends. O'Brien made his 250th
career appearance.
| How
The Goals Were Scored |
Tottenham Hotspur Goal 43 Minutes: Jermaine Defoe
Robert lost the ball on the left-flank but Babayaro was there to sweep
up. The Nigerian passed the ball back to Harper and then turned his
back on the 'keeper who simply kicked the ball straight to a Spurs
player who in turn flicked it onto Defoe, leaving the England striker
to tap into an empty net. Awful goal to concede.
| Post-Match
Reaction From NUFC |
Manager Graeme Souness said:
"There was not much in the match and it was a tale of two 'keepers.
Steve Harper made a mistake and was punished for it whilst Paul Robinson
got away with his error.
"We were away from home, just
looking to sit on the ball but the goal changed that, however the
substitutions in the second half livened things up for us."
On whether the players had their minds on the Cup games:
"It would be unfair on the players to think that, they are professional
and we all take each game as it comes.
"We now have
to put this game behind us and focus on what is a huge fixture.
On Shearer's thigh strain:
"The idea was to give
him an hour but he took a heavy knock in the first half and was carrying
a dead leg so we decided to take him off at half time. I am pleased
that Babayaro got ninety minutes as he needed it but everything now
is looking ahead to Thursday."
Steve Harper
on his mistake:
"I'm disappointed personally because if I didn't make that mistake
we wouldn't have lost. When you havn't played for a while, you are
doubly determined to do well when you get your chance so to make an
error like that is devastating.
"It's solely my fault,
Babayaro has laid back a decent ball and instead of putting it in
the stands, I have tried to keep it in play. Initially I thought Defoe
was offside when he scored but looking at it again he wasn't.
"If that goal doesn't go in we go into half time at nil-nil
then they have to come out and play a different game in the second
half and who knows.
"It was a match of few opportunities
and it was always going to be a mistake that changed things.
"Unfortunately for me my error got punished but Robinson
got away with his at the other end when he played the ball straight
into the path of Milner."
| Post-Match
Reaction From Spurs |
Manager Martin Jol said:
"I
was very pleased with the first 25, 30 minutes.
"Newcastle
are fighting on several stages with European football and the FA Cup
and it was very important that we put them under pressure.
"We lost our way for about 10 minutes but then picked it up
in the second half with Michael Carrick pulling the strings.
"I think we did well in midfield, keeping the ball and playing
over the flanks.
"We pressurised them well, Carrick
stuck his foot in, Simon did it, Browny did it and it was about us
forcing them into mistakes.
"The last 20, 25 minutes
was a different matter but we still managed to miss two sitters and
another two half-chances.
"Overall it was pleasing although
the last 20 minutes weren't as good because we got excited and it
wasn't necessary.
"They have quality players who can
win any game and that's I'm so pleased, because we had to win this
game." |
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