Tottenham Hotspur 0-1Crystal Palace:

Match report:Sunday afternoon saw the players of Tottenham Hotspur take on Crystal Palace in the FA Cup fifth round as they looked to progress to the quarter-finals of the prestigious competition. We started the game in highly positive fashion with our attacking line exhibiting highly explosive and offensive football.Furthermore, it only took three minutes for a chance to present itself to the Lilywhites,Alli’s close range diving header was superbly blocked on the line by Cabaye as it went as far as Onomah who’s header sailed high over the cross bar.Spurs bombarded Palace in the following minutes with there attacking prowess and high energy, the lads produced plenty of promising chances as we overwhelmed the Eagles early on.However a golden opportunity fell to Palace in the 23rd minute,a long range pass caused confusion for Wimmer and Dier as Walker panicked to fill in as he headed the ball over the head of Vorm.However the dutchman produced a magnificent save,as he palmed the ball away from the goal.Vorm again made a key save shortly afterwards,Scott Dann tried to find Ledley within the Spurs box but Vorm showed great awareness and managed to clutch the incoming ball from the Welshman’s feet.

Soon after palace’s chance we went on the break,a splendid run from Son as he weaved his way through the Palace defence only to be intercepted by Delaney in the box,as the Irishman poked it out to the feet of Alli who’s deflected side footed effort clipped the inside of the post before rolling across the goal line and clipping the adjacent post before Joel Ward cleared, a desperately unlucky effort.Three minutes afterwards an in swinging cross from Walker was volleyed waywardly by Onomah,luck was not on our side.41 minutes in we were awarded a free kick from 25 metres out Kane stepped up confidently,his dipping effort was nestling into the bottom right hand corner when Hennessey managed to thwart it wide. The deadlock was broken in stoppage time of the first half,Zaha held the ball up and played in the free Martin Kelly on the right hand side and the scotsman drilled the ball inside the near post,1-0 Palace.

Shortly after the restart Alli surged forward with the intent of playing through Son Who was ultimately unable to get through the congestion that the Palace players created. The lads went close again three minutes later,Alli’s fine cross was unable to be met by Onomah as the youngster couldn’t latch onto the ball. The Eagles shut up shop as our intensity depreciated as did some of the players passion to a certain degree. Despite a couple of fine chances Kane and Alli included with Alli’s thumping effort searing narrowly wide.Yet our fate was sealed as our depleted players seemed more unlikely to score and as our fans left the terraces our team left the FA Cup. The full-time result Spurs 0-1Crystal Palace, yet another premature end to another FA cup campaign, leaving our true fans who rightfully care so deeply about this cup extremely disgruntled,however as Alli put it on Instagram:”We go again” and his spot on for that is the Spurs philosophy, and they can certainly make amends on Thursday night.COYS⚽️

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Vorm, Walker, Wimmer, Dier, Rose, Dembele (Eriksen 46), Bentaleb, Alli (Mason 80), Onomah, Son (Chadli 67), Kane (c). Substitutes (not used): McGee, Alderweireld, Trippier, Winks.

Match review: A confident performance from the Spurs players this evening resulted in a one all draw, with the lilywhites taking the imperative away goal back to north London for the second leg next Thursday,in what was a deeply satisfying result for the football club.La viola (Fiorentina) played a steady game and within the first half hour there defensive counter attacking tactics had our lads highly focused as they looked to carve through the rigid defensive line that the Italians held.On the thirty minute mark,controversy arose as Dele Alli launched a little kick in to the back of Nenad Tomović of Fiorentina as the full back lay on the floor as he tried to protect the ball from the pressing Alli as it rolled away for a goal kick.However,the 19-year-olds frustration fortunately wasn’t ajudged to be a sending off as Alli was only given a yellow card. Shortly afterwards Fiorentina almost took the lead,as Zarate peeled away from his marker and hit his shot narrowly wide from the in swinging cross.Thirty seven minutes in a good run from Ben Davies in to the penalty area resulted in a penalty being awarded after the Welshman was fouled.Nacer Chadli took the responsibility on his shoulders and he coolly despatched from the penalty spot 1-0 spurs! Chadli’s sixth goal of the season.Shortly before the half time whistle blew Zarate again went close after his volley narrowly flew over the bar,1-1 at the interval.

We had the ball in the back of the net shortly after the second half had begun,a wonderfully improvised Son header from a free kick,but it was ruled offside by the linesman.As the second half progressed Fiorentina’s chances of scoring depreciated as Alderweireld and Wimmer seemed unstoppable in the defence, yet fortune  was to present itself to Fiorentina.Bernadeschi’s 30 metre pot shot nestled luckily into the top corner of the net after a hefty deflection off our captain Ryan Mason,1-1!After the equaliser the lads looked to settle for the 1-1 draw which would give them the advantage going into the second leg and succeed they did in their mission.However it was not without anxiety as in the 90th minute Fiorentina’s Rodriguez headed agonisingly wide of the post.One all the final score as Spurs put in a very good performance in Tuscany,Alderweired may have remained unnoticed to some,simply because of his rapid efficiency but his superb defending for me makes him man of the match.We go into next weeks return leg at the lane on the front foot.COYS⚽️
Spurs (4-2-3-1): Vorm; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies; Mason (C), Carroll (Dembele 45); Son (Kane 68), Alli, Eriksen; Chadli (Dier 79). Substitutes (not used): McGee, Rose, Walker, Onomah.

Man City 1-2 Spurs:(match review)

Match review: The industrious warriors,the lads of Tottenham Hotspur provided us with yet another tremendous performance,as Mauricio Pochettino masterminds a 2-1 victory over Man City,a team with an endless amount of class, quality and wealth. The Lilywhites cut Leicester’s deficit at the top to just two points, as our title surge and sheer tenacity stuns the rest of English football into silence.

Lead out by our captain Hugo Lloris the lads walked out in to the majestic Etihad stadium to face fourth placed Manchester City in what was our biggest game of the season so far. Our high pressing philosophy was put in to place from the start,as we looked to overwhelm a City side lacking the supreme fitness our lads possess, and our lads looked comfortable in play as we dictated the tempo in the early stages of the match. However,ten minutes in the formidable argentine Sergio Agüero found the ball due to the resulting corner, however the Man City icon blazed the ball surprisingly high into the stands. A little after ten minutes later the speed of Raheem Sterling caused our defence problems, as he found some space from with in the box to hit a thunderous volley which was superbly blocked by the valiant Danny Rose. Rose was thumped right in the chest as he kept the score at nil nil. There were to be no more significant chances in the first 45 minutes as we bossed the centre of the park with the quality presence of Dembele and Dier, we had an impressive 65 percent of the possession in the first half.

Within minutes of the restart Agüero again went close for the sky blues,as he squandered a massive opportunity, Agüero fired the ball into orbit after it rebounded to him. Although, a mere three minutes afterwards a huge slice of luck presented itself to Spurs, a Danny Rose cross hit the elbow of the rising Sterling. To both sets of fans amazement Mark Clattenburg awarded the penalty, with Harry Kane taking the stand. Kane sent Hart the wrong way 1-0 to the Spurs! With the away fans sent into sheer delirium. However City soon found the hunger in their bellies as they looked to avenge our lead, an immediate impact took place as on the 57th minute Yaya Touré hit a ferocious strike from 18 metres which Lloris beat away from danger. Shortly after his introduction for City, the young Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho swiftly took the joy away from the Spurs fans. After being found by Clichy on the edge of the box the wonder kid side footed the ball high into the roof of the net 1-1!

With 15 minutes remaining the Spurs players were unwilling to settle for a draw and their tenacity and superb stamina proved too powerful for City.Substitute Érik Lamela
sprinted with the ball at his feet towards the goal as he thread a perfect ball through the legs of Otamendi as it reached the birthday boy Christian Eriksen, whose deft touch and composure in front of the goal sealed the victory for the Spurs, as he slotted the ball low and beyond the reach of the helpless Hart, 2-1 Spurs! It was a nervy end to the game and in the 95th minute Lloris saved us with his determination and utmost courage, as he palmed the ball away from Otamendi who clattered in to him,but Lloris had done enough as Silva’s follow up was acrobatically volleyed over the bar. The final score Spurs 2-1 Man City a famous victory from Pochettino’s lads as their hard work paid off, our togetherness and belief can win us the league. Our fans overwhelmed with joy as the pride flows higher and harder then ever. Bill Nicholson and Danny Blanchflower would be proud. We can do this COYS⚽️

-Match facts: -Eriksen’s goal was his 5th in the league this season
– Kane’s penalty made it 16 league goals for him this term
– 4 different Argentines played in the match
– Spurs only had 6 goal attempts to City’s 19