Spurs 2-2 Arsenal:(Match report)

“I am immensely proud of our performance today as should every Spurs fan we played with our motto sewn on our hearts, the lads played with sheer passion they played as winners do”.

Yesterday’s north London derby at the lane was a truly magnificent spectacle, as the lads battled it out with our bitter local rivals to earn a two all draw, in what was dubbed as the most Important north London derby in a generation. The match began with the Lilywhites controlling the majority of possession as our fast paced attacking football seemed to overwhelm Arsenal, as for the first quarter of the match we dictated the tempo and the overall flow of the game. 25 minutes in the best opportunity of the match arose, Kyle Walker drove a fast low ball into the box as Lamela unleashed an effort which came of the Argentine’s shin as Ospina pulled off a marvellous save to deny Spurs from taking the lead. We continuously caused Arsenal with an avalanche of problems as out movement and tenacity had put us on the front foot in the first half. So it came with great surprise and disappointment on the 39th minute when Arsenal took a surprising lead, in a moment of sheer spontaneity. The Welshman Aaron Ramsey put the gunners ahead after being picked out well by Bellerin and the Welshman put the ball in the back of the net with a clever back heel, leaving Lloris helpless, 1-0 Arsenal.

The second half couldn’t have started any better for the Lillywhites as Arsenal were reduced to ten men on 55 minutes, Francis Coquelin receiving his second Yellpw after a cynical foul on Kane. The sending off benefited us greatly, as shortly afterwards Kane went mightily close, as a corner was whipped in Kane worked hard to find space and fired the ball towards the goal. However, Ospina managed somehow to keep it out with a fine save and Michael Oliver confirmed via goal line technology that it was just on the line. Although a goal came shortly afterwards for the battling lads of White Hart lane, as the ball slipped through from the resulting corner was met by Alderweireld and the Belgian slotted it well in to the bottom left hand corner of the net as he sent the Spurs fans wild one all the score, and the Belgians third goal of the season. The wild cheers of the home fans turned in to delirium two minutes after as Spurs doubled their lead, Alli showed his excellent fitness as he chased the rolling ball as it entered the byline before knocking it back for Kane who looked up and curled an excellent shot from far out high in to the net, 2-1 Spurs!

A victory seemed a certainty as we looked to capitalise on our lead with an almighty buzz ringing around the ground in the aftermath of the goal and we almost secured victory in the 72nd minute. Harry Kane swiveled around in the box to fire a shot narrowly wide of the post. Elation turned to deflation five minutes after kane’s golden opportunity, as Alexis Sanchez scored to draw level for the gunners. The Chile international received a perfectly weighted pass as he tucked the ball home after being one on one with lloris,2-2. Sanchez almost found the winner for Arsenal soon after his equaliser, as he fired a free kick in the direction of the top corner however, Lloris dealt well with his effort and thwarted it wide. The gunners again didn’t settle for the draw and Wimmer excellently denied Arsenal from securing a victory, the Austrian charged down Ramsey who one on one with Lloris fired an effort which Wimmer expertly blocked with an inch perfect slide tackle. 2-2 the final score at the lane, my view of the performance is of great admiration as I tweeted the following on Saturday, in what I feel summarised the match in a nutshell; “I am immensely proud of our performance today as should every Spurs fan we played with our motto sewn on our hearts, the lads played with sheer passion they played as winners do”.

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Lloris (c), Walker, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose (Davies 78), Dier, Dembele (Son 82), Lamela (Mason 67), Alli, Eriksen, Kane. Substitutes (not used): Vorm, Trippier, Carroll, Chadli.

West Ham United 1-0 Spurs:(Match report)

The floodlights of Upton Park beamed down on one last West Ham v Spurs London derby,at the soon to be demolished ground. However it was not to be a memorable occasion for the Lillywhites as we fell to a disappointing 1-0 loss at the hands of the hammers. The game was only seven minutes old when the deadlock was broken,as Payet’s artistry had struck us with great consequence. The Frenchman served up a fine ball in to the area from the resulting corner and the inform Michail Antonio punished us as unmarked winger planted a powerful header into the back of the net despite the best efforts of Lloris,1-0 West Ham. A little under ten minutes afterwards West Ham almost doubled their lead against us, as Mark Noble unleashed a powerful shot which was heading in to the top corner,but Lloris showcased his excellent reflexes with a very good save. The hammers had total control in the remainder of the first half and Antonio nearly doubled their lead. The former Nottingham Forest man received a perfect pass,however Wimmer blocked his effort expertly. Kouyate had the ball in the back of our net just before the halftime whistle,although it was thankfully judged offside,1-0 to West Ham at the interval.

Things couldn’t get any worse in the second half,considering we had zero goal attempts in the first 45. Pochettino had clearly changed the tactics at half time as we played with more energy and creativity,however Bilic had set West Ham up in a defensive format as chances became a rarity. We should have taken the lead on the hour mark,as Alderweireld hit a powerful low shot from some distance out,Adrian parried his effort to the feet of Kane who had the chance to fire into an open net. However Kane couldn’t get his feet sorted out in time and he didn’t make enough contact with the ball as his effort was blocked by the hammers defence. Shortly afterward we again caused problems for the east London side,Eriksen fired the ball towards the net from close range but the Dane was denied by a fine save from Adrian. The hammers almost sealed victory at the other end as Antonio fired the ball over from close range after a free kick was whipped in,Spurs were let of the hook in that instance. In the preceding minutes our energy and drive was missing,possibly the psychological effects that were brought with the game tonight,as a win would of sent us top,but it wasn’t to be as West Ham sealed a deserved victory.

The chemical balance didn’t seem to be present on the night with Alli missing but the lads were ultimately tired and it was one game to many in close succession. Although there was a silver lining on the night as Arsenal fell to a 2-1 loss to Swansea which keeps us three points clear of our rivals and only three points behind Leicester in top spot. We tend to bounce back well after a defeat and with ten league games remaining we are still a big contender for the title. The north London derby awaits us on Saturday in what will be the biggest match between the two in years, a win is imperative and Pochettino will no doubt address the lads and prepare them well for the upcoming battle.COYS⚽️
Spurs (4-2-3-1) – Lloris (c); Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer (Carroll 77), Davies; Dier, Mason; Lamela (Son 70), Eriksen, Chadli (Alli 60); Kane. Substitutes (not used): Vorm, Rose, Walker, Onomah.

Spurs 2-1 Swansea: (match report)

Spurs earned a thrilling victory against Swansea this afternoon at the lane,as a magnificent Spurs side continued their premier league title challenge,with a 2-1 victory over Swansea. It was the South Wales club who started with a flourish,in a bitterly cold north London,as former Spurs man Gylfi Sigurdsson came mightily close to opening the lead. The Icelandic international received a pass in the box and his close range effort was stopped superbly by Lloris as the Frenchman pulled of a wonderful reflex save. Spurs came close two minutes afterwards as Danny Rose picked out Lamela with a pass into the box. However,Lamela’s stabbed shot darted narrowly over the crossbar. Our attacking intent was clear to see in the opening minutes, as Kane made a fine run into the oppositions box as he shot from the inswinging cross,his effort was saved from close range by the open armed Fabianski. Disaster struck on the 19th minute for the Lillywhites as Swansea’s Italian striker Alberto Paloschi opened the scoring for Swansea. Paloschi ran forward into the area to convert the rebound,he fired it high into the right hand corner of the net,1-0 Swansea!

Fabianski made a very good save on 34 minutes after Son ran into the box through on goal,the South Korea international was almost destined to score,although his thumping effort was thwarted away strongly by Fabianski. Shortly afterwards Swansea almost doubled their lead on Spurs as Paloschi made a good run to meet a cross,but his shot was brilliantly blocked by Alderweireld as the Belgian kept the score at 1-0. In stoppage time of the first half Eric Dier received a fine pass in the six yard box but he was unable to connect well enough to trouble Fabianski,1-0 to Swansea at the interval. It didn’t take long after the restart for Spurs to have an impact as Eriksen released a fine shot from 25 metres,but the Dane was denied well by the alert Fabianski in the Swansea net. Eriksen again went close six minutes later as he hit a free kick with magnificent precision, only to see the ball fly inches wide of the right post. The lillywhites piled on the pressure in the following minutes, Danny Rose fiercely hit shot was saved wonderfully by Fabianski,as it was still somehow 1-0 to Swansea. With 20 minutes remaining the crowds bellows were made with a growing sense of apprehension, however we equalised on 70 minutes. Kyle Walker drove the ball into the crowded box and the substitute Nacer Chadli side footed an effort into the bottom left hand corner,1-1!

The lads showed excellent resilience in the following chunk of the game and their incredible tenacity provided us with the winner in the 77th minute. Danny Rose controlled the ball as Eriksen found him,and Rose smashed a low shot in to the bottom right hand corner of the net to send the Spurs faithful into sheer delirium,2-1 Spurs. The Lilywhites were unfortunate not to have a third as moments later Kyle Walker had the ball in the back of the net, however the assistant referee deemed Walker to have been offside. It wasn’t to matter though as Spurs saw the remaining minutes through to record an incredible victory. Spurs exhibited their motto in this match as “to dare is to do” was put perfectly into practice as the Lillywhites never gave in until victory was theirs. Another incredible team performance from the Kings of White Hart Lane. Eriksen was my man of the match,Alderweireld and Rose were some of the other key performers in what was a treat of a match. West Ham up next on Wednesday as we aim to win the league.COYS⚽️

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Lloris (c), Walker, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose, Dier, Eriksen, Lamela (Chadli 62), Alli, Son (Mason 75), Kane (Onomah 84). Substitutes (not used): Vorm, Davies, Trippier, Bentaleb.

Spurs3-0Fiorentina: (Match report)

Match report:Our exceptional performance against La Viola last night sent us marching into the round of 16 as a side that no one will want to face.Fiorentina who sit third in Serie A started the game on par with us with possessional football being the style exhibited by both sets of players.However it was clear in the early stages that our hunger to extend our lead was fierce as we weren’t keen to sit back and play the waiting game.Eric Dier went the closest early on,as in the 12th minute he leapt high to power a header from the resulting corner,it strayed narrowly wide with Alli unable to meet it despite his best efforts in the box.A passionate response from Sunday’s heartache preceded and in the 25th minute a promising move resulted in the deadlock being broken.The lads broke in to a free flowing attack and after a good run from Mason,Alli passed to him from outside the box and the academy graduate ceased his opportunity as his skilful run in to the area resulted in a perfect side footed finish in to the bottom left hand corner of the net,1-0 Spurs!Shortly before half time Fiorentina went close through former West brom man,Borja Valero.The spaniard found himself in space and as a dangerous free kick was whipped in Spurs were fortunately left off the hook as Valero’s inaccurate header hit the side netting.

The second half started with a sense of panache from the lilywhites and it immediately showed as Nacer Chadli put the ball in to the back of the net after a good move, however the Belgian had strayed just offside.In the 63rd minute we doubled our advantage against the Italians,Nacer Chadli hit a powerful effort after meeting a pin point pass, though Fiorentina’s goalkeeper Ciprian Tătăruşanu denied him with a brilliant save.However,the ball eventually came to the unbalanced Lamela who swivelled around to make an adroit finish, a wonderfully crafted goal 2-0 Spurs!However,a wonderful European performance was slightly overshadowed by a booking for Alli in what was an extremely harsh decision by the referee,as he deemed a shove on Alli to have been simulation from the 19 year old,that yellow card means he will miss our first leg tie against Dortmund.Two minutes later Trippier capped of a wonderful performance by threading an exceptional cross through to the danger zone as Fiorentina’s Gonzalo Rodriguez attempted clearance ended up in the back of the net,3-0 to Spurs!

A little over five minutes afterwards Spurs nearly made it four,Ryan Mason struck a wonderful volley from just outside the area which was beat away by the Fiorentina goalkeeper.We again went close in stoppage time,Eriksen had a shot saved well from Tătăruşanu the Danes low strike almost nestling in the back of the net.The final score Spurs three Fiorentina nil,an outstanding display from the lads as they responded in style to Sunday’s defeat.We march on in to the round of 16 where we will face Borussia Dortmund in what will be a gargantuan European cup tie.Our performance on the night was exceptional as we outclassed the third place Serie A side in every sector,every player in our team was brilliant through out.Toby Alderweireld put in a magnificent display as the sheer class of the Belgian international showed through out as he dealt with Fiorentina expertly.Lamela and Ryan Mason were the offensive stand outs Mason was phenomenal as his passion and work rate and ultimate performance made him my man of the match with him netting his second goal of the season.Lamela also sparkled through his skill and creativity wowing the Spurs faithful,and his goal was taken extremely well.Swansea up next for the lads on Sunday,COYS⚽️

Spurs (4-2-3-1): Lloris (c), Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies, Dier, Mason (Winks 87), Lamela (Onomah 76), Alli (Bentaleb 84), Eriksen, Chadli. Substitutes (not used): Vorm, Carter-Vickers, Rose, Son.

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.