Tottenham Hotspur FC 2013/14

[EJG1980]

Tough match today, I think overall we were the better side, had more of the ball and more chances, but a few of Arsenal's chances were very good ones that normally you'd expect them to score from. We should have made more chances than we did though, let ourselves down when we were working ourselves into good positions with good build up play, then misplacing an easy five or ten yard pass.

So I think we just about deserved to win, but I can't complain too much about a draw. Especially when the opposition had a penalty in the last minute! Lloris doesn't save a penalty for about six years then saves two in a row

We came so close to getting the win right at the death, almost bundling the ball in at the back post; would have been amazing to win it after their penalty miss but it wasn't to be. At least we stopped it from being three losses in a row as well, and the last minute penalty miss makes it feel like a better draw for us than them.

Hopefully we can get through to the next round of the CL without too much drama, and then get back to winning ways in the league against Southampton.

[fallenangle]

Arsenal ruined our no draws stat.

Better than losing though.

Just had a look at the match stats: Spurs dominated possession and passing but the rest was pretty even. So fair result but a win would have been nice. Arsenal are only four points behind and I'm not ignoring MU as a threat in the fight for CL places next season either.

[EJG1980]

Arsenal ruined our no draws stat.

Right near the end, I turned to my brother and jokingly said "The only problem with this is we're losing our undrawable season," and about ten seconds later Arsenal get the penalty. Lloris not only saved the penalty, but potentially my life

[EJG1980]

Get in

Under the kosh in the first thirty five minutes or so, especially in a five minute period where it got pretty hairy, when they had three big chances in a row. Brilliant saves from Hugo when needed and an excellent block from Davies. Great tackle from Vertonghen to prevent an earlier chance too. While it was tough and Dortmund were clearly well on top, I think the commentators were over-egging it a bit apart from that extra hairy period; on the whole it was very tough but we coped with most of it.

In the final ten minutes of the half we started keeping the ball a lot better and by the end of the first half you felt that Spurs had turned a corner. We had one massive chance earlier in the first half when Son got through one on one but he was slightly off balance when he shot so it went wide.

Second half was excellent, the early goal (brilliant finish from Kane and a lovely pass to set him free from Sissoko) killing off the tie completely and then we just saw out the rest of the match in comfort with very little fuss. Very good performances all over the pitch, but special mention for the keeper and back five who got us through that tricky opening half. The only downside was Winks going off injured, hopefully not serious.

So glad we went over there and won when there were a few pundits being a little bit insulting by saying Spurs will be over the moon to just go there and lose by one or two, as though we were some minnow that couldn't believe we'd won the first match. 4-0 on aggregate against the team top of the league in Germany, great stuff, and now we can sit back and look forward to the draw for the quarter finals!

Thought I'd post the highlights from BT again, as they're no longer on terrestrial telly:

[fallenangle]

I was listening to the first half on the radio and it sounded like just like you describe, Spurs put under a lot of pressure but managed to keep BD from scoring. Then second half Spurs go up a gear, get the goal and that is effectively job done. Great stuff.

Months ago before even the fixture draws I said that I wanted BD as an ideal first knock out stage opponent. With our history when drawn against them over recent years I thought it would be a great test of how far Spurs have progressed. Could not have worked out much better and whoever we get next they're going to be worried.

I'd plump for Porto or Roma (probably Roma) but I'm not going to be despondent even if we get one of the more fancied clubs.

Thanks again for posting the highlights - very welcome.

Edit

Just watched it. Some great saves by Lloris, he was really on form and as you indicated that finish by HK was something to see, brutally clinical if that's not a contradiction of terms.

[EJG1980]

No problem.

My only hope for the quarter-final is that we don't draw an English side. When you have a chance to play against some great names from all over Europe and you get drawn against a team you already play at least twice every season, it's a bit of a letdown. I think I'd rather get Barca than any of the English clubs, but a "kinder" draw would be nice. Ajax would be a fairly tasty match up considering what they did to Real Madrid last night.

Edit: yup, in particular that Lloris save from Gotze where he fingertips it around the post was a thing of beauty. Also, they don't show it in these highlights but the way Kane checks his run and drifts back to make sure he stays onside for Sissoko's pass was great awareness and anticipation (they show it in the quick highlights on the Spurs web site).

Son was unlucky with his chance as well; he gets a clear two handed shove in the back from the Dortmund defender, zero attempt to play the ball, just as he's about to shoot. Probably a smidge outside the box so not a penalty, but it was definitely a foul and clearly contributed to him missing the target.

[EJG1980]

Lots going on with the stadium at the mo, seems there's a decent chance we'll get in before the end of the season and be able to play the final five league matches and the CL quarter-final there.

There have been rumours for a couple of weeks that we'd be hosting the two test events needed to get the safety certificate on 16th and 24th March, and yesterday Haringey Council posted a notice for road closures etc., for an "event day" of 10,000 or more people on the 16th. Pretty sure that'll be us, unless Chick King are planning on hosting a free chicken give away to attract that number of people

Also, right now, UEFA officials are being given a tour of the stadium by Levy ahead of confirming they're okay with the QF being played there. No problems if we're at home in the second leg, as we'd have already played a league match there, but apparently UEFA have some concerns if we're drawn at home first as that would probably mean the QF being the first match played at the stadium. Not sure what those concerns might be, but that's supposedly part of the reason for today's tour.

Which included this, and I cannot wait for it to happen for real on a match night:



Finally (and I'm taking this with a massive pinch of salt because of the source!) Richard Keyes has "exclusively revealed" on TV in Dubai today that the stadium will be sponsored by Nike and called (unsurprisingly) The Nike Stadium.

[EJG1980]

So, unless there's a disaster at one of the test events, we're finally going home in April!

If Brighton beat Millwall in the FA Cup our first match will be an evening match against Crystal Palace on Wednesday 3rd April. If Brighton lose to Millwall the opening match will be against Brighton on 6th or 7th April (and our match against Palace will take place at a later date).

Brighton will be favourites to beat Millwall, so Palace seems most likely for the opening game at the moment (and that's probably better for us as we'd have the weekend off before playing the first leg of our CL quarter-final). It would be great if it was Brighton though, as Chris Hughton is their manager.

The two test events are an under-18s match vs Southampton on 24th March and a Spurs legends match on 30th March. A bit strange that the Haringey notice was posted for an event on the 16th, but maybe we decided to push it forwards a week at the last moment.

Anyway, brilliant news, at last

https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2019/march/new-stadium-test-event-matches-and-opening-game-update/

[EJG1980]

Gah, that's put a dampener on my excitement after yesterday's stadium news. We only have ourselves to blame, playing well in the first half, in total control, took the lead with a lovely goal... and in the second half we didn't kill it off, missed a couple of good chances to go further ahead, and as the minutes ticked by you could see Southampton growing in confidence, they started putting us under more pressure and the equaliser felt like it was coming. Can't say they didn't deserve the winner either.

A little bit of luck that Man Utd and Arsenal are playing each other, so both can't catch up, but a win for either of them puts them breathing right down our necks. If Chelsea win both their games in hand they'll be a point ahead of us. And Liverpool up next for us! Squeaky bum time. Let's hope that we can get back into form after the upcoming break as we won't finish top four if we keep throwing away points like we've been doing in the past four matches.

[fallenangle]

I could not believe the result when I turned on BBC's Final Score, I thought there had been a mistake as I'd listened to some of the first half and Spurs were dominant. They could have easily been 0-3 up and at 71 minutes were still leading 0-1 with all match stats, including goal chances, superior to Southampton.

In that last 20 minutes it all went wrong; Spurs let them back into the game and they started to look dangerous. With only a one goal lead all it took was a defensive mistake followed by an unstoppable free kick to lose all three points. Very disappointing.

[EJG1980]

Man City for us in the quarter-final of the Champions League. Joint favourites along with Barca, very tough draw! If we get through we'd play either Juventus or Ajax in the semi-final.

I was hoping for a foreign team to play against in the first European match at our new stadium, but I'm sure I'll be able to make do if we can get the win

Edit: that means we'll be facing Man City three times in April, including playing them away midweek on the 16th and then again a few days later in the league on the weekend of the 20th.

[fallenangle]

Getting MC that's a pity but I'm not too bothered. Whoever we were drawn against it was going to be a tough match and we have the advantage of knowing their game. Of the course the reverse is true too but they're beatable if Spurs are at their best.

[EJG1980]

That's official then, Brighton's win means we will open the new stadium against Crystal Palace on Wednesday 3rd April.

I would have liked to have seen Chris Hughton at the opening match, but at least Palace have Andros Townsend, a Spurs lad through and through, so it'll be great for him to be a part of the opening match. It also means we get a full week off before playing Man City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter final.

Edit: nice, one point from a possible six for Chelsea from their two games in hand. Could have gone ahead of us, instead they're four points behind still.

[fallenangle]

Always like to see past Spurs players I've liked like Andros Townsend and Gylfi Siggurdson playing well, just not doing that against us.
Gylfi nearly fluffed his penalty against Chelsea but Everton would have won anyway and did Spurs a big favour in the process.

MC were very, very lucky not to get beaten by Swansea in the FACup. A penalty that should never have been given and then that penalty goes in off the post and goalkeeper's foot. If Swansea can give them a fright then we certainly should be able to do better in the CL.

[TonyDA]

I never thought I’d get too excited about going to see any kind of legends event, in any sport; however, I’ve just managed to get tickets for next Saturday’s test event...and excited is an understatement!