Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City met in the City of Manchester stadium on Wednesday night for what was effectively a cup final. If City won they would move ahead of Spurs in 4th place with one game left but if Spurs emerged victorious they would clinch the final Champions League place for next season. Forget about the title race which has petered out in the final few weeks or the relegation battle which could have been predicted at the beginning of the season, Spurs vs. Man City was the biggest game of the season.
The night began almost comically with Joe Corrigan(Man City ’67-83) and Glenn Hoddle (Spurs ’75-87) in the Sky Sports studio, each talking about the likelihood of the other tea, falling apart and throwing away fourth place tonight. You were almost expecting it to turn into a schoolyard type ‘My team is better than yours’ fight.
Spurs knew before kick-off that a draw would probably be enough with their final game of the season being away against already relegated Burnley but both sides were set up to attack the game and go for the win. Both managers abandoning the plan they used for their recent respective games against Manchester United where they both went out defensive on the back of great winning runs, and lost.
Tevez, Bellamy, Adebayor and Adam Johnson were the men Roberto Mancini placed his faith in to bring his team to victory, while Harry Redknapp was able to call on the likes of Defoe, Crouch, Lennon and Bale. It was easy to see from the start that Man City had the better attacking options but with Ledley King and Michael Dawson in the centre of defence Spurs knew they had the better defence.
Both City and Spurs had chances early in the game, as the anticipated end to end action came to fruition, when Carlos Tevez went on a mazy run through the Tottenham defence only to be denied by good goalkeeping from Gomes. While Spurs could have taken the lead in both of their first meaningful attacks when Peter Crouch hit the post and Ledley King rightly had a goal disallowed for impeding the defender.
In the 26th minute Adam Johnson hit City’s best effort of the game to that point with a long range shot which Gomes managed to push away for a corner. Even more impressive was the fact that Gomes saw the ball late and still managed to save it.
Three times in the space of a minute City almost took the lead. A cross swung into the box by Bridge missed most but the stretching boot of Carlos Tevez who almost poked it into the corner but for a good save once again from Gomes. The rebound was hit goal ward by Pablo Zabeleta but a deflection brought it inches over the bar. Kolo Toure then had acres of space and a free header from the resulting corner but somehow managed to put it wide when hitting the target would have been easier.
The end to end action continued five minutes later when Gareth Bale should have put Spurs ahead. A brilliant passing move across the 18 yard box saw Crouch knock the ball down for the on-running Bale who released a thunderbolt shot which went barely inches wide.
That was the last clear cut chance of the first half as Man City dominated the game for the remainder of the half without a clear goal chance. Players from both sides were doing there all for the cause, and this was no better seen than when Jermaine Defoe was seen following Kolo Toure into the Spurs box and defending with all his might. Probably the first time Defoe has ever seen his own team’s box during a game.
Half time did bring about one thing that nobody expected to see, Hoddle and Corrigan agreeing that Ledley King’s goal should have been given. Considering the way these two were so against each other prior to the game it was shocking to see them agree. Maybe they were told off at during the first half about their schoolyard antics prior to kick off.
The second half began at the same frantic pace as the first with Man City going on the attack with a deep cross to Craig Bellamy being turned back towards the six yard box but no City player was there in time and Spurs managed to clear the ball.
However, Spurs began to gain a foothold on the second half and Jermaine Defoe should have given them the lead but for a fantastic save from Martin Fulop. Defoe sprung the offside trap and tried to bend the ball around the on-loan keeper but the outstretched arm of Fulop tipped the ball around the post and the resultant corner was easily cleared.
On the 60th minute Spurs were lucky not to hand the initiative to Man City when Tom Huddlestone attempted a wild stamp on Nigel DeJong. A yellow card followed but Spurs should have been down to ten men. When you consider players can receive a red card (second yellow) if they take off their jersey during a celebration, then the referee should have had no hesitation in sending off the Spurs player.
The Spurs fans could see themselves travelling to Barcelona, Milan and Munich in the 70th minute when a brilliant run down the left wing by Aaron Lennon saw the ball whipped into the penalty area where Jermaine Defoe, Kolo Toure and Martin Fulop managed to miss it. An empty goal then stared Peter Crouch in the face but he also conspired to miss the ball when any touch would have seen Spurs go ahead.
With 15 minutes to go Mancini threw on Shaun Wright-Phillips with the hope of causing some trouble in the Spurs defence. It almost immediately worked as he received the ball in space on the right wing but the only boot at the end of his low cross was that of Ledley King to put it out for a corner.
Martin Fulop has proved his worth to Man City in this game as he kept them in it with a brilliant point blank save in the 77th minute. Peter Crouch had to stoop low to head it towards goal and Fulop kept the ball out at the last second with his legs.
Just as Peter Crouch will have been wondering what he had to do to score he finally puts the ball in the City net in the 81st minute. It was as much a reward for their positive approach, when a draw would suffice, as for their fine play. That approach was exemplified here by Younas Kaboul, who raided down the right and fired in a cross that Fulop pushed out ... but only as far as Crouch, who headed into the empty net! Cue ecstasy amid the Spurs players and fans!
Roberto Mancini threw on Santa Cruz for Bellamy in a desperate last ditch attempt to save the match, and probably his City career. Probably not the best decision he has made during his six months in Manchester
Harry Redknapp, however, will never have to worry about losing his Tottenham job. Having taken over the team 18 months ago when they were in the relegation zone he has now led them to the promised land of the champions league. Arguably his greatest ever achievement, even topping the FA Cup victory with Portsmouth.
The final few minutes were played out in the corner as Tottenham attempted keep ball and kept putting the ball out for a throw off the legs of the City defence. Not a tactic I am personally fond of but understandable for the Spurs players to do.
For the first time since Everton in 2005 a new name has been added to the top 4 teams in the Premier League and that name is Tottenham Hotspur. They were knocking on the door a few years ago but they have now kicked that door in at the home of their nearest rivals for 4th place. No doubt it will be another summer of spending for Man City and I expect them to come back next season and challenge for the title, especially if Mourinho takes charge, but tonight was Spurs’ night and nothing can take that away from them.
No comments:
Post a Comment