Middlesbrough   1   Tottenham Hotspur    1      (Half-time score : 1-0)

Schwarzer

Young
Wheater
Riggott
A. Taylor

Downing
Rochemback (G Boateng 78)
Cattermole
O'Neil

Aliadiere (D G Lee 78    )
Tuncay  (Hutchinson 72)

Unused subs: 
Turnbull
Hutchinson
Hines

Robinson

Chimbonda
Kaboul
Dawson
Y P Lee

Malbranque
Jenas
K P Boateng (Zokora 63)
Lennon

Bent (Berbatov 58)
Defoe (Keane 58)

Unused subs: 
Cerny
Stalteri

Young 52

Tottenham Hotspur

Bent 35

     
Lee (foul) 90  

No blame could be attached to the goalkeeper and only a slack bit of tracking back by Chimbonda, when he chase back into his own area, could attract criticism for the defence.  The howitzer that came out of the blue from 25 yards and rocketed into the top of Robinson's net was typical of the way things have been going for Spurs, but a point from this trip was enough to lift the team out of the bottom three, so Ramos' first objective has been achieved.

But it was a shock that greeted us on our arrival at the Riverside, when we discovered that Berbatov and Keane had been replaced by Bent and Defoe.  The new coach had said that everyone would get their chance to impress and he was living up to his word.

Bent certainly looked up for it and probably realises that he needs to seize the opportunities that come along to show what he can do, as, so far, he has failed to do himself justice.  He almost had the dream start, as he nearly got a decent touch to Lennon's low cross.  And it was a low cross at the other end, which almost saw Boro score, when O'Neil slid a firm ball across the goalmouth and Downing was a yard away from it, as Chimbonda went in with him.

Luckily for Tottenham, that chance went begging and the lack of a potent goalscorer in the home side became painfully obvious, as they may have got more out of the game with a recognised striker.  Fortunately, Aliadiere is a player without the goalscoring touch and almost all the chances fell to him and he failed to grab them.  Not only that, but he must be the most injured player in football history, as he hit the deck more times than any average footballer does and needed treatment most of the times too.  Rochemback hit a 25 yard effort well wide as the game approached the twenty minute mark, but the game was too bitty and there was little quality on show.

Spurs had given Kevin-Prince Boateng a league debut, as Ramos was keen on the player when he was with Sevilla and the German youngster showed that his presence can be a useful one, with some tough tackling and good use of the ball.  This was complemented, as Defoe and Bent were linking well together ... perhaps something that might be useful to England in the near future ??

In the 32nd minute, Steed Malbranque put out a leg to take the ball from Young and played Bent in down the line on the left.  Taking the ball towards goal, the striker ran at Chris Riggott and from 20 yards out let fly, with his early shot beating Schwarzer at his right hand post.  It was a fine strike and one which will give the forward some confidence, which has seemed lacking up until now.

That confidence showed just before half time, when he and Jermain linked up and Defoe's low cross was glanced only just wide with an open boot as Bent ran in to try and glide it into the far corner.

In between, when the ball looked to be going out for a corner, Robbo tried to keep it in play and knocked it down for Downing to cross to the far post, but Michael Dawson rose to deny Tuncay a scoring opportunity. 

The break came and went, with Spurs starting as they finished, as Lennon had a shot blocked.  However, from a free-kick harshly given against Boateng, Wheater got his head to the ball and glanced it across the Spurs keeper, but Robbo dived to push the ball out for a corner.  Dawson got that away, but when the ball was played in from a throw-in that resulted, a pass to Young saw him find the goal he perhaps always thought was in him.

In truth, Boro scarcely looked like scoring and a bolt out of the blue like this was the only way they might have got one ... and even then, Robinson wasn't that far away from it.   

Spurs retaliated when Kaboul struck a 30 yard free-kick with ferocity, but it flicked off a defender for a corner.  With the forward pairing having lost their impact, Ramos made a double switch bringing on Keane and Berbatov to try and win the game.  Shortly after, he replaced the debutant Boateng, as he had faded from the action, bringing on Zokora to push on from midfield.

Dawson almost gifted Boro another goal, when he slipped on the ball, leaving it for Aliadiere.  The hapless striker took the ball wide instead of going for goal and his cross hit the Spurs central defender on the hand at his side and the referee was not interested in the penalty appeals.

With fifteen minutes left, Spurs were given a reprieve, when the poor Aliadiere was taken off and replaced by the even poorer Dong-Gook Lee.  Even his own fans booed him when he came on !!

As the game came to a close, Spurs pushed for a winner.  Berbatov hit one over, Jenas put a low ball into the area which was too far ahead of Dimitar and a close call five minutes from the end saw Lennon's shot hit Wheater and Riggott before just going wide of Schwarzer's goal.

While Tottenham had the bulk of the first half, a draw was perhaps the right result and Young's goal was one which would grace much better games than this.

Tottenham looked more compact and knocked the ball about well at times.  At other times, their passing was a bit off and the defence still has to concentrate fully, while learning to stop being jittery every time the other side attack.

Ramos showed that he is willing to change his tactics and personnel to suit the need to test the opposition, with big names left out if he feels that others offer a better option.  And while this was a worse result than we got at Boro last season, a point on the road is something that was welcome.

PURCELL COLE