Pr
 
 
 
 
OPPONENTS Swansea City 
                           
COMPETITION Premier League 
DATE Saturday 3rd December 2016
VENUE White Hart Lane
Swansea City SQUAD .

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PREVIEW No preview produced
 
PREDICTION Tottenham Hotspur    3         Swansea City    1
 
LAST SEASON'S MEETING For a look back at the match report, click here.
RESULTS HISTORY Click here for results, match reports and facts on meetings with Swansea City
 
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS :
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SWANSEA CITY TEAM NEWS :
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COVERAGE :

TV
Match of the Day  (BBC 1) - Saturday 22.20 (highlights)   [repeated at 07:30 Sunday]  Also available online.
Goals on Saturday (Sky Sports 1) - Sunday 10.30 (repeated at 21.00)
Match of the Day 2  (BBC 1) - Sunday 22.30 (highlights)  Also available online.

For coverage in all parts of the world, check here and here.

Radio :  
BBC LONDON 94.9FM (London area only), Digital Radio (London area only) &  Sky Channel 0152  (live coverage)
Commentary may be found on
>   BBC Radio Five Live (live coverage)  606/939 MW
TalkSport (DAB or 2nd89 MW)
Absolute Radio  (1215 AM/MW)

If available on BBC radio, it can supposedly be heard in these countries on these stations ...
Australia (Melbourne)
SEN  -  116 AM  Live Transmissions: TWI, Saturday. 12.45 & 15.00 matches
Australia (Sydney) 
Radio 2  -  1611AM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 12.45 Match
Singapore
Media Corp Radio  -  93.8 FM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
South Africa 
SABC (Radio 2000)  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
Uganda  Radio 1 (English) 90.0 FM, Radio 2 (Lugandan) 87.9 FM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
North America (USA, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean) 
Sirius Satellite Radio  Live transmission: Saturday - 12.45, 15.00 (TWI) & 17.15 (BBC) Saturday - 14.00 & 16.05 (BBC) Mon, Tue, Wed - Various times (BBC)

Internet :
www.spurs.co.uk   Live webcast  - subscribers only
BBC London -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/2nd/12/live_commentaries_feature.shtml click on link to "Listen to Tottenham Hotspur live commentary" on top right hand menu.

 
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Tottenham Hotspur  5 (2)                                                                       
Premier League
Saturday 3rd December 2016
White Hart Lane
Swansea City  0 (0)

Kick off 15:00
 
 
Goal-scorers  
Kane (p)  38m 55s
Son  45m 00s + 0m 05s
Kane  48m 52s
Eriksen  69m 20s
Eriksen  90m 00s + 01m 08s
None
 
Cards  
    
None


 

    

    
Fulton  (foul on Dele)  23
Fabianski (kicking ball towards the referee)  41 
Amat (foul on Dele)  62   
Fer (foul on Dembele)  71    

    
 

 
 
Crowd :   31,663 Weather :  Chilly, bright
Referee :  Jon Moss (Leeds) Assistant Referees :  Mr. M. McDonough; Mr. E. Smart
Fourth Official :   Andy Woolmer  
Swansea City kicked off and played towards the Paxton Road end in the first half.
Game time : -  90 + 5 minutes.
 
 
 
Tottenham Hotspur : kit Swansea City : kit
  1  Hugo LLORIS  (c)

  2  Kyle WALKER
  5  Jan VERTONGHEN
15
 
Eric DIER
  3  Danny ROSE

12  Victor WANYAMA
19  Mousa DEMBELE  (28  Harry WINKS 81) 

  7  Heung-Min SON    (17  Moussa SISSOKO  71)
20  DELE Alli
23
 
Christian ERIKSEN   

10  Harry KANE  (p)      (25  Josh ONOMAH  87)

Unused subs: 
13  Michel VORM

38  Cameron CARTER-VICKERS
27  Kevin WIMMER
14
  Georges-Kevin N'KOUDOU

    1 Luckas FABIANSKI      

26  Kyle NAUGHTON
  5
  Mike van der HOORN
  2  Jordi AMAT      
  3  Neil TAYLOR

24  Jack CORK  (c)
56  Jay FULTON
       (  9  Fernando LLORENTE  46)  
  8  Leroy FER      

17  Modou BARROW  (15  Wayne ROUTLEDGE  71)
23  Gylfi SIGURDSSSON
20  Jefferson MONTERO  (10  BORJA Baston  64)

Unused subs: 
13
  Kristoffer NORDFELDT
22  Angel RANGEL
  7  Leon BRITTON
  6  Alfie MAWSON
 

 
Manager :  Mauricio Pochettino Manager :  Bob Bradley
Sponsor :   AIA Shirt sponsor :  Fun88
Kit Supplier :  Under Armour Kit Supplier :   adidas
Match report

Harry Kane celebrated the signing of his new Spurs contract with Christian Eriksen chipping in with a brace and Heung-Min Son a spectacular scissors kick to condemn a hapless Swansea City to the bottom of the Premier League with a 5-0 win.  Without a shot on target, the struggling Welsh side looked as if they came for a draw, but so poor were they that they never looked like troubling Tottenham, with Hugo Lloris only being required to punch away one cross and not save a shot in the whole match.

Swansea are the worst team to have visited White Hart Lane this season ... and that includes Gillingham.  There was little pattern or thought to their play.  In the first half, Mo Barrow seemed their outlet on the right wing, but he was easily snuffed out, but in the second, piling high balls to the substitute Fernando Llorente, once a fine player, saw him manhandling the Tottenham defenders and raging at the referee.  To see Gylfi Sigurdsson reduced to running around closing people down, with no time on the ball to do what he does best did him no justice and helped Spurs concentrate on going forward.

From the start, Dele Alli was making runs across and behind the Swansea defenders and this seemed to confuse them, with Amat getting very frustrated by it.  This is Dele's best position, as he has the ability to know who is around him, nearly putting Son in after giving a return pass, with Son being floored but getting nothing, then almost slipping a pass through the middle for Kane, but Fabianski raced out to slide onto the ball.  How Neil Taylor avoided a yellow card at the least when his boot caught Kyle Walker in the head while he was running in to win a loose ball escapes me.  Think Nigel de Jong in the World Cup final in South Africa, but higher !!

After treatment off the pitch Walker carried on and had a fine game.  Sonny did well down the left wing and put the ball into Harry Kane, but he was crowded out, before Dele had a shot blocked and Eriksen whipped in a free-kick that the keeper had to punch out under pressure from Kane.  Fabianski did even better when Walker's fierce cross was met at the near post by Kane's header and it was going into the top corner until it was tipped over the bar.  From the corner, Danny Rose picked up the ball at the far post and went down under challenge but nothing was given, even though Barrow had been pushing him before he reached the area.  At last some action was taken against Swansea's persistent foul play, when Fulton went into the book for a late foul on Alli.  With 25 minutes gone, Walker was involved again, this time firing in a shot from a tight angle on the right, but again, Fabianski had to push it out as it was heading into the top corner of the net.

A clearer chance came a couple of minutes later, as the ball was played into Dele Alli by Mousa Dembele and his astute back-heel put Victor Wanyama in on goal around the 18 yard line.  Unfortunately, his shot was straight at the keeper, who saved fairly comfortably.  Eriksen hit a free-kick, which was too central to trouble Fabianski too much and then Son had a shot blocked before the opening goal arrived.  Dele was played in running across the left hand side of the box, but Kyle Naughton came in and Alli went down, fairly theatrically, which brought a whistle from the referee.  Moss marched towards Alli and it looked for all the world like he was going to book him for diving, but after a good few seconds, he then pointed to the spot amid vigorous protests from the Swansea players.  The ref must have been going to look where the foul took place, but after a long wait, Harry put the ball down and put it left of centre, as the keeper went the other way and Tottenham had broken through.  In the aftermath, Fabianski threw the ball at the retreating referee and although he missed, one of the other officials must have seen it, as Moss had his back to it, and a yellow card was produced.

Tottenham maintained the attacking play and the return of a high tempo game might have been the result of having a whole week free of football, but Dele was denied a chance when the goalie rushed out to meet him and the movement and passing was crisp as Spurs hit a second just before half-time, with an element of luck.  After moving the ball to the edge of the Swansea area, Alli slipped the ball to Eriksen, who had a shot.  It was blocked but came off the Dane and went to his left, where Son took off to launch a falling volley scissors kick that roared past Fabianski at his near post.  The technique and sheer power he got behind the shot was really impressive and it showed how the little man can be a dangerous player around goal.

That was in injury time and in contrast to last week, when we went into the break having just conceded, this time we were the ones to score at a psychologically good time.  The second half started much the same way, apart from City bringing on Fernando Llorente for the unknown Fulton.  Kane was off target after he had got into the box down the right, but he only had to wait a couple of minutes before another chance came along.   It was trademark Spurs of last season, as a move broke down and the ball was moved rapidly from Wanyama to Kane, who turned it on to Eriksen and he found Dele, who picked out a ball that split the defence and allowed Son to run into the box just right of centre.  With Taylor catching him up, he turned inside to set himself up for a shot, but Harry ran onto the ball and shot across the keeper and low into the goal to make it 3-0 four minutes into the half. 

The Dele-Harry link up was working again and Tottenham were being clinical in their finishing today, looking to find space (and there was plenty of it) in and around the last third.  Eriksen had a long range effort go wide, before Amat finally got booked for a foul on Alli, then from another free-kick, Christian whipped one over the wall and narrowly wide from a more central position.  Spurs were enjoying themselves and Son did well tight to the dead ball line to beat two players and put in a low cross, but it wasn't accurate enough to find a white shirt.  Kane had the ball in the net in the 67th minute to seal his hat-trick, only he was given two yards offside when Dele released the pass and the striker knew it, as he didn't celebrate.

Harry did have another opportunity a minute later, when he had a shot from the right, but Fabianski pushed it away for a corner with a good dive down to his left, but nothing came from it and then, when Spurs did attack again, they scored a fourth.  Dembele had the ball in midfield and Fer fouled him, but Moss played on, allowing Kane to take the ball forward and although Naughton won the ball off him, he stumbled and inadvertently passed to Alli on the left.  His low shot was saved by Fabianski, but his fellow midfielder Christian Eriksen ran in as the ball hung in the air going towards goal.  His jump for the ball wasn't the most determined and Amat hardly covered himself in glory for his attempt to clear the ball off the line, which appeared to squirt off his boot into Eriksen's shoulder and in.   There was so much going on in the lead up to the goal, it was a little while before I realised the goal had been given, with players on the floor all over the place.  In what was a decent refereeing display, Moss allowed good advantage and also went back to book Fer for the original foul.  Although there was some debate about the penalty, Moss had a really good game.

Spurs immediately brought on Sissoko for Son, while Swansea substituted Barrow, introducing another ex-Spurs - Wayne Routledge.  The changes didn't affect the flow of the game, with Sissoko involved when Wanyama fed him on the right, playing Walker into the box.  His low shot hit Fabianski and the ball pin-balled around, off Amat, then van der Hoorn tried to clear, but Eriksen blocked it, seeing the ball go just off target for what would have been a very fortunate goal.  Spurs perhaps had Lady Luck on their side today, whereas it had gone against us in recent times, but by the nature of their play, they earned the luck by putting the visitors under pressure.

They lacked luck when Eriksen weaved a run down the left and put a low ball in to the near post, where Wanyama failed to convert from three yard out, but it was a difficult chance with the ball coming across him and one an infrequent scorer wouldn't necessarily be expected to score.  The ball ran across the face of goal and Kane picked it up at the far post, worked his way away from the dead-ball line and hit a shot that Fabianski got behind.  Routledge did add a bit of trickery on their right and won a free-kick, which brought Lloris into his only action of the match, fisting away Sigurdsson's ball in.  Pochettino had the opportunity to bring on Winks and Onomah as the game was already won, with both involved in the move providing Danny Rose with a shot that flew well over.

In added time, Vertonghen played a long ball through the middle to Sissoko, who had made a good run and he held the ball up to lay it into Eriksen's path.  Christian took a touch with his right foot and from left of centre, ten yards out, he shot across Fabianski, low into the bottom corner of the net to round off a well-deserved 5-0 victory.

After the run of games where we had drawn, it was an important three points today.  Chelsea and Arsenal winning meant we didn't close on them ,but Manchester City's loss means we have got closer to them.  The way the Spurs players stayed out to applaud the fans showed that they were glad of the backing despite losing last week and that they felt they were back in the groove, with even Sissoko, despite looking nervous when he came on, setting up a goal and after the match going into the Park Lane crowd to give his shirt to a fan.

In the cold evening air, the Swansea players went over to clap their fans, who must have not looked forward to the journey back to Wales, as their side had been decidedly second best in all aspects of their play.  They could not relieve the pressure Spurs were building, as their passing was poor and some players (Montero especially) looked less than involved and disinterested.  They lost their composure and never really set up with a shape that would frustrate Spurs, leading to space for us to play in and to pull their players around, allowing quick breaks on their goal.  Alli's energy and willingness to run into space beyond the Swans defence brought dividends, while Son was bright and Eriksen keen to add to his goal of last week.  Jan brought the ball out of defence well, Dier and Wanyama broke up any offense the visitors attempted, while Dembele was strong on the ball and had to be brought down quite often.  Walker and Rose were at their attacking best, not having much defending to keep them occupied, while Harry Kane did what he does best ... stick the ball in the net.

Coming after our first defeat the rest during midweek, even with double training sessions, seemed to have enlivened the side and they played with a verve similar to last season.  We will need to reproduce that next week at United and thankfully, Jan Vertonghen came through the game without getting booked and will be available, perhaps alongside his compatriot Toby Alderweireld, who could be back from injury.  We have to negotiate the Champions League match with CSKA Moscow first, but winning Premier League games is a priority going into the Christmas programme.

Sparky Marky

 
 

 

PUB FACT*

Swansea City had an early scare in their history, when Cardiff City were looking to make a move to the City, only to be repelled by losing a game of Jacks with the City elders, thus handing Swansea their nickname and a lifelong rivalry with the Bluebirds.
 

 

 
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What you thought
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Other scores during this week :
Crystal Palace 3 Southampton 0 Saturday
Manchester City 1 Chelsea 3 Saturday
Stoke City 2 Burnley 0 Saturday
Sunderland 2 Leicester City 1 Saturday
West Bromwich Albion 3 Watford 1 Saturday
West Ham United London 1 Arsenal 5 Saturday
Bournemouth 4 Liverpool 3 Sunday
Everton 1 Manchester United 1 Sunday
Middlesbrough - - - -day
Hull City - - - -day


 

League Table  2016-17
  P W D L F A Pts GD
1 Chelsea 14 11 1 2 32 11 34 +21
2 Arsenal 14 9 4 1 33 14 31 +19
3 Liverpool 14 9 3 2 35 17 30 +18
4 Manchester City 14 8 3 2 30 15 30 +15
5 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 14 7 6 1 24 10 27 +14
6 Manchester United 14 5 6 3 19 16 21 +3
7 West Bromwich Albion 14 5 5 4 20 17 20 +3
8 Everton 14 5 6 4 17 16 20 +1
9 Stoke City 14 5 4 5 16 19 19 -3
10 Bournemouth 14 5 3 6 19 22 18 -3
11 Southampton 14 4 5 5 13 15 17 -2
12 Middlesbrough 14 3 6 5 13 15 15 -2
13 Watford 14 5 3 6 18 24 15 -6
14 Crystal Palace 14 4 2 8 24 26 14 -2
15 Burnley 14 4 2 8 12 23 14 -11
16 Leicester City 14 3 4 7 17 24 13 -7
17 West Ham United London 14 3 3 8 15 29 12 -14
18 Sunderland 14 3 2 9 14 24 11 -10
19 Hull City 14 3 2 9 11 29 11 -18
20 Swansea City 14 2 3 9 16 31 9 -15

 

Position before match :  5th
Position after match :  5th
Position after the weekend :  5th

 

* Pub facts may not actually be true, but after a few pints everyone will think so.

 

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