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A last friendly before the Academy season
got underway and Tim Sherwood took a young side to Hampton & Richmond,
looking to continue the good pre-season they have had against some
higher level opposition. This time
it was Blue Square (South) level and a more physical test than perhaps
the Orient and Ipswich games had been and also a different style of
play, with a more direct attack, as opposed to the passing style they
had come up against at Portman Road.
Calum Butcher was quickly called into action
to stop Simmonds making progress after a long ball cut out our defence,
but in the ninth minute, the home side went into the lead with a well
worked effort. Allen-Page knocked a ball to the far post, where
Collier played a volley back into the centre of the box and Simmonds was
on hand to fire past Alnwick to make it 1-0 to H&R.
Spurs almost hit back with a shot from Ryan
Mason, which just went wide after Andros Townsend pulled a left wing
cross back for him. There was also a chance for Dean Parrett, who
was played in for a shot by Obika's pull back, but the drive went wide
in the 31st minute. Tottenham were
holding the ball well and had most of the possession, but were finding
it hard to break down a resolute Hampton & Richmond defence, which
sometimes included seven players back behind the ball. The same
continued in the second half, when Adam Smith made a good run down the
right wing from full back and his cross picked out Laste Dombaxe, but he
missed the goal with his effort.
There was one nervy moment for Spurs, when Tarpy broke away on the right
wing and hit a shot at goal from a narrow angle, which Alnwick had
covered, but the H&R man's pace exposed the Tottenham defence.
Nathan Byrne and Harry Kane came on for Tom Carroll and Dombaxe, to add
some strength to defence and some height to the attack. The
changes almost paid off straight away, with Mason bringing a low diving
save out of Lovett, as his shot was heading into the bottom corner of
his goal. Three more
Spurs substitutions were made in the 68th minute and this time, they did
the trick with Ryan Mason putting a cross to Kudos Oyenuga at the far
post and his shot was finger-tipped onto the post by goalkeeper Lovett,
but Kane was on hand to net the rebound with a rising shot to equalise.
In the last 15 minutes, Tottenham pressed
for the winner and Adam Smith went close when he shot Townsend's cross
wide of the mark and the full back was involved in another chance, when
he lobbed a ball into the box and Jake Livermore's clever dummy
confounded the keeper, who was left grasping at thin air and only the
intervention of Wells prevented Tottenham getting a second goal.
Two Butcher headers slipped across goal, before Smith played the ball
into Mason's path and his last minute shot went inches over the bar to
leave the scores level and the teams both pleased with their outing on a
night when greater things promised in the months ahead.
marco van hip |
