22  Angel RANGEL  (29  Ashley RICHARDS 70)
27  Kyle BARTLEY     
  6  Ashley WILLIAMS (c)
  3  Neil TAYLOR     

20  Jefferson MONTERO
  7  Leon BRITTON  (  8  Jonjo SHELVEY 55)
  4  KI Sung-Yueng     
23  Gylfi SIGURDSSON
15  Wayne ROUTLEDGE

10  Wilfried BONY    (18  Bafetimbi GOMIS 85)

Unused subs: 
13  Richard CORNELL
  2  Jordi AMAT
12  Nathan DYER
11  Marvin EMNES


 

  2  Kyle WALKER     
  5  Jan VERTONGHEN     
21  Federico FAZIO
33  Ben DAVIES

38  Ryan MASON       (25  Benjamin STAMBOULI 70     )
42  Nabil BENTALEB

11  Erik LAMELA  (22  Nacer CHADLI 83)
18  Harry KANE 
23  Christian ERIKSEN 

  9  Roberto SOLDADO  (19  Mousa DEMBELE 56)

Unused subs: 
13  Michel VORM
  6  Vlad CHIRICHES
  3  Danny ROSE
17  Andros TOWNSEND

How times have changed. Spurs travelled to South Wales after a trip to Turkey and the usual fatigue that affects Tottenham appeared to hit during the middle of the match, but that could not detract from a good start and a winning ending to the game that takes them back up to seventh in the table.  The first team returned to action, with a number of players who missed Thursday’s game were reinstated, showing more a experienced eleven and obviously the rest must have done them good.

Swansea were entering the game having lost to West Ham with ten men and they had picked up some good results at home, but Eriksen’s early free-kick tried to pick out Soldado at the near post, it had to be headed behind for a corner. From it, the Dane swung a ball to the far post and Kane rose above Rangel to power a low header past Tremell from the edge of the six yard box inside four minutes. It was the result of an energetic start that saw Tottenham closing down and pressing Swansea high up the pitch.

The home team showed what they could do, with some good first time passing that saw a surface ball played beyond Fazio and Bony was in on the edge of the box, but Lloris did well to dive right to save the striker’s low shot that sped off the wet turf. Spurs might have had a foul wide right on the edge of the box when Williams pushed down Kane and then had a wild kick at him when the ball was stuck under the prone Spurs man, but referee Madley played on. The home side were getting two banks of four back behind the ball when Spurs were in possession in an attempt to try and squeeze the space that Spurs had to play in, but our passing was good and movement better than it had been lately. A good passing move moved the Swansea players around until Kane tried a low shot from 25 yards out that went wide of Tremell’s goal to his right.

On 20 minutes, Monetero ran at the Spurs defence and slipped a pass past Vertonghen for Bony to close in on goal, but Ben Davies appeared from nowhere to take the ball with a well-timed tackle and the ball was cleared for a corner. A minute later, a 30 yard free-kick was played in by Sigurdsson, but was well defended, although the home side were not using their possession to the best effect. Routledge crossed a ball in and Fazio managed to get a touch, although Bony was lurking behind him and then the Argentine defender made contact with Sigurdsson after the ball came back in, but the ball had hit him and been cleared by then. Bony thought he had a good chance to score when Rangel played a low ball in and the forward got ahead of Walker, but the flag was raised before Lloris saved with his feet and then kicked it away.

A cross to nobody in particular by Kane was put out for a corner by Rangel and from the Spurs left wing Lamela swung the ball in and although it was cleared, it was a foot and studs up challenge that won it against Mason on the edge of the Swans box. Switching to the other end, Bony almost got in when Fazio got under Sigurdsson’s cross, but just got enough on it as the striker’s touch took it away from him. There was a scrappy period of play after Swansea kept the ball from a throw, after Mason had put it out for Eriksen to get treatment and neither side were holding on to it that well.

Lamela put Montero on the floor when he raised an arm trying to shield the ball, but Montero had been after Erik from the start, taking him late after the ball had gone in the opening moments. Then the home crowd got on the ref’s back as Vertonghen slid in on Wayne Routledge to win the ball, but the winger went down and the ref got out the yellow card after a protracted consideration of the matter.

When Spurs did eventually break, Soldado’s low ball in from the right saw two players going forward into the area, but Angel cleared. With five minutes to go to half-time, the ground was almost silent and Swansea got nervy when Spurs closed them down in their own area and Tremell was forced into a hurried clearance. From the throw in that was conceded Kane got into the box past two players and Montero was trying to get hands all over Harry’s back and he went down, but didn’t get a penalty or a booking.

Swansea worked a good move on their right wing and Angel pulled the ball back low to Bony, who was ten yards out, but his shot hit |Fazio and went off for a corner. In their next attack, Routledge got in behind Fazio to meet a high looping cross ball, but his volley squirted off his foot and went way, way wide. While Erik Lamela wasn’t getting too much joy on the ball, he was working hard off it and quite often was the first to close defenders down when they received the ball. Swansea’s players were starting to lose their composure with Taylor fronting up to Lamela after one coming together, but somehow, all the cards had gone Tottenham’s way.

The teams trudged off to the sound of the PA and little else, as the rain thrashed down. Swansea had been getting back into the game and the break probably came at the right time for Tottenham.

It didn’t stop Swansea equalising within three minutes of the half. Routledge got beyond Davies, Vertonghen didn’t go to the winger and the lifted ball into the box saw Bony hit a shot against Fazio and then guide the second effort into the corner of the net with Lloris helpless. There was a lack of cover on our left that saw Davies stranded and that has been a failing over a number of games now. It was a soft goal to let in.

A late tackle on Mason earned KISY a yellow card, but the free-kick came to nothing, with the ball eventually finding its way all the way back to Lloris. Sigurdsson almost got in when Fazio slipped when it looked as though the ball had got away from Gylfi, but the defender blocked the effort when it did fall for Siggi. Spurs looked to have lost a bit of their zip and Swansea were pushing forward, but with Dembele coming on for Soldado, it was an odd move that pushed Kane up front, but he had already put in a lot of work.

The referee was interpreting the laws in a unique way with Dembele having a handball given against him after Shelvey had shoved him in the back and couldn’t control his limbs. The Belgian played the ball on and Mason had a 25 yard shot at goal, which was deflected with the keeper committed to where it was going to go, with it luckily going past his post. Then Bentaleb stuck on Routledge to keep the ball in and Kane picked it up, bending a shot a few feet wide of Tremell’s far post.


Tottenham began to hit high hopeful balls forward, which is not the tactic to use when they need to keep the ball away from our back four. One came straight back and gave Sigurdsson a shooting opportunity from the edge of the box, but he put it three yards wide. When it was played on the floor, Kane had a cross put out for a corner. Rangel headed it out for a corner. From that one Tremell went to punch it and the ball went straight up in the air, but Bentaleb was held off by Gylfi and the keeper could come and claim it at the second time of asking.

Shelvey was played in by Sigurdsson, but as he looked to shoot, Vertonghen slid in to block him. From the corner, Montero had a low effort deflected past the post and Bony then blocked Shelvey’s volley. It was backs to the wall stuff and Spurs needed to get the ball down and keep possession. Spurs were not thinking clearly as a free-kick 40 yards from goal was taken quickly to Dembele, who had a man standing on him and possession was conceded.

Lamela, looking like Oswald Cobblepot out of ‘Gotham’ as the rain flattened his hair, was almost the villain of the piece, when he slid in and gave away a free-kick, but the referee gave a talking to him rather than anything else the Welsh crowd wanted. When Spurs won a corner shortly after, Kane was unlucky, diving in to head the ball across goal and just wide of the far post with the keeper stranded.

Taylor took Walker out when he dummied the ball to let it go past him and from it, Tremell made a better punch on it this time. When Swansea brought on Gomis for Bony, you knew it was going to be an aerial bombardment from now on.

However, when a Spurs move broke down, it was won back and Eriksen pulled a save out of Tremell, but he couldn’t hold it and Richards’ weak clearance went straight to Davies. His first time ball went to Eriksen, who took a touch and drilled a low shot past Tremell’s left hand through Bartley’s legs. It was a fine finish and outlined his growing importance to the team.

The pressing didn’t stop there. Shelvey had the ball taken off him by Kane, who took the ball past the former Liverpool man as he tried to slid in and his shot was pushed wide by the keeper in what could have been a third goal against the odds. He could have gone down to get a penalty, but having been denied one in the first half, he probably thought it would be better to have a shot.

A couple of balls lumped into our area were the closest Swansea came to threatening Spurs, but the team held strong and the three points were heading to Tottenham instead of the ball heading into our net.

It was another match we won with less possession than the other side, with the defence putting in a better performance after the Swansea goal, with Davies doing very well on his return to the Liberty. Fazio and Vertonghen stuck at it and Walker did well over 90 minutes just returning to the side.  Hardly anyone had a poor game, with Soldado and Lamela not that effective on the ball, but working hard off it. The midfield did well and both Dembele and Stambouli were effective when they came on.  Mason and Bentaleb had worked to close down the Swansea midfield men and used the ball pretty well, while Eriksen was the star.

It was another partial adoption of the Pochettino style, but there is still work to be done.  Too often the full backs are left isolated with two men facing them and this does leave us vulnerable at the back, as for Bony's goal.  But at least there is a respite from the travel involved in the Europa League for a couple of months, but the games will start to come thick and fast, with the League Cup this week and the FA Cup in January.  It is a time to get to work and for the players to get on board, while some will be disembarking in the transfer window.

With games against Burnley and Leicester City and then Manchester United and Chelsea, it is a strange mix of matches over the Christmas and New Year period, but they are games we have to give the opposition a game in.  There are points on offer and it is necessary to bring home them home to take us on from the seventh place we find ourselves in.

Sparky Marky