Manchester City   1   Tottenham Hotspur    2      (Half-time score : 0-2)

Weaver

Richards (Ireland 30)
Dunne
Distin
Jordan

Reyna (Dabo 70)
Barton
Vassell
Trabelsi

Dickov
Samaras (Onuoha 46)

Unused subs: 
Isaksson
Miller

Robinson

Chimbonda
Davenport
King (c)
YP Lee

Ghaly
Huddlestone
Tainio
Mabranque

Berbatov
Defoe (Mido 83)

Unused subs: 
Cerny
Gardner
Stalteri
O'Hara

Barton 64

Tottenham Hotspur

Davenport 17
Huddlestone 25

    
Dunne (dissent) 90   

Spurs had to play with their backs to the wall a bit in the second half, as Stuart Pearce stirred up his side, who had gone in at the turnaround 0-2 behind.  That was thanks to Tottenham playing a counter-attacking game to exploit the lack of firepower City exhibited with Spurs failing to be greatly troubled by the home side in the first period.

From the first minute, Young-Pyo Lee attacked down the left and knocked in a cross that flew across the face of goal, with Dimitar Berbatov unable to get a contact on the ball and when Nicky Weaver knocked away a Huddlestone free-kick from Calum Davenport and then Tainio's pass through to Defoe was taken off him into the path of Berbatov, whose shot was cleared on the line by Distin, it looked as though it might be another bleak away day.  However, Samaras' climb all over Malbranque gave Spurs a free-kick in an area that Hid specialises in.  His clipped free-kick was touched with the faintest of contacts by Davenport to take the ball up and past Weaver to give Spurs a 16th minute lead.

Davenport was then in defensive action to block a shot from Dickov, with the game then switching to the other end and Berbatov latching onto Ghaly's pass to get a shot in, but it lacked power.  That could not be said about Huddlestone's shot that gave Tottenham a two goal advantage.  He broke up a move and laid the ball off which then found it's way to Ghaly on the right.  Hud ambled up in support and as Ghaly lifted a pass into the youngster's path, he strode onto the bal and without breaking his step he drilled a perfectly struck half-volley a foot off the floor all the way and it ripped past Weaver into the net in an unstoppable manner.  He hit the ball as true as you could wish and even though he was 25 yards out, the keeper did not stand a chance.

On 35 minutes, a Lee cross was looped up in the air by Dunne and Malbranque had to stutter in his run to volley the ball at goal, but Dunne got in the way when really it should have been 3-0.  In the next City attack, it was again broken up and Hud picked up the ball just inside his half.  He once more moved forward and without a City player coming to him, he hit another of his trademark rockets and it fizzed just over Weaver's bar.

Spurs poured forward in waves and Weaver did well to palm out Berbatov's fierce shot and Defoe went close just before the break after the Bulgarian had flicked the ball on, but was too high with his effort.

City were fired up after the break and Trabelsi had an early shot blocked by King, with the ball moving straight to the other end where Defoe turned past Dunne and fired a shot in at the near post, but hit the side-netting, before Dickov flashed a drive over the top at the Spurs end.  City had a great chance to get back into it from a corner that Dunne headed wide from close range and then again when Reyna played in Ireland, who only had Robinson to beat, but hit it way, way too high.  Distin put a header from another corner in the same place, but when Dickov got a yard of space on the left wing, his deep cross found Barton moving onto it to hit a controlled volley past Robbo and making it 2-1.

Spurs were called upon to do some last gasp defending and Trabelsi's shot was knocked off the line by King and there was a big shout for a penalty when Malbranque challenged Barton in the box and he went down, but it looked difficult to see if he had got the ball or player first.  Robinson dashed out to thwart Vassell and then the former Gooner Dickov put in a late cross for Trabelsi, who had a free header, but put it wide and with that went the chances of City getting anything more from the match.

It proved to be as tough as I thought it might be, but the way we played in the first half, we should really have been out of sight, but our lack of clinical finishing might have cost us had it been a better team than City and our first away win was welcomed by the big Spurs contingent in the crowd.

Hopefully, this will be the start of a better run of away form to add to our solid home record.  That will help us push on up the table and show that last year was not a one-off