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While the final score-line was quite comprehensive, it belies the fact
that Heurelho Gomes was called upon to make a handful of very good saves
to keep Spurs in it and then at 3-1, Preston were pushing to get back
into the game with a few minutes left. However, a Peter Crouch
hat-trick gave Tottenham the goal-scorer that Preston lacked and the
only couple of worries for Spurs were that Giovani dos Santos got a bad
injury after just 15 minutes and that they failed to put the game to bed
at 2-0. Progress to the Fourth
Round in a competition that has become a favourite over the last couple
of years was not a formality and the re-shaped team lacked the closing
down ability that the side had shown in the first four games of the
season. Maybe it was predictable that the home side would come out
to make an early impression on the Spurs side, but when Gomes sliced a
clearance to a Preston player, who fed striker Jon Parkin and his shot
flicked off Dawson to take it wide of the target for a corner behind
Gomes as he regained his position, when it
could have gone anywhere.
Four minutes into the game, Spurs had
their first chance, when Gareth Bale, who had a good game, went down the
left wing and whipped in a cross that found Giovani dos Santos at the
near post and the Mexican turned to hit the bar with a shot across the
keeper with a rasping shot.
His game effectively lasted only about four minutes more, as Wallace hit
him late and although he limped on, his substitution in the 16th minute
was always on the cards. It is a shame that Gio didn't get the
opportunity to show what he can do over a longer period of time, but it
perhaps sums up his luck at Spurs at the moment.
But at the other end, Gomes was alert to
turn away Jones' mis-connected header when he ghosted in unmarked to
meet Hart's cross. It was a good dive to get up to the ball as it
bounced up off the turf and
the keeper was looking good on his return to the team. But it was
Tottenham who went ahead before dos Santos went off, with Bale racing
away on the left to find a cross to the far post to pick out Peter
Crouch. The striker finished well with a volley that went in off
the upright past Lonergan in the 14th minute.
Maybe the physical approach back-fired on
Preston, as Gio was taken off and Aaron Lennon brought on. So, no
respite for their defence there then. It also spurred on Alan
Hutton, who got caught a few times, much to the derision of the home
support, who felt he went down too easily. However, it perhaps
flagged up the difference between the Premier League and the
Championship, as being a split second out in timing tackles sees speedy
players go flying when fouled. Perhaps that was why Nolan was
booked for a foul on the Scottish full back and it wasn't the first one
of the game.
With the full backs using the space made
by the midfield playing narrow, Bale especially on the left, as he once
more gave North End problems with a low ball square to Aaron Lennon, who
shanked his shot and it went well off target. When the play moved
to the other end, Parkin struck a shot on goal from 20 yards out and
Heurelho dived up to tip the ball over the bar with 25 minutes gone.
Darren Carter had a chance when Parkin set him up in the 33rd minute,
but the midfielder hit his shot from outside the box a couple of feet
wide and it was quickly followed by a volley by Billy Jones that went
wide, but the angle was a tight one for him to score from.
With Preston pushing, Spurs moved the
ball quickly to open up the home team's defence and Jenas played the
ball to Defoe and the in-form forward moved the ball out of his feet to
fire a fierce shot at goal that Lonergan did well to block, but Jermain
was there first to head home the rebound to make it 2-0. He nearly
made it three a couple of minutes later, as Bentley's ball into Crouch
was controlled and set up in front of Defoe for him to fire wide of the
goal.
It also needed some desperate defending
from Preston to keep Tottenham out three minutes before half time, as
Hart threw a block to stop Jermaine Jenas' drive that pole-axed him and
then Jones got in the way of the effort on the rebound from Dawson,
before Mawene stopped Gareth Bale's shot. It nearly paid off as
Jon Parkin headed at goal from Hart's cross from the left and Gomes was
called upon to fall on the ball with a save. The Brazilian was
once more in action as added time was being played out, with a tip over
to Jones' volley after Tom Huddlestone's defensive header only found
Ross Wallace.
Tottenham kicked off the second half, but
North End once more tried to gain the early initiative, with Elliott
hitting a volley against the sizeable Parkin that took the sting out of
it for Gomes to collect. It was then Lonergan's turn to be active
as Hud struck a shot from outside the box from Lennon's pass and the
Preston keeper just got enough on it to take it wide. He was
conceding another corner when Lennon cut inside to shoot for goal and
the keeper pushed the ball wide in the 58th minute. Ten minutes
later play was at the other end for Gomes to produce a good stop as
Wallace tried to curl the ball past him from a free-kick a few yards
outside the box.
Harry Redknapp decided to change
personnel and Keane replaced Defoe, in a period when Spurs lost their
way a bit and failed to play with the passing accuracy that had marked
their first half form. Preston had more of the ball and Spurs were
prone to give it away, allowing Wallace to try his luck from long range,
forcing Gomes to beat the ball out and it dropped to Stephen Elliott,
who could only hit the ball over the top from inside the box. The
same forward was presented with the next chance, when he had a free
header, getting away from Huddlestone, to glance the ball over the top,
as he didn't get over it.
Jenas played Crouch in over the top and
he shot over, before he put the game beyond Preston's reach with a third
goal in the 77th minute. Dawson took possession and played it
through Palacios and Lennon, who squared it to the penalty spot,
by-passing Robbie Keane, to find Crouch, who side-footed it in for a
straight-forward finish.
Preston brought on strikers Mellor and
Brown for Parkin and Elliott, as they tried to get something out of the
game and it worked, with Mellor having a shot that went across the face
of goal and Chris Brown was more alert than the Spurs defenders, to
plant it into the net from the edge of the six yard box in the 83rd
minute. It narrowed the gap in the score-line for a short time, as
four minutes later, it was 4-1, with Tom picking off a pass, striding
forward and slipping a pass down the left hand channel for Keane to take
it and smash the ball past Lonergan from close range.
With the game won, there was only one
more thing to conclude and that was Crouchie's hat-trick, which came two
minutes into added time, with Robbie releasing Aaron Lennon on the left
to pull the ball back to the penalty spot, where Crouch back-heeled the
ball into the net past a flat-footed defence. It was a cheeky
goal, but one which shows that the striker can score from almost any
position and gives Harry Redknapp a selection problem with all three of
his fit strikers scoring.
It was a victory not without it's
worrying moments, with Preston perhaps a little hard done by with a 1-5
score-line, but as Spurs have found in the last couple of weeks, it is
about taking your chances when they occur. With a good ratio
tonight, they showed they are capable of scoring freely, but the chances
Preston had might be more attributable to the fact that the players were
not regulars and were not that used to playing together.
Pleasing that Dawson and Gomes came
through their returns, although Gomes stopped taking goal-kicks towards
the end and may still be feeling his injury. With Burnley on
Saturday, this was perhaps a good dress rehearsal for that game, as the
two sides try and play football and have powerful players that Tottenham
will have to match to ensure the right outcome. I don't suppose
that it will be 5-1 on Saturday, but it is a challenge for Spurs to make
sure they come out of it with three points.
the heathrow spur |
Preston
North End
(Away)
