The core of the Hull City side has a familiar ring to it, with Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone, Jake Livermore and Ryan Mason all at the KC Stadium these days.  Mason has been out injured lately, but both Dawson and Livermore have been on the scoresheet lately and all the ex-Spurs will be keen to get among the scorers.  But that has been an issue for Hull with only 14 goals in 15 games and having leaked 32 at the back.  Injuries to keepers have required a reshuffle between the sticks, with former Cardiff City keeper David Marshall the current incumbent.  Curtis Davies has been a bit of a stalwart at Hull over the last few years and the return to Yorkshire of Dawson after he was unceremoniously shown the door at the Lane should give the Tigers a strong centre-half pairing, but there are plenty of holes that have opened up in the Hull defending, leaving them stretched at the back. 

In midfield, only Robert Snodgrass has an element of creativity ... and I don't mean in the ways he can go down in the box.  The former Norwich wide midfielder can pick out a good pass and likes to get forward into the last third, so he will need to be deprived of time on the ball.  The forwards have struggled with Diomande scoring his first of the season at the weekend and Mbokani having had a tough time last season with Norwich City.

Hull will be trying to hassle Spurs on the ball and press as hard as they expect to be pressed by us.  Whether they would be able to keep that up for as long as Spurs, I don't think they would be capable of that.  They key to this game will be taking our chances, which is on thing City might be able to make it difficult for Spurs by crowding the midfield and defence to leave little space to operate in.  It will need our full backs, whoever Pochettino puts in those positions, to make the most of the width of the pitch and make space by making opponents commit themselves.  With midfielders breaking into the box, it should give Tottenham the opportunity to overload on their back four and make the openings to test Marshall in the Tigers' goal.

It won't be easy in this or our next game against Burnley, so it will need a hard-working performance to get the maximum from them.
 

TV
Match of the Day  (BBC 1) - Wednesday 22.45 (highlights)  Also available online.

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Internet :
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  2  Kyle WALKER
12  Victor WANYAMA 
  3  Danny ROSE

17  Moussa SISSOKO  (25  Josh ONOMAH  85)
23  Christian ERIKSEN   
20  DELE Alli  (29  Harry WINKS  62)

10  Harry KANE  (  7  Heung-Min SON  74)

Unused subs: 
13  Michel VORM
33  Ben DAVIES
16  Kieran TRIPPIER
14  Georges-Kevin N'KOUDOU

  5  Harry MAGUIRE     
21  Michael DAWSON  (c)
  6  Curtis DAVIES     

27  Ahmed ELMOHAMADY
14  Jake LIVERMORE  (  7  David MEYLER  74)
11  Sam CLUCAS  (25  Ryan MASON  66)
  8  Tom HUDDLESTONE
  3  Andrew ROBERTSON

10  Robert SNODGRASS  (29  Jarrod BOWEN  84)

20  Adama DIOMANDE

Unused subs: 
16  Eldin JAKUPOVIC
17  James WEIR
22  Markus HENRIKSEN
15  Shaun MALONEY
 

Another win against Hull City made it two home games; eight goals scored and none conceded.  More importantly, it was a winning return after losing at Old Trafford on Sunday.  3-0 didn't really flatter Tottenham and they should have scored more against a Hull side who look to be heading in only one direction.

Setting up with three centre-halves, Spurs replicated that but had three and three in midfield rather than Hull's five and one behind Diomade.  It gave Spurs a bit more flexibility, but Hull showed that their system could create chances too.  With Dier coming in for the injured Dembele, the only other change was starting with Sissoko in place of Son.

The tempo that Tottenham started at was key to getting after Hull, who offered a bit more than Swansea City in the last home game, but, ultimately, they did not have the ability in their side to trouble us, other than a couple of times when Lloris had to save.  Moving the ball quickly, Spurs had a couple of efforts from outside the box blocked, Sissoko tried to curl a shot from a long way outside the far post but couldn't get it on target and crosses were coming in from the flanks, but being headed away before a Tottenham head could get to it.  It was almost a shoot on sight policy as Alli struck from just outside the box and his effort was blocked.  With 13 minutes gone, Jan Vertonghen produced a great chipped pass down the line over Elmohamady to set Danny Rose beyond the last man.  Danny held the ball up well and slipped the ball back into the path of Christina Eriksen, who ran onto the ball and swept it into the roof of the net from about 10 yards out.  The pace he got on the shot left Marshall grabbing at thin air, as the ball beat him at his near post. 

Spurs continued  to move forward, but failed to create any clear chances, apart from Dele's dipping shot from 25 yards that almost crept under Marshall's dive, but with 25 minutes gone, Jake Livermore moved forward to bring a low save out of Lloris, when he might have finished more decisively.   Just after the half hour, Jake got on the end of a low cross in from Robertson on the right and stretching at the near post, his effort might have been going in, so Hugo took no chances and dived full length to get a hand to it and push it wide of the goal.   Elmohamady had a shot from a cleared corner and it was straight at Lloris from outside the box, but Spurs moved the ball quickly in their next attack to give Kane a shooting opportunity, but it was dragged wide from outside the box.  They went closer when Eric Dier's ball picked out Dele Alli's run into the box and when it looked like he might take it first time falling backwards and hitting the volley, he controlled it, but found defenders back at him.  He still got his shot away and forced Marshall into a diving save to his right, as the ball looked as if it would squeeze in at the post.  Danny Rose was set up by fellow full-back Kyle Walker and he blazed a shot well over and it was another defender who almost scored a wonder goal, as Jan Vertonghen raced forward from inside his own half, taking on opponents as he ran into the Hull penalty area.   He turned a couple of times, but was eventually blocked out by Michael Dawson and a foul was given against the Spurs central defender in the end. 

Diomande, who spent much of the first half on the floor or looking in anguish as another pass was played 20 yards too far in front of him, did have an effort on goal jsut before half-time, but the sting was taken out of it and Hugo plucked it out of the air with ease.  Moussa Sissoko was having a decent game but got under his shot when Walker squared it to him, finding the top tier of the Park Lane and picking out the TV cameras up there behind the goal !!

Hull stepped up the pace of their game forcing a couple of corners, but not getting anything on target to worry Lloris, but play swung to the other end, where Sissoko and Wanyama had shots neither of which were too threatening to the Hull goal.  However, as the clock ticked towards the hour mark, it all happened.  Firstly, Marriner showed that he had a great memory, as he let play continue and when it finally stopped, he went back and booked Curtis Davies for a cruel foul on Sissoko.   Then, when play restarted, Christian Eriksen was moving from the right hand corner of the box infield, when Robertson had hands on the Dane's shoulders and shoved him over just outside the 18 yard line.   This time Marriner proved not so good at remembering the laws of the game and waved play on, which Hull did and nearly scored.  Once more it was Livermore, who was on the end of the move from the edge of their own box into Tottenham's.  Jake shot, but it was blocked by Vertonghen and the rebound came back to him and he shot low only to see Hugo stick out his left foot to divert the ball wide for a corner.  It was an opportunity he really should have put away, with Clucas hitting Row Z in the Park Lane from the corner. 

Pochettino brought on Harry Winks for Dele Alli and the change reaped immediate rewards.  Dier scooped a pass over Robertson to send Walker away on the right wing, heading for the box and then the dead ball line, shoving Robertson out of the way to fire the ball a foot away from the goal-line across the face of goal.  Kane slid in and missed the ball and Eriksen snuck in at the far post to touch it over the line to double his and Tottenham's goal tally.  It was another well worked goal that opened up the Hull defence using the width available.

Walker almost made it three as he forewent the options around him and fired in a low drive that dipped and swerved, forcing Marshall to push the ball out and the Hull defenders panicked in clearing the ball, with it going out thanks to Walker's shielding of the ball until Snodgrass bundled him over.   The Hull midfielder indicated that he thought Walker had gone down easily, only to find himself the butt of a lot of abuse intimating that he is on no moral high ground when it comes to talking about diving after his penalty win last week against Crystal Palace. 

Ryan Mason made his entrance to a good reception but he rarely had much opportunity to do much.  It was backs to the wall for much of the remainder of the game for the Tigers, with Vertonghen hitting a 25 yarder that hit Maguire and Winks had an effort blocked before young Harry just failed to reach Walker's driven cross.  When Danny Rose was fouled 25 yards out, it looked like Eriksen was on for his hat-trick.  He had hit the wall previously, but this time flighted the ball over the wall and it was creeping inside Marshall's right hand post until he dived up to push it onto the upright.  The ball bounced back across goal, but was coming out, until Victor Wanyama pounced to fire it in under pressure from close range and make it 3-0. 

Son came on as Spurs rested Harry Kane and Livermore exited to be replaced by Meyler.  With a quarter of an hour to go, it looked like Diomande might have some joy, as he ran onto a ball in the box and shot, only for Toby Alderweireld to slide in and block his effort.  Eriksen trying hard to round off his treble, but a shot from outside the box did little to worry Marshall and Son tried to set him up, but the ball was kicked away by a defender.  Spurs were playing around Hull and a couple of times Son frustrated Walker by choosing the wrong option and the Korean had a bit of a mare, finding striped shirts with a few of his passes.  However, he wasn't as bad as Meyler, who put in a challenge, which I believe in American Football would have been classed as spearing.  Diving headlong at an opponent isn't in any coaching manual I have seen, but I am sure is against the laws of the game. 

Josh Onomah had a shot blocked and then an Eriksen free-kick went into the wall again, but the ball found its way to Winks left of centre and his first time shot flew low across goal, with the keeper stranded and relieved to see it go inches wide of his left hand post. 

Spurs ran the game well, even though it was not one of their better performances.   The movement of the ball was generally good, but some passing was loose and Harry Kane got precious little to feed off tonight, although when the midfielders are scoring, it shows we are not a one man team.   Pleasing too was another clean sheet, as our good defensive record continues, with Jan keen to get forward in the knowledge that Toby was back alongside him to cover.  

It was a poor Hull team and sad that the ex-Spurs are featuring in a struggling side.  The Spurs fans singing their praises of the three former favourites on the pitch at the end showed how they felt for Daws, Hud and the Enfield Davids. 

For Tottenham, results elsewhere did not help us too much but it keeps us in fifth and winning again, with Burnley coming to the Lane on Sunday, hopefully for a repeat performance.

Kirk Hammerton