17  DeAndre YEDLIN
14  Chad MARSHALL  (18  Djimi TRAORE 63)
20  Zach SCOTT       (33  Kenny COOPER 63)
  4  Jalil ANIBABA

27  Lamar NEAGLE  (  7  Tristan BOWEN 78  )
  8  Gonzalo PINEDA       
  6  Osvaldo ALONSO       
10  Marco PAPPA  (11  Aaron KOVAR 75)

  2  Clint DEMPSEY (c)  (13  Sean OKOLI 75)
  9  Obafemi MARTINS

Unused subs: 
15  Dylan REMICK
16  David ESTRADA
21  Fabio PEREIRA
23  Cam WEAVER
25  Aaron LONG
42  Michael AZIRA

16  Kyle NAUGHTON  (43  Ryan FREDERICKS 46)
20  Michael DAWSON (c)  (  6  Younes KABOUL 46)
35  Zeki FRYERS
  3  Danny ROSE  (51  Milos VELJKOVIC 46)

  7  Aaron LENNON  (44  Cristian CEBALLOS 46     )
15  Etienne CAPOUE (38  Ryan MASON 64)
17  Andros TOWNSEND (11  Erik LAMELA 46)

14  Lewis HOLTBY    (27  Yago FALQUE 68  )
28  Tom CARROLL

37  Harry KANE (  9  Roberto SOLDADO 46      )

Unused subs: 
61  Luke McGEE
  2  Kyle WALKER
22  Gylfi SIGURDSSON
23  Christian ERIKSEN

A goal-ful 3-3 draw with Seattle Sounders might sound like a lot of fun, but it might leave new boss Mauricio Pochettino with more questions than answers.  Yes, it was the first match after starting pre-season training apart from a behind closed doors friendly  with Southend United, but, if he is trying to introduce a new philosophy, then the players might be thinking it's all Greek to them.  If this is the way we are going to play this season, then be prepared for goals against.

The side Poch put out was strong, featuring a mix and match for each half, with experienced and young players making up each XI.  The only three to see out the full 90 were keeper Brad Friedel, midfielder Tom Carroll, who stepped in for the late withdrawal of Gylfi Sigurdsson (rumoured to be on his way to Swansea City) and defender Zeki Fryers.  Kyle Walker had withdrawn from selection after training on the artificial pitch that did not help his recovery on the summer surgery he underwent.

A young man suffering with Cystic Fibrosis kicked off the game, enjoying a run through as the Spurs players stood back, allowing him a run at goal and a shot from 20 yards straight at Brad Friedel.  The Make A Wish foundation had organised a season long contract with the Sounders and he proudly wore his number 44 shirt as he left the field after the opening move.

Within 30 seconds, Spurs had given the ball away trying to play it out from the back and Marco Pappa had a shot from the left, which flew wide and high of Brad Friedel’s near post.

Ten minutes in, with their first attack, Harry Kane dinked a ball into the heart of the box from the left hand channel 25 yards out, finding Lewis Holtby ghosting in between the two centre-halves to nod the ball over the keeper from 12 yards out.  It was a well-times run and a well played pass, allowing the German midfielder to beat Frei with ease.

Seattle could have equalised in the 14th minute, with our former forward Clint Dempsey heading wide from six yards out when he got in front of a static Kyle Naughton to meet a cross from their right wing.  Obafemi Martins was leading the line for Seattle with Dempsey, but the former Newcastle and Nigeria striker showed why he is playing in America.  His petty time-wasting and shirt-pulling indicated he is not up to playing at the top table these days. When he was put through, the Spurs players got back at him and he ended up stepping on the ball to let the chance go begging.

Dawson handed the ball straight to Seattle twenty yards from his own goal and coming in from the right, Neagle hit a low shot straight at Friedel’s legs after Demspey created the chance with a cute pass. Then Spurs were opened up by some quick passing leaving Martins through, but he thrashed at the shot that went wide again.  Brad was in action again, saving from Pineda as he went through on the left, but Tottenham did break away with Lennon going through the middle before releasing Danny Rose on the left to hit a first time shot low to the keeper’s near post, which he got behind.  In the 28th minute, Spurs once more handed the ball over when trying to pass the ball out from the back and Neagle was denied by a sliding challenge from Dawson.

From Friedel's pass, Rose’s poor control let the ball run out for a throw-in, with the left back not responding quick enough to track back and a ball into the box was missed by Dawson and although it was cleared to the edge of the box, a foul brought the home team a central free-kick that Dempsey shot, but it went off the wall for a corner. From it, Dawson was adjudged to have fouled Marshall as he jumped for the ball and the American didn’t. Pineda took it in the Panenka style and beat Friedel to equalise in the 33rd minute.

Five minutes before half time Martins and Dempsey linked well in the box to allow the former Spurs man to poke the ball past Friedel, but Rose arrived to slam the ball clear as it went towards the goal-line. From the corner, Brad had to tip a header over.

Spurs had struggled to cope with the pitch and the new philosophy that the team were trying to play under, handing possession over to the Sounders too often and allowing them to attack too often. As expected, there were a raft of half-time changes and it gave the opportunity for many of the players to have a run out.

After the interval Spurs started lively, with sub Cristian Ceballos striking a shot from the left that took a deflection for a corner. However, two minutes later, Alonso struck a shot from 25 yards into the top corner off the bar to put Seattle in front.  The ball ran loose to him from a Spurs challenge and Kaboul was slow to close him down, leaving Brad no chance of stopping the rocket.

Into the 54th minute, Soldado knocked the ball over a defender and was then bundled over by Marshall as he closed in on goal. It was a penalty but nothing more, but Roberto stepped up to stroke it home and equalise by sending the keeper the wrong way.

Yedlin got across Fredericks to head just over, as Spurs struggled to control the ball on the oddly lined pitch that didn’t see the ball running that true. Falque missed a far post header after Soldado had won one at the near post, but this preceded Seattle breaking down the left, as Spurs looked for offside and Okoli’s low ball across the face of goal allowed substitute Tristan Bowen to touch the ball over the line from a foot out with almost his first touch.

Spurs pushed forward again and Yago Falque tried to dink the ball into the box, but Yedlin’s arm stopped the progress of the ball and the referee pointed to the spot. This time it was Falque who stepped up and slotted it just past the substitute goalkeeper’s dive to his left and found the bottom corner tying it up at 3-3.

Soldado played a one-two with Ceballos and the youngster ran onto the ball in the area, hitting a low first time shot that the sub keeper stopped with his legs.  The young winger then picked up a yellow card with a rash challenge as a defender ran away from him. Soldado and Alonso then got cautioned for shoving each other, as temperatures rose on the pitch as well as in the air.

With a last minute corner, Djimi Traore (the ex Liverpool reject) hit a scissors kick volley that went into the ground and over the bar.

What was an otherwise good run-out foe Tottenham's first pre-season match in public, the heavily rubber crumbed 4G pitch was not the best surface to play in, with the ball holding up when it bounced and making tackling difficult (with a spray of black chippings every time someone slid in).  The home side might have been more used to it, but they weren't that fluid in their play either.

There were several interesting refereeing decisions, with some narrow off-sides given in Tottenham’s favour when the penalty would have been unlikely to have been awarded in England, but Yedlin’s high foot as Lennon went in to head the ball in the box would have been a free-kick anywhere else on the field in this country, but appears to be acceptable anywhere in the USA.

This match was along way form home and a long way from Premier League football, so will tell us little about what will happen on the opening day at West Ham, but Mauricio might have learned a bit about some players and will be watching carefully over the next few games, when he will see more of them in action and then welcome back some of the World Cup players along with a couple of new signings hopefully.

BILLY BLEACH