WBA 0-1 THFC Match Review

Gareth Bale, as so often, proved to be the difference between the two sides today as our unbeaten run stretched to 9 Premier League games and counting.

Bale celebrates his 11th of the season

Within the Spurs community it has been discussed that perhaps we are lacking the attacking potency and dynamism of previous years and regimes. I agree. Take January for instance; only once did we score more than a single goal in a Premier League game (Reading at home). The absence of Emmanuel Adebayor and the lack of form shown by Jermain Defoe in recent weeks can't have helped this. But this is a new era for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Villas-Boas has brought us a tactical edge to our game. The game is more patient and tentative, and if this means we win 1-0 rather than 3-2, well, that's fine by me.

Onto today's proceedings. Steve Clarke set his side out with a dynamic 442, attempting to combine Long's speed with Lukaku's brute strength. And, initially, it looked to cause us a few problems. Lukaku won an early header against Dawson which allowed Long a clean run on goal; credit must be given to our own Hugo Lloris for immediately closing Long down resulting in a goal kick. But this sort of danger was not too apparent as West Brom only managed 3 shots on target for the entirety of the match, resulting in a more or less routine day at the office for Lloris. However, throughout the first half we struggled to really make any clear-cut opportunities asides from a speculative yet accurate effort from Bale. Either side of Ben Foster and it would have been 1-0 Tottenham. The game was, in fact, crying out for a playmaker like Lewis Holtby. Defoe's untimely injury just before the interval prompted Lewis' arrival, and he made a huge difference to proceedings in the second half.



Defoe had to be helped from the pitch

Asides from Holtby's introduction, the central turning point of the game was likely to be Goran Popov's red card. After a scuffle with Kyle Walker, Popov displayed a moment of what cannot be described as anything but pure idiocy by spitting in Walker's face. A red card and an early bath soon followed. Rightly deserved. A grown man shouldn't show another such indignity, on or off a football pitch. Anyway, I digress. This red card forced Clarke's hand and saw the menacing Lukaku replaced by Liam Ridgewell shortly after the half-time break. And from then on it was all about Tottenham and in particular, Gareth Bale.



Popov sees red

Sky Sport's half-time coverage picked up on Bale's devastating runs on the ball, but it was his pure shooting accuracy and power that broke the deadlock. Threatening to score all game, Bale picked up the ball from Walker to the right-hand side of the goal, beat a couple of players and unleashed a ferocious effort into the top-left hand corner. World-class. That was his 11th of the season and put us on the way to a well-deserved win.

The involvement of Lewis Holtby gave us a glimpse into the future of Tottenham. The way he buzzed around the pitch with such energy reminded me of Rafa Van der Vaart, and if he's half as good as Rafa was for us then he'll surely be a cult hero at the Lane. One moment that epitomised the young lad's performance was a neat one-two with Bale; Holtby, running in the opposite direction, played a back-heel right into the Welshman's path which led to a goalscoring opportunity. A sign of things to come, we hope.



Lewis and the lads celebrate

All in all I would rate this a very efficient and effective performance. As usual, Bale was the difference between the two sides as his raw pace and power were ultimately too much for West Brom to deal with. Next up is Newcastle at home and, with the return of Adebayor, I'm hoping for another 3 points.



Adebayor will hope to recapture last season's form

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