Carling Cup Final: Spurs 2 - Chelski 1 ET

Courtesy of Official Site-

Had a great time watching the game at Penny Lane with some fellow Yids. Good English breakfast and pints.

Jonathan Woodgate's header in extra time deservedly clinched the
Carling Cup at Wembley and secured a place in Europe for next season.
'Woody'
threw himself at Jermaine Jenas' free-kick with 93 minutes and 25 seconds on the
clock, got his head in front of Petr Cech and gleefully ran off in celebration
as it nestled into the corner.
It was no less than we deserved after
dominating chances created at Wembley. Quite how Chelsea went in 1-0 up at
half-time was mystery with a chance count of eight-two in our favour but once
Dimitar Berbatov levelled from the penalty spot in the 69th minute, the tide
turned in our favour.
More chances came and went - Cech saved brilliantly
again - but once Woodgate's header landed it was a case of seeing the game out
and we did it in superb style, Ledley King and man of the match Woodgate
absolutely magnifent.
Robbie Keane set about making his mark on the final in
the first minute when a Juliano Belletti pass went astray and the striker fizzed
in a shot that only diverted wide via the inside of John Terry's leg. Ledley
King, in the side to the biggest cheer of the pre-match build-up, then nearly
latched onto a Dimitar Berbatov header from the resulting corner. The atmosphere
from the Spurs end of this gigantic arena was spine-tingling and the boys looked
intent on feeding off the support with a purposeful beginning that plonked
Chelsea right on the back foot. The flags placed on every seat on Saturday
provided a scenic and colourful backdrop to the occasion. There would have been
an explosion of colour at our end had a Pascal Chimbonda header bounced under
rather than on top of the bar from a deep Steed Malbranque corner then seconds
later Berbatov's heading direction was lacking a little when he nodded wide with
a free header from a Keane cross. Chelsea edged into the contest and Jonathan
Woodgate had to be sharp in front of goal to block a Shaun Wright-Phillips cross
being met by a boot wrapped around a blue sock. A flying header from Woodgate at
the other end was too far off making capital from an expertly flighted free-kick
from Jermaine Jenas. Petr Cech later showed sharp reactions down to his right to
foil a Malbranque shy on goal which was swiftly followed by Frank Lampard trying
his luck at the other end - Chelsea's first shot just before the half hour mark.
Quite a telling stat that went a long way towards explaining the story of the
first third. Two free-kicks in quick succession from 20-odd yards out taken by
Lampard and Didier Drogba - neither troubling Paul Robinson - topped up
Chelsea's shot count. Another free-kick - given for a Didier Zokora chop on
Drogba with 38 minutes in the clock - did come at a cost. The burly striker from
the Ivory Coast recovered to take it himself and, with Chelsea players in our
wall, arrowed the ball through the protective layer and into the net. Berbatov
had the chance to level just before the break when Keane slotted him through on
goal, but the Bulgarian tangled with Ricardo Calvalho and slipped in the area
rather than quickly getting his shot away. The second half did not get off to an
explosive start as Chelsea sought to slow the game down and dull the
tempo.
Juande Ramos made his first change just after the hour, introducing
Tom Huddlestone for a disconsolate Chimbonda. Malbranque appeared to make the
switch to left-back, but it was on the other side that King was at his masterful
best in denying Nicolas Anelka a shooting chance. The twist in the tale came on
68 minutes when Huddlestone attempted to work himself a spot of shooting space
and the ball struck the hand of Wayne Bridge. The assistant spotted the offence
and referee Mr Halsey eventually gave the penalty. Berbatov was ridiculously
cool in applying his finish from 12 yards.A chance to double advantage came ten
minutes from time when Zokora was sent clean through, his first effort being
saved by Cech and his rebound chance flying over the bar.Extra time seemed
almost inevitable after this point and the additional period was duly ushered in
without too much further incident.Less than four minutes in a Jenas free-kick
was latched onto by the head of Woodgate, who had made a clever marker-evading
dash round the back, and his flick into Cech came back onto him before rolling
into the empty net. Woodgate set off on a charge and half of Wembley went very
quiet.Another change was made a few minutes before the end of the first 15
minutes, with Keane making way for Younes Kaboul. With Chelsea likely to go long
and fire balls into Drogba and Anelka, a central defensive three was deemed the
way to repel the threat.
It worked a treat - although Robinson was forced
into key late action to deny Cole from 12 yards and there were the usual
scares to overcome.
Ultimately, the right team won on the day - and how great
it felt to watch Ledley lift the trophy.

Linked here.

Carling Cup Final at Weeeembley

Being shown live on 2/24/08 (Sunday) at 9:30 am EST on Setanta in the US.

I have been in contact with Penny Lane Pub here in Downtown Richmond, VA. They are looking into opening early and showing the match. I should know sometime today (Friday, 2/22/08) if they will be showing the match. I will post here when I find out.

Come On You Spurs!

Official Word from Penny Lane...

"Here is the official word: "Joe and Terry will both be in at 9:30am Sunday for the game (10am kickoff) along with a few of the regular lads. So you know Terry will let anyone in that shows up to watch the game. So we won't be officially open, but Terry will be here to pour a few pint for whomever shows up to watch."
Spread the word!
John P."

UEFA Cup Report: Spurs 1 - Slavia Prague 1 (Aggr 3-2)

Courtesy of Official Site-

Jamie O'Hara continued his run of firsts as we qualified for the last 16 of the
UEFA Cup thanks to a 1-1 draw and 3-2 aggregate score over Slavia
Prague.
After his debut, first start, first home game, first call into the
England U21 squad and first game in Europe, the young midfielder bagged his
first Spurs goal to secure our place against PSV - who beat Helsingborgs 4-1 on
aggregate - in the last 16.
However, the night wasn't without a few
heart-stopping moments and it needed a fine save from recalled Paul Robinson
after Slavia had equalised in the second half to keep our noses in front of the
overall tie. The visitors also struck the post.
Similar to the first leg in
Prague, it shouldn't have been that way as chances again came and went as we
dominated in the first half.
On just seven minutes, the only incident before
being a savage challenge on Teemu Tainio by Daniel Pudil, came a special moment.
A Spurs boy scoring his first senior Spurs goal. There was a spot of aerial
pinball going on following a throw-in from the right, before Dimitar Berbatov
bought some order to affairs by bringing down and steering into the path of
O'Hara. The Academy graduate was always going to take this one on and the net at
the Park Lane end was soon rattling after a fierce low drive that picked up a
slight deflection which foxed goalkeeper Michal Vorel. Approaching the midway
point in the half Tom Huddlestone stretched Vorel to his left with the resulting
rebound falling to Aaron Lennon. He looked ready to wrap boot cleanly around
ball, but instead his effort arrowed downwards and Vorel was able to foil. He
wouldn't have been able to so much about O'Hara's next effort had his volley
from a deep Taino cross fizzed a yard closer to the goalline though. Darren Bent
came within a coat of crossbar paint to adding his name to the scoresheet just
before the half hour mark when he athletically attempted to nod an O'Hara cross
over Vorel. The goalkeeper got fingertips to his effort and the underside of bar
did the rest. The recalled Paul Robinson - in as skipper - was worked for the
first time ten minutes before the break when Jaroslav Cerny unleashed a swirling
drive that took a wicked bounce in front of the 28-year-old, who did
particularly well to scoop away. The opening moments of the second half came
close to producing a goal for Robbie Keane who was drafted in for Berbatov.
Lennon's squirted cross from the right was met on the full by the striker but it
drifted just wide. There came a leveller five minutes into the half when a
sweeping Pudil cross from the left was struck beyond Robinson by Matej Krajcik.
Pascal Chimbonda took a heavy whack that left him struggling and Steed
Malbranque was soon summoned to the touchline. O'Hara switched to left back and
the Frenchman slotted in ahead of him. Robinson thwarted some increased Slavia
energy with two saves from headers before Strihavka struck the post with a neat
effort on the turn. Juande Ramos responded with the introduction of Jermaine
Jenas for Lennon. Malbranque then scurried inside in an attempt to provide Bent
with half a chance that he did well to reach but Vorel closed down the angle.
Robinson was then forced into spectacular action to turn away Milan Ivana
free-kick and Slavia were growing in belief of forcing extra time, ambitions
that were almost ended when Bent again struck the bar with a lofted
effort.
That was the last of the action and a mouth-watering clash against
the Dutch giants awaits.

Linked Here.

UEFA Cup Report: Slavia 1- Spurs 2

Courtesy of Official Site-

A one goal advantage will be taken into the second leg of our UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie after Slavia Prague were defeated by a 2-1 margin on Thursday night at the Evzena Rosickeho Stadium.

On reflection the whole contest should really be done and dusted as the Czech side were pretty much second best in all departments on their own patch. However, a goal on 70 minutes from David Strihavka offered Slavia hope on the night and will see them travel to White Hart Lane with just a deficit of one when it could have been many more.

We did not have to wait too long to see an away goal banked and Dimitar Berbatov was the executioner in the fourth minute. A Tom Huddlestone ball across led to Jermaine Jenas fancying his chances of a dart through, but he was blocked and it kicked up for the Bulgarian to dispatch a measured shot beyond the reach of home goalkeeper Martin Vaniak.

There was control in the cold in Prague, with a good deal of composure as Slavia struggled to establish a foothold in the game after the early setback. Radek Cerny, still an incredibly popular figure in these parts was not seeing a lot of action to keep him warm.

The same could not really be said of Vaniak who was again picking the ball out of his net on 30 minutes. Jenas, so impressive alongside Huddlestone in the heart of midfield, delivered an expertly measured pass that sent Robbie Keane scurrying away with a goal on his mind and the striker calmly dinked past Vaniak for his 20th goal of the season.

The scene of a 1-0 win last season was proving to be a happy hunting ground and, inspired by accurate passing out from the back, the midfield and attackers were picking an improving Slavia off on the break as the half neared a conclusion.

Vaniak did produce a fine double stop to deny Berbatov a further entry on the scoresheet before the break, a couple of hand-stinging efforts being well palmed away by the keeper and Jenas should really have made it three seconds later after an Aaron Lennon cross was clipped back across goal by Berbatov.

Some brilliant footwork from Huddlestone led to the crossbar being rattled shortly after the re-start before a Slavia half-chance from a Mickael Tavares header that caused Cerny slight alarm.

Substitute Jamie O'Hara, on for Teemu Tainio with Pascal Chimbonda switched to the left, initiated a sweet move that also comprised of Lennon cutting back for Keane, who slashed over.

Failure to up the conversion rate was punished with 20 minutes when Strihavka challenged Cerny for a cross and the goalkeeper failed to gather. The ball subsequently trickled into the net.

Darren Bent, who was introduced to proceedings just before the reduction of the deficit made some positive charges down the channels that could well have led to profit but some immaculate approach play in general was let down by the final pass on too many occasions. It really should have been tie over before Slavia's reply.

Vaniak produced a show-stopping save to foil a Berbatov free-kick that was heading for the top corner Bent struck the bar from a Huddlestone-inspired supply line.

Slavia pressed late on and nearly levelled when Erich Brabec rattled the crossbar with his header with just five minutes remaining, but it was the Spurs contingent in a crowd of 11,134 that left celebrating a win.

Linked here.

Match Report: Spurs 3 - Derby 0

Courtesy of Official Site-

Robbie Keane's 19th goal of the season and goals from Younes Kaboul and
Dimitar Berbatov sealed a deserved 3-0 victory over Derby County at Pride
Park.
It was certainly a hard-fought win and relative comfort was only
achieved in the 81st minute when Kaboul shook the netting in front of the
Spurs support, a moment that drained the spirit out of a Derby side who had been
highly competitive up to that point. Kenny Miller did force Radek Cerny into
some eventually meaningless action on four minutes, but it was a smart save
nonetheless, with the impetus taken out of it by a late flag. Darren Bent then
warmed the hands of Roy Carroll at the other end with a drive from an angle
following a counter-attack initiated by Jermaine Jenas getting the better of
Robbie Savage. The former Manchester United keeper moments later made an
excellent stooping stop to deny Keane's measured low shot from nestling in the
bottom corner. The game strangely lost two central defenders early on, first off
was Darren Moore for the home side and then Michael Dawson - Andy Todd and
Kaboul were summoned for an unexpected extended afternoon on the pitch. Midway
through the half Derby should have been celebrating an advantage. Kevin Boateng
gave the ball away in midfield and Stephen Pearson sped forward before releasing
Giles Barnes in front of goal. The wideman attempted and succeeding in steering
past Cerny, but also managed to steer around the upright. Referee Mr Atkinson
made a completely incorrect call at the half hour mark when a Steed Malbranque
supplied Bent break resulting in Aaron Lennon picking up the ball on the edge of
the area and being cleaned out by Todd - nothing given. Lennon's cross soon
after gave Kaboul the chance for a prod on goal with Carrol equal to the
challenge, but the first half could in no way be described as a festival of
free-flowing football because it was scrappy. Jamie O'Hara was introduced at the
beginning of the second half in place of Boateng, but it was Derby who created
the first half chance after the re-start with a Craig Fagan snapshot that was
foiled by Cerny. Charging towards the end heavily populated by Spurs people,
Alan Hutton screwed his shot wide after Jenas played the ball into his path
before a Carroll stop thwarted Huddlestone' attempt to net against his former
club. It was time for Dimitar Berbatov on 57 minutes, with Bent withdrawn after
playing his first game since December 15 at Portsmouth, but it was the home side
who were cranking up the pressure at this point in the contest. Keane struck a
post at the end of a passage of play that resulted in a flag being held aloft
before the breakthrough was made with 67 minutes showing on the clock. It was
the industry of Malbranque cutting in from the left that carved out the opening,
his shot only being pushed away by Carroll and the loose ball was seized upon by
Keane who tapped in No.19 for the season before sharing his celebrations with
the travelling thousands. Carroll then made a double save from Jenas and
Berbatov to prevent a doubling of the advantage before an O'Hara cross should
probably have been tucked away by the Bulgarian. On 81 minutes it was two and
victory confirmed when, from a Lennon corner and a dinked header from Pascal
Chimbonda, Kaboul brilliantly sidestepped his marker Miller and fired past
Carroll.
The third goal arrived in injury time when Mabranque's cross was
handled by Fagan and Berbatov made the penalty look easy. A deserved win.

Linked here.

Team News 2/8/08 and Intertoto Cup Confirmation

Courtesy of Official Site-

Jonathan Woodgate is suspended for Saturday’s match against Derby County in the
Barclays Premier League at Pride Park.
Jonathan Woodgate is suspended for
Saturday’s match against Derby County in the Barclays Premier League at Pride
Park.
The defender picked up his fifth yellow card against United and sits it
out for one match.
Ledley King is rested for this fixture while Didier Zokora
remains on international duty for the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations.
He plays in the third/fourth place play-off against Ghana on Saturday.
Good
news sees long-term injured Gareth Bale and Benoit Assou-Ekotto begin their
rehabilitation, although both are out for the season.
Meanwhile, we can
confirm that the Club has applied to enter next season's Intertoto Cup. The
Football Association is allowed one entrant being the highest placed of the four
clubs finishing immediately outside the automatic European qualifying places.

Linked here.

Substitute Rule Change

Courtesy of Official Site-

CLUB SUCCESS IN BRINGING ABOUT SUBSTITUTES RULE CHANGE
The Club is delighted
that its proposal to amend Rule E26 was approved at the Premier League
Chairman’s meeting this week. The Rule change will see the number of substitutes
named for Premier League games increase from five to seven - and will be
implemented from the start of next season, 2008-09 onwards.
The current rule
allows for five nominated substitutes and has remained unchanged for 12 years.
It means the League falls into line with major European leagues, UEFA and
international tournaments in allowing seven substitutes. Chairman, Daniel Levy,
commented: “We at Tottenham Hotspur have promoted and lobbied for this rule
change for some time and we are absolutely delighted our proposal was supported
by member clubs.” “It’s important that there is a level playing field across all
competitions. We constantly refer to ourselves as the most attractive
footballing league in the world, but in order to both maintain that label and
improve our competitive edge, it is important to give our managers and coaches
greater choice on the substitutes bench, enabling them to be more creative
tactically. That was the objective behind us bringing this proposal to the
table.” “Additionally, it should also mean that younger players from the academy
can be given an opportunity to break into the First Team.”

Linked here.

Bale out for the Season

Courtesy of Official Site-

Gareth Bale has had his cast removed today as he continues his recovery from a sprained ligament in his right foot.

The 18-year-old suffered the injury in our Premier League match against Birmingham City in December and although the Wales international is making good progress he is expected to be out for the remainder of the campaign.

"Gareth's injury was reviewed today and although the surgeon was happy with the results of the X-rays he does not anticipate Gareth being able to play any further part in this season," said Sporting Director Damien Comolli.

"We are all disappointed for Gareth, but he is still very young and his long-term fitness is our priority."

Linked here.

Match Report: Spurs 1 - ManU 1

Courtesy of Official Site-

Dimitar Berbatov scored the goal that came within about ten seconds of securing a memorable White Hart Lane win over Manchester United on Saturday.

His first half strike was so nearly enough on a day that marked the debut of Alan Hutton and the home debut of Jonathan Woodgate and the defending was immaculate. However, deep into stoppage time, a corner resulted in the ball squeezing in at the near post and, although Carlos Tevez was credited with the goal, the final touch appeared to come off Michael Dawson.

Back to the start and there was half a chance for United following a run of typical purpose from Tevez, which led to Pascal Chimbonda - playing at left-back - miscalculating an interception and Wes Brown was presented with a shooting chance that ballooned over the bar.

Neither team exerted particular control in the opening 15 minutes, although a Berbatov surge down the left flank came close to resulting in an opening, but his final pass was cut out by Owen Hargreaves in front of goal.

A Jermaine Jenas run down the right got the game going on 20 minutes, the midfielder embarked on a sprint with Hargreaves and he had a decent penalty shout after seemingly being felled inside the area. No matter. Aaron Lennon picked up the loose ball and drilled across goal, Edwin van der Sar could only parry and Berbatov was on hand to stroke the ball into the back of the net.

Dawson later came close with a close-range header from a Lennon corner and the initiative was clearly with the team in white. A brilliant run and expertly flighted cross from Lennon looked perfectly set for Berbatov to smash in a second ten minutes before half-time, but this time the accuracy was lacking from the Bulgarian.

Tom Huddlestone had the chance to fire in a free-kick just before half-time after Hargreaves handled and stopped Lennon on the run. The United player was not even booked as his team-mates applied huge pressure on referee Mr Clattenburg.

A deflected Huddlestone shot dipped just wide early in the second half before Berbatov was the supply line for Keane to shoot on goal, but his effort was calmly foiled by Van der Sar.

United responded to the flow of the second period with the introduction of Nani and Anderson just before the hour mark, with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs making way.

The boys continued pressing, with Lennon, Hutton really making in-roads down the right hand side and Huddlestone and Jenas dovetailing was almost effortless ease in the centre.

The visitors were showing a spiteful side with some poorly timed challenges flying in that received little in the way of punishment from the official. Dawson did pop the ball in the net on 69 minutes but it came after a messy jump with Van der Sar.

The team were relentless in their energetic approach and kept piling forward, while remaining stubborn and robust at the back. Another goal was the least their efforts warranted.

Huddlestone fizzed in another shot on 74 minutes, but again it was diverted by an untimely deflection. At the other end a wickedly zipped in shot from Anderson looked like it was heading for the bottom corner until Radek Cerny stooped and palmed wide.

Kevin Boateng was introduced in place of Lennon for the final 12 minutes as the pressure on the Park Lane goal we were defending began to increase. Wayne Rooney was booked for diving in the area with six minutes left after a challenge with Dawson.

United hammered at the gate in the final moments before our net rattled as we were about celebrate a victory over the champions.

Linked here.