makes.
AVB was sacked leaving Dim Sherwood in charge, his first game in charge saw a demoralising League Cup quarter final loss, a year later Pochettino saw a 4-0 thumping of Newcastle at the same stage.
Not that long ago a Newcastle win at Spurs saw them turn their season around and go on a run of games that culminated in Alan Pardew picking up the manager of the month award. Spurs dumping them out of the League Cup showed that that award still works it’s magic.
Spurs opponents missing sitters, gifting goals away, allowing Townsend to assist, Roberto Soldado to score and then they avoid the two remaining Premier League teams left in the draw getting third division Sheffield United in the semi-final. Something’s not right here.
Early on saw the usual flaws in the system, Bentaleb. As twice Newcastle move through the middle of the park like he wasn’t there – even though he was and he was right next to the bloke with the ball – he played one good ball forward that led to a good chance but then got above himself and tried another forward pass that couldn’t have been more useless if it had been played by Townsend.
So no real surprise after I slagged off his ineptness that he ended up scoring the opener. Never mind how lucky it was as the visiting ‘keeper spilled the corner that Bentaleb latched onto after he’d pushed the defender out of the way – in other words fouled him.
The goal didn’t mean he had a good game. Sideways passing and not tackling wasn’t what’s required by this team. It hinders both attack and defence.
Newcastle were still very much in it and had an almost open goal at their mercy. They showed Spurs the mercy.
Though things were sort of over shortly, very shortly, into the second half. Hoping things wouldn’t go the way they did in the league game, where after a handful of seconds after the break Newcastle scored. It was the opposite, though it did take a bit longer, nearly half a minute.
Lovely ball by Eriksen – looking much more the part in the centre of things – to Chadli in the box looked to have been buggered up as they sort of got in each others road, after Eriksen had carried on his run, was turned around as Chadli ran across the face of the area, much like Townsend does except the Belgian finished it off by finding the back of the net, much like Townsend doesn’t.
The visitors then spurned another great chance. God only knows how both players in the middle of the goal a couple of yards out managed to not score but they did. Could it be Spurs’ night, Spurs’ cup?
It was all over just after the hour as Harry Kane got his usual goal. He’d had one cracking shot earlier in the night, a pile-driver just wide with his right foot, here he slid it in with his left after himself being slid in by Townsend. Don’t know what Andros was thinking, passing to someone else around the box, almost unheard of.
Just enough time for Soldado to get his name on the score sheet. A shot by Eriksen bring a save and the Danes third assist of the game, as Roberto was the only one to react to the ‘keeper’s save, his first touch looked to have blown the situation, he second was calmness personified as he put in the fourth.
Newcastle had chances again but in Vorm Spurs have the best number two ‘keeper in the land and he did his best Lloris impersonation to sweep, to make the saves and to rant at the defence as Hugo does.
All in all a decent game, the usual suspects were good the usual suspects were poor. It’s a cup within their grasp.