and give Swansea three points.
In true Spurs style they picked the wrong time to play one of the worst teams in the league, Swansea, just after they had a moral boosting snatch and grab victory.
From the off though it looked like there wasn’t going to be a South Welsh revival.
I’m thinking the recently installed Swansea boss Bob Bradley had focused on the wrong things in training this week. The Welsh side are particularly poor at defending set pieces. With a trip to Spurs, it something they really didn’t need to worry about.
They stuck to the standard flat back ten at The Lane routine. They’re only real advance into the Spurs’ half resulted in Taylor going through Walker at head height, that apparently didn’t merit a card of any colour.
Of all the moaning about officialdom in this week’s Premier League, most of it justified, I saw no mention of this assault. It didn’t even get a viewing on MotD. Imagine that happening elsewhere and not being shown at all. Bradley might whinge about the penalty but I didn’t hear him say his side should have been down to ten men for most of the game. Nor any of the pundits.
With that standard defensive wall, Spurs having all the ball, when Kane’s header from Walker’s cross was well saved by Flapianski it looked like being one of those days. Struggle to get past the blanket defence and when you do their ‘keeper having a blinder.
Well it took Dele falling over to change that. Kyle Naughton, he’s one of our own. Did touch him? I dunno, I know that when certain pundits of a certain era are adamant it wasn’t a foul, then it’s likely to be a foul. Though, Naughton is probably to useless even to foul him. Yes Dele went flying and it looked dodgy, but then these things even themselves out. Ten men vs dodgy pen.
Yes this was just Swansea but it was a better Spurs, much like the first half against Chelsea the week before there was actual life in the team. A week off?
In their face and pressing. It helps having Harry Kane back, he starts it and others feed off it. It has brought the Dele Alli we all fell in love with from last season back from his, probably Hodgson induced, stupor.
He played his part in the second, from Dier’s raking ball out to Walker, on to Kane, through to Alli, he was stopped in the box so dinked it off to Eriksen, his attempt was blocked to Son who brilliantly hooked the ball into the net.
A deserved half time lead from a half when Swansea offered next to nothing.
It didn’t take long into the second half before it really was game over. Swansea actually got into the Spurs half, almost into their box, but Wanyama hooked the ball clear, Kane knocked it back to Eriksen and his first time ball found Dele, he found the charging Son. The Korean got into the box and cut inside ready to go for goal he had the ball taken off his toe by Kane.
Yes, I did say game over, even tweeted it at the time – different words same sentiment. Yes I know it’s Spurs and it’s only a three goal lead but this is Swansea, this season and they are woeful. Can’t defend and can barely score. One shot all game, none on target, hardly got in the Spurs half. Gylfi Sigurdsson must have looked on and thought about the kind words Pochettino said about him pre-match.
The fourth took a little longer, over the hour but was notable in itself as it resulted in Eriksen going for a 50/50.
A break forward saw Kane play a nice one-two with Naughton, Dele’s attempt ballooned off the ‘keeper towards a defender and Eriksen at the back post. Eriksen went for it, saw a boot coming towards him, flinched out of going for it and saw the ball bounce of him and in.
Another Eriksen goal, I mean you wait years and two… err three… Yes Eriksen scored a brace. Three in two games, it’s a Christmas miracle. Amazingly he almost ended up with a hat-trick, again flinching out of the way after the ball rebounded to him, it could have gone in it went far over.
Vertonghen’s raking ball found the charging Sissoko, hmmm was he listening to Poch’s not so kind words, his square ball was stopped by Eriksen’s right before banging it in with his left.
It was no more than both teams deserved.
Do I qualify this one, much in the way I have with the other big victory this season. Everyone was doing Stoke when Spurs did Stoke, nearly everyone was doing Swansea when Spurs did ’em. But then Spurs weren’t coming out of a one win in nine run for the Stoke game, so maybe this one means a bit more.