against Huddersfield.
Spurs put four past Huddersfield in their last top flight meeting for a while, like they did in their first top flight meeting for a while, winning the two games in between two nil.
Before that first meeting last season, Huddersfield were on the up, they’d started their first season back in the top flight, their first in the Premier League, very well. Spurs four nil thumping that day stopped the good times. They slowly slipped down the league, just surviving thanks to that start.
This season they didn’t start well and haven’t got any better. This game summed them up perfectly. They can’t defend and they can’t score. It’s not a good combination.
They had chances in this game, a couple of really good ones. They’ve got nothing up front and that nothing has to do something over the final four games or they’ll end up with the record for the fewest goals scored in a Premier League season. The 2007/8 Derby County side are the current holders with 20. Huddersfield have 19 so far.
So after saying all that, Spurs have to just beat what is put in front of them. Doing so with a much changed team, thanks to injuries to key players and players that are now the key players being rested.
In the absence of the man who stands up when Harry Kane is absent, Son, it was Moura who stood up, scoring the first hat-trick at the new stadium and his first for the club.
Though, none was probably the best goal of the game, that honour went to the twinkle toed spaghetti monster, Victor Wanyama, who did his best Ricky Villa impersonation, 24 minutes in. It wasn’t the usual Wanyama goal, no pile driver this one. He had been encouraged to go for one earlier but he dragged it wide. Davies played the ball into the target man, Llorente, probably due to being fouled, Wanyama ran onto the free ball, into the box and around the keeper to tap it in.
Huddersfield didn’t have to to collect themselves as the second, Mura’s first, came just over two minutes later. Foyth won the ball on the right, passing inside to Sissoko who went on a surge up field before flicking the ball out to Moura. The Brazilian was in the box, turned and to the shot straight away. Excellent finish, which shows the benefit of not hanging around. Don’t let ’em get organised. Just bang it.
The rest of the first half was much the same of Spurs having the ball but not finishing them off. As was the second half. Llorente showed one of the main advantages of Kane and Son, when he had to get the ball on his “strong” foot, messing up the chance. With Spurs’ two main men they are comfortable shooting with either foot, so don’t have to waste time allowing defenders to get in there and the keepers don’t have time to react.
It carried on until Sissoko came off, seventy five minutes in. Then Huddersfield got into the game. Who’d ever thought you’d be reading those words?
It took to just before full time for the first of those two extra goals to come. Walker-Peters winning back the ball, a bit of pirouetting and he played in Eriksen down the right wing. His cross found Moura in the box – good job it wasn’t a set piece as he just found Huddersfield players with them – Moura took the ball down with his first touch and semi-scuffed it home with his second.
Five minutes later, three into added time, he got the match ball. Son who had come on for the injured Llorente was in acres of space in the middle of the park, he charged forward and then put the ball in the channel for Moura to run into the box, onto it and again a first time shot and the ball was past the keeper, who hadn’t a chance.
As a warm up for the second leg of the Champions League quarter final away to Man City, this wasn’t a like for like game but important players – Son – weren’t injured, while Moura got a full 90 minutes and got some confidence from scoring the hat-trick, he’s now got 10 goals in the league, which is not bad.
But it’s all set up for Wednesday…