Match Report; Spammers (League) & Match Preview AZ Alkmaar (Europa) & C Palace (League).
Match Report; Spammers (League) & Match Preview AZ Alkmaar (Europa) & C Palace (League).
After our game against Brighton, where we were magnificent in the first half but capitulated in the second half, I was apprehensive about our game against the Spamming Tin Hammers. When their first goal went in I thought it was going to be the same-old-same-old Spursy Spurs.
Previously, I had predicted a 2-1 result, but Simon, who sits next to me at Tottenham, predicted 3-1. In the end, we were delighted we were both wrong and scored four past the struggling maroon bandits.
Janette accompanied me to this game, while Mel went on his own as he came from a different direction to me. Beforehand, we had a good meal with a glass of wine or two. We chatted with Tottenham Security, catering staff, and Premium members. All made the day worthwhile. It is such a friendly atmosphere, with everybody playing their part. Janet eventually joined us for part of that chat, then we made our way around to the other side, where we met other friends… before finally making our way to our seats.
For the first 18 minutes, we were a dominant team, but then suddenly, their winger Mohammed Kudus turned in the opening goal of the game from a Jarrod Bowen cross in the 18th minute, having missed a similar chance moments earlier. I turned to Simon next to me and said, “Well, that is the one goal they scored and we predicted. Now it is our turn.” We’ve got a habit of conceding first.
Then Dejan Kulusevski popped up for us and got a deserved equaliser, which squeezed in after hitting both posts in the 36th minute (where I was sitting, I thought it went straight out… but luckily my eyes were wrong).
As I said, we were already dominant in the first half. We took their game to another level after the interval, as James Maddison was substituted for Pape Matar Sarr.
Seven minutes later we scored as Yves Bissouma arrived to finish Destiny Udogie’s cutback to put us ahead, as I predicted. But as Simon said, “I’d rather have my score line than yours”. I concurred.
Son, who had been pulling the strings for the other goals, then saw his shot saved by Alphonse Areola but the ball deflected onto Jean-Clair Todibo leg, and then hit Areola on its way into their goal.
Five minutes later, Son scored by tucking in a finish after the Hammers failed to clear a loose ball but then hit the post with a similar chance as the Spamming plasterers turned over possession straight after the resulting kick-off.
The Spammers player, Kudus, was sent off after pushing both Sarr and Micky van de Ven in the face following an intervention from VAR Christopher Kavanagh.
Thoughts…
Our impressive attacking play earned us the result, and our second-half display helped to erase losing a disastrous 2-0 lead at Brighton before the international break.
I must give credit to Kulusevski, who has taken his game to the next level this season. After scoring at Old Trafford, he got a crucial first-half equaliser on Saturday afternoon.
His near-post effort settled some nerves in a key moment after we went a goal down early on.
Kulusevski is finding that his game is coming together this season now he is playing in his preferred attacking midfielder role.
Although he has only two goals and an assist this season, he is increasingly becoming one of the first names on Ange’s team sheet.
But it wasn’t just Kulusevski who stepped up to the mark; the others must also be given full credit for their role in the Spammers’ decline.
Ange’s next step is to get rid of this “Spursy” tag we got under Daniel Levy’s Hawkish control. Anyway… we must remember that the Spammers are struggling; they are fifteenth in the league and five points away from relegation. So far, the stiffest competition we have had this season was against Newcastle, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Brighton. Granted, they narrowly beat us, but they still beat us. Hopefully, we are on the road to improvement. Just mentioning Arsenic; they got beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth over the weekend… another good result we can celebrate… let us hope there are a few more such results over the course of the season.
Next up is our Europa League game, followed by a trip to relegation strugglers Crystal Palace.
Spurs v AZ Alkmaar (Europa League: Thursday)
We are the competition favourites to continue our pursuit of a long-awaited trophy when we host poorly AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday.
Match preview
Postecoglou prioritises the Europa League, and we have made an excellent start in this competition.
In the last seven games, the only outing we have failed to win was that disastrous trip to Brighton, and our opening two Europa League games ended in victory during that spell.
Despite being reduced to 10 men after 10 minutes against Qarabag, we still managed to win 3-0. The next match after that, in the Europa competition, we produced a professional away performance in Budapest to beat Ferencvaros.
So far, this means that we are one of five clubs still to have a 100% record in the UEL, with only Lazio and Lyon above us on goal difference. Extending that to three wins from three seems a huge possibility… as for AZ Alkmaar…
Since defeating Elfsborg, the Alkmaar club has seriously struggled with the increase in the quality of their opponents.
AZ have lost all eight previous European fixtures in England, conceding at least twice in each. They have also lost five of their last six games on the road across all venues in European competition.
Tottenham Hotspur Europa League form:
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Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):
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AZ Alkmaar Europa League form:
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AZ Alkmaar form (all competitions):
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Team News
We are without Wilson Odobert and Djed Spence for this one.
Pedro Porro has played 90 minutes in six straight games, including away in Hungary on matchday two and twice for Spain during the international break. So, will he play, I doubt it?
Radu Dragusin will return here and is likely to start so Postecoglou can hand a rest to his two starting central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.
My possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall; Moore, Richarlison, Werner
My prediction…
I say we will beat AZ Alkmaar 5-0. Wishful thinking or a good prediction? We have looked calm and relaxed in the Europa League so far despite an early red card against Qarabag and a late goal by Ferencvaros. AZ’s sorrowful recent form struggles in England and excellent home record in this competition suggest there is only one winner from this contest. Therefore, I say my 5-0 win is a good prediction.
Match Preview: Crystal Palace v Spurs this Sunday
Spurs
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We will go into this encounter after our 4-1 Premier League win over the wishy-washy Spammers. In this game we managed 57% possession and 22 shots on goal with 7 of them on target
Our previous league contest was on 02/03/2024, which ended with us beating Palace 3-1.
Team News
Depending on our game on Thursday, it could be an otherwise full-strength squad; there’s just a single fitness problem for us to be concerned about, and that is Wilson Odobert (Hamstring injury).
There’s a good chance that Spurs might play in a 4-1-4-1 lineup.
My predicted team selection for Palace: Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Yves Bissouma, Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Son and Dominic Solanke.
My prediction
We will win away from home 1-4.
That’s it, folks!!!
Glenn
Up the Spurs!