Soccer

Son rises at new stadium as Spurs reclaim third place

It was a winning start for Tottenham at their new ground as they overcame Palace

Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League win Crystal Palace. Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

David Hytner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Wed Apr 3 2019 - 22:12

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Crystal Palace 0

They had come to marvel and to party but what the Tottenham hordes truly wanted from the night when their jaw-dropping new stadium was unveiled was a win; a tonic to re-energise their faltering push for a top-four finish.

The nervous excitement crackled, particularly during a helter-skelter first-half, and there were times when Daniel Levy, the “big boss” as Mauricio Pochettino had called him on Tuesday, might have given his £1bn kingdom for a goal. Further dropped points were not a part of his script.

Then, it happened. The honour of marking this venue’s first goal went to Son Heung-min and it was easy to think at that moment, as the tension was lanced among the majority of the 59,215 in attendance, that there could have been few more popular scorers. It was Son’s 17th of the season and one that will stand the test of time.

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Fireworks go off as the teams enter the pitch at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire

Would the stadium boost Spurs or not? There had been no shades of grey. After four defeats and a draw in their previous five Premier League games, they simply had to win. Son’s goal soothed them and Christian Eriksen would add a second. To paraphrase Pochettino, this stadium has to have Champions League football. Spurs feel back on track.

Pochettino’s message had to be to play the game and not the occasion but it was easier said than done. The club have waited so long for this moment – in Daniel Levy’s case, it has been practically the duration of his 18-year chairmanship – and it was always going to be emotional.

Take the opening ceremony, for starters, which featured the students of Gladesmore Community School performing Everybody Dreams. They first produced it in 2012 – one year on from the riots that were sparked in this area – and it is meant to serve as an anthem of hope for the young people of Tottenham.

When Lanya Matthews, a former Gladesmore student, who appeared on last year’s X-Factor, belted out the vocals, she advertised not only her incredible talent but the upscale acoustics inside the bowl. Flags fluttered, fireworks exploded and, when it was over, the roar from the home support was stirring. It was the definition of an I-was-there-moment. Goodness knows what was going through the minds of the Spurs players. No pressure, then.

The early exchanges were frenzied, best summed up by Son Heung-min winning a corner and then turning to the crowd to whip them up some more. Pochettino’s starting 4-4-2 set-up had a new-build feel, with Dele Alli in a deep central midfield role and Danny Rose at left midfield. Jeffrey Schlupp ran through in the third minute to thrash a shot off target for Palace – a good chance wasted – and, from a Spurs point of view, it was imperative to settle the anxiety.

Palace have a better record away from home than at home this season and there were no surprises about how Roy Hodgson set up. He prioritised solidity and keeping the space between the lines to a minimum. Spurs pressed onto the front foot, adrenaline pumping, desperate to find the breakthrough that would shape the occasion.

They were too desperate, at times. Witness Jan Vertonghen’s blocked 40 yard shot after 31 minutes. Alli got himself booked for leaving a boot in on Luka Milivojevic. Kane mucked up a free-kick from the edge of the area; should Christian Eriksen have taken it? Rose looked for Kane rather than taking on the shot when well-placed.

Son scores the first goal at the new stadium. Photo: WIll Oliver/EPA

Spurs were camped in the Palace half before the interval and they created chances but too often, they snatched at them. Patrick van Aanholt got across to deny Kane with a fine challenge and the closest the hosts came in the first-half was when Eriksen got off a low shot from Kieran Trippier’s cut-back. Vicente Guaita snaked out an arm to save.

Over in one corner of the lower tier, the Palace fans chanted their songs without pause and there were periods when their voices were the only ones that hung in the chilly night air. The home crowd implored and fretted at various times. Where was the goal that they craved?

They got it on 55 minutes. Eriksen robbed Milivojevic and spread the ball wide right for Son, who was shown inside. As he had previously, the forward jinked and searched for the space. Then it opened up and he shot. There was a degree of fortune because the effort flicked off Milivojevic, who had charged back across and flung himself into a block. Spurs were not complaining.

Moments earlier, Michy Batshuayi had bent a shot narrowly wide of Hugo Lloris’s far post but now Spurs had their touchstone. Kane curled over from Alli’s pass and the Spurs striker was central to the second goal. Initially, it appeared that he had been fouled by James McArthur – he had not – but everybody stopped. Eriksen did not and he swept home.

Palace pushed, going close through Van Aanholt, the substitute Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha but it was too little, too late. Guaita would deny another substitute, Lucas Moura, at the very end. Spurs had what they craved. – Guardian