Tottenham 2 West Brom 2:FOR TOTTENHAM Hotspur the Europa League beckons along with the prospect of treks to faraway places with strange-sounding names.
Not so much a question of when Saturday comes as when Thursday comes. Having tasted caviar in the Champions League, Spurs fans look like having to settle for fish paste next time round, reports David Lacey at White Hart Lane.
Their hopes of another top-four finish continue to be cursed by home draws, the latest of which saw them frustrated by a wonderful shot from a West Bromwich Albion substitute, Simon Cox, whose first goal in the Premier League denied Harry Redknapp’s side the three points which appeared to have been secured by Jermain Defoe’s 100th goal. A win for Manchester City at Blackburn tonight would leave Spurs four points and a lot of goals behind in fifth place.
With Redknapp’s team facing trips to Chelsea and Liverpool as well as Eastlands, Spurs look like staying where they are. There was not much wrong with their overall performance. Luka Modric orchestrated the attack in his usual way, Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart supplied the familiar quality of passes and crosses, Tom Huddlestone was a strong presence in midfield and Sandro beavered away after replacing Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who was forced off with a hamstring problem.
Tottenham were unfortunate in that Assou-Ekotto’s injury occurred as he challenged Peter Odemwingie for a ball from Carlos Vela, the Nigerian breaking clear to beat Heurelho Gomes with a low shot. But the defence had reacted sluggishly to the initial threat. Albion stood up well to the ensuing siege, with Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko denied more than the odd glimpse of a scoring chance.
The goals from Pavlyuchenko and Defoe were well-taken but were helped by defenders standing off for a second or two. Cox’s 81st-minute equaliser was pure inspiration. William Gallas seemed to have closed down all the options but the forward took one step sideways before unleashing a shot which curled over Gomes and into the top corner. “The kid’s hit a world-class shot,” said Redknapp. “What can you do about that?”
The result has left Albion with the 40 points which would normally be enough for a team to stay up although manager Roy Hodgson wants a few more to be sure. “It takes us to the psychological point of 40 and most people would say that’s enough,” he said. “I don’t.”
Guardian Service
