Spurs - 3 West Brom - 1:FA PREMIERSHIP: Tottenham moved up to seventh on the back of this victory but Glenn Hoddle was not in an entirely celebratory mood. This was a poor Spurs performance and the manager knows a repeat will hardly bring such a favourable result next weekend at home to Arsenal.
Tottenham were not two goals better and won only because they finished a good proportion of their chances, whereas West Bromwich Albion missed far too many of theirs. Give Thierry Henry and company half-a-dozen decent opportunites and defeat surely beckons.
Having taken an early lead through Christian Ziege, Spurs gave West Brom enough openings in the next 25 minutes to have fallen behind. As it was, Robbie Keane's strike put them 2-0 ahead at the interval but Hoddle is aware such charity needs cutting out.
"I said to the boys at half-time: 'If that's next week, we are three behind before we start', " Hoddle fumed.
Even in the second half West Brom had the openings to have equalised after pulling a goal back. Gary Megson's team played well enough to have earned a draw but, all the same, this was a reminder of why they are struggling. Matching opponents and passing well counts for little if chances are wasted and goals given away.
"I don't think we were outplayed but we were out-finished," Megson said. What Hoddle must have learned, particularly in the first half, is that he will have to employ a different midfield combination against Arsenal. He left out Steffen Freund, opting for finesse rather than grit by using Darren Anderton, Jamie Redknapp and Simon Davies.
His thinking was that such players would be needed to break down West Brom, but they struggled when Megson's players carried the fight after going 1-0 down. Spurs were overrun for most of the opening 45 minutes, lacking a ballwinner and the competitiveness to match West Brom's relentless, high-energy approach.
Jason Koumas repeatedly caught the eye with his ability to run with the ball and deliver decent passes. Tottenham's use of possession was sloppy, with Anderton especially out of sorts. But they were not made to pay because of West Brom's lack of incisiveness.
"At half-time the gaffer told us to get our fingers out," said Keane, who took his goal well but shortly after missed a second one on one. Spurs did improve, but marginally. They were grateful to the impressive Chris Perry at times.
Before the lively substitute Scott Dobie had pulled a goal back for West Brom, Spurs were thankful that Kasey Keller had been shown only a yellow card after clipping Dobie outside the area.
A scrappy goal eventually polished West Brom off. Steffen Iversen's shot was saved but Gus Poyet squeezed the ball in.
TOTTENHAM: Keller, Carr, Perry, Richards, Ziege, Davies, King (Iversen 64), Redknapp, Anderton, Sheringham (Poyet 74), Keane. Subs Not Used: Hirschfeld, Ferdinand, Doherty. Booked: Ziege, Keller. Goals: Ziege 3, Keane 30, Poyet 80.
WEST BROM: Hoult, Balis, Wallwork, McInnes, Clement, Johnson (Adam Chambers 85), Gregan, Sigurdsson, Koumas, Hughes (Dobie 55), Roberts (Dichio 81). Subs Not Used: James Chambers, Murphy. Booked: Clement. Goals: Dobie 73. Attendance: 35,958.
Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire). Guardian Service
