Spurs v Bolton - match report

Bolton Report
By PedroLlave
February 25 2007

This was an exciting day for me, my brother and my dad. It would be a long-overdue return to the Lane for all of us. My last game was over two years ago against Norwich during the brief reign of Jacques Santini – where we were fortunate to come away with a 0-0 draw. My brother’s previous match was another ‘bore-draw’ this time the first match of the 01/02 season against Aston Villa. The least said about my dad’s last trip to the Lane the better (a deflected Darren Anderton free kick got us a barely deserved 1-1 draw against Leeds United some time in the mid-90s).

It would be a strange and nostalgic homecoming. The similar crush into the train at Liverpool Street, the envious glances at my neighbour’s bag of chips and the short walk to the ground through the houses. I picked up my match day programme and got change for a fiver, which was a pleasant surprise and as I flicked through Martin Jol’s match day notes I was reminded about what a challenge Bolton would present for us today.

A great deal was made of Bolton’s much vaunted away record (6 victories away from home – as good as Manchester United) and their combative style of play. My own memories of playing Bolton at the Lane conflicted strongly with the trepidation shown by the current management. I had been lucky enough to borrow a season ticket for our Carling Cup match on the way to the final in 2001/02. In that match we ran out 6-nil winners thanks to a first half hat-trick from Les Ferdinand. I took this previous result to be a good sign, and the favourable omens were helped by a thumping personal victory in a tough squash match that very morning. I had my fingers crossed for a similar result today.

The two teams lined up after the typical rousing music at the Lane and Spurs started the match much the brighter of the two teams. The Spurs players looked fresh and hungry for success – you’d think it was they who had spent the week sipping piña coladas by the pool in Tenerife - not Bolton. The incisiveness of our passing and the zip of our players contrasted starkly with this lethargic Bolton side. Aaron Lennon started the match on the left and immediately struck fear into the Bolton defence with a typically mazy run that was only stopped by a scything challenge that got nowhere near the ball bringing a Spurs free kick.

Spurs continued to dominate and within 10 minutes the pressure led to an excellent goal from Robbie Keane. Berbatov laid off the ball after Robinson had started the move with a long free kick from his own half, and Keane scored from a tight angle with a vicious left-footed strike that crept inside Jaaskelainen’s near post from 12 yards out.

Bolton mounted a quick response and a trademark cross from the right hand side was headed down towards goal by Stelios and well saved by Paul Robinson who palmed the bouncing ball away from danger. What impressed me next was the speed of our counter-attack. Spurs immediately went up the other end and pressured the Bolton goal. The attack came to nothing, but it was so refreshing to see a quick counter from this Spurs team that last season felt the need to labour almost every attacking move with slow build up play.

Spurs doubled their lead on the 18th minute with Dimitar Berbatov once again heavily involved. He laid off Robbie Keane who was given space to shoot after some intelligent off the ball running from Aaron Lennon. His shot was saved, but Jermaine Jenas was there following up to bundle the ball into the net off his knee.

The fans were already in Seventh Heaven when Aaron Lennon started the move that lead to the goal of the match and possibly the best team move and finish I have seen from Spurs this season. Lennon advanced the ball on the left before picking out an unmarked Pascal Chimbonda on the right hand touchline with an excellent cross-field pass along the floor. Chimbonda raced forward playing a neat one-two with Tainio before advancing into the box. Robbie Keane’s movement was fantastic. First he feigned as if he was going to peel away towards the edge of the 6 yard box, then as the defender went with him he slipped behind him to back-heel Chimbonda’s perfectly timed cross into the net leaving the poor Bolton defender marking thin-air!

As the chants of ‘Are you West Ham in disguise’ rang out across the stadium I began to wonder if there was any chance of a repeat of the 6-nil scoreline from my last match against Bolton. In fact, 6-nil seemed to be a conservative estimate of the final score and I was licking my lips with the anticipation of another Spurs goal when a poor refereeing decision threatened to ruin the party atmosphere in the stadium. Lee Young-Pyo had just brilliantly cleared a Diouf clearance, and received the congratulations of nearly the entire team, when an excellently taken Bolton corner was headed goalwards by Ivan Campo. Robbie Keane was literally on hand to stop the goal being scored, when Graham Poll blew up and awarded a penalty to Bolton. Adjudging Keane to be the last man he was promptly dismissed much to my disbelief – this was most definitely not in the script. Despite Keane protestations that the original shot had hit is chest, not his arm, Graham Poll had made up his mind and Gary Speed coolly finished the resultant penalty.

None of the the previous Spurs sides I have seen over the last 15 years or so were particularly renowned for having much of a backbone and with a long history of surrendering 3-nil leads (most notably against Manchester United under Glenn Hoddle and most recently against Manchester City) I feared the worst. Much to my surprise Bolton did not seem particularly galvanised by the man advantage and it fell to Teemu Tainio to have the final chance of the half, firing wide from a Berbatov through pass.

So, Spurs had played out the final 10 minutes of the 1st half after the sending off without conceding and so we began what we thought would be the slow-torture of the 2nd half Spurs bravely attempt to protect their two goal lead. Spurs started the 2nd half with much the same verve as we had started the 1st and Berbatov showed that he was just as capable playing on his own as he was alongside Keane. After a good run from Lee Young-Pyo Berbatov carved out a solo chance for himself which was well saved again by Jaaskelainen.

Bolton pressured the Spurs goal themselves, but only in fits in starts and struggled to find the perfect range with their infamous long passing. Without the aerial ability of Kevin Davies, they were unable to expose Lee’s lack of inches in the left back position. The diminutive Korean had clearly learnt from the mauling he received from Davies in last season’s match and acquitted himself excellently in the air. Diouf was a constant threat on the Bolton left, but was equally matched by the outstanding Pascal Chimbonda – a man who would’ve been a shoe-in for ‘signing of the season’ were it not for the sublime Dimitar Berbatov.

There are no adequate superlatives to describe the performance from this man. He played so well I often found myself thinking, ‘this man is almost too good for us’. He gave a demonstration of the solo forward’s art that should be recorded and studied in depth by any budding striker. Despite the attentions of, at times, three Bolton defenders he was able to control the ball and bring a pass down on a sixpence before fashioning a goal-scoring chance. He gave a constant outlet for the long ball clearances from the Spurs players and was an unending threat for the Bolton defence.

Aaron Lennon also deserves a special mention for his all-round play today. We all knew that he had electric pace, but he showed here that he is a proper footballer as well. He supported Lee throughout the 2nd half and helped to nullify the Bolton attacks on the Spurs left hand side. At the same time his speed allowed us to counter-attack at great pace and prevent the Bolton players from piling forward in the attack.

Zokora was everywhere (often filling in at left back to cover the forward play of Lennon and Lee) and even when Sam Allerdyce threw on another forward in the form of Henrik Pederson, it was a credit to his midfield endeavor, ably assisted by Tainio and Jenas, that Spurs still looked the more likely team to score. Robinson was able to make an easy save from the otherwise anonymous Anelka – we barely even had a chance to boo the ex-Arsenal player – so infrequently did he touch the ball.

As the game wore on, you could visible see the Spurs player bond together as 10 men against the odds. Martin Jol even had the luxury of making an attacking substitution, bringing on the silky skills of Steed Malbranque for the steely efficiency of Teemu Tainio. Malbranque supported Berbatov upfront and the two skillful players combined brilliantly, with Jenas often arriving forward in support along with Lennon. Together they fashioned an excellent chance for the small Frenchman on the 75th minute which was deflected over the crossbar.

Jaaskelainen was kept busy throughout the 2nd half and had to make a sharp double save, first from a Jenas thunderbolt, then from Malbranque only 5 yards out. Unfortunately for Malbranque the chance didn’t quite fall right for him and he got no power on the shot. In the 76th minute substitute Vaz Te had Bolton’s best chance of the match from open play. A trademark Bolton move – cross to the back post – headed back across goal, was headed over from only 6 yards by Vaz Te when it looked easier to score. From my vantage point in the Lower West Stand I was sure it was in, but the sight of the dispirited Bolton players slowly trudging away from our goal cooled my shaky nerves.

As the match wore on, and Bolton committed more and more men to the attack, Spurs became more and more adventurous themselves as they realised that with less than 10 minutes to go Bolton’s chances of salvaging a point from this game had almost gone. A lightning quick counter-attack saw Spurs with four against three in the Bolton half, however, a poor pass from Malbranque went straight to a Bolton player and the attack broke down. However, it was simply an omen of what was to come and in injury time, after Didier Zokora had left the pitch to a roaring ovation on the 89th minute suffering from cramp, Malbranque found himself bursting into the Bolton box once again after a superb 30 yard pass from Berbatov. Delaying and delaying his pass he timed his final ball across the Bolton 6 yard box to perfection and Lennon was on hand to stab the ball home against the body of Jaaskelainen.

It had been the perfect finish to an excellent performance from Spurs and a triumphant return for me personally to White Hart Lane. Keane’s red card was an annoyance and a shame as he looked on course for a memorable hat-trick. However, his sending-offvisibly brought the other players closer together to produce a fine team performance. Bolton were inexplicably poor during this match and their players will face a stern dress-down from Sam Allerdyce this evening, but it takes nothing away from this gutsy performance.

Positives for Spurs:

-Great team performance.
-Lightning fast counter-attacks rather than the more familiar, slow, plodding build up.
-Zokora, a fantastic all action performance. Driving runs, tackles, positional awareness. Michael who?
-Aaron Lennon’s coming of age as an all-round footballer not simply a wing-wizard.
-Berbatov. Pure class. One of the top5 strikers in England at the moment.
-Dawson. Imperious at the back
-Chimbonda. Defending, attacking, heading, passing, dribbling. He does it all.
-Lee. Got forward well and his confidence has clearly grown as he has adapted to English football. Has responded well to the challenge of Ekotto.
-Keane. Excellent finish and link up with Berbatov.
-Malbranque. Our new super-sub! Provided an extra dimension when he came on and should be given more opportunities just behind the front two – especially in home games.
-Honourable mentions for Jenas, Tainio and Robinson– all of whom played their roles excellently today.

Negatives:

-Rocha. Still looks nervous and somewhat hesitant, on a couple of occasions he fluffed his clearances and was fortunate to be playing in such a confident unit today. Had little to do and coped well with the aerial challenge, yet has some considerable improvement to make before he can replace King Ledley.

Referee:
- Graham Poll. Despite the sending off he had an excellent game I thought. I barely noticed him and he did his best to let the game flow, yet at the same time punished the more physical aspects of Bolton’s game when they overstepped the mark. It’s a pity that he will only get blame for the sending off as that ignores the how well he dealt with practically every other situation.