Spurs v SC Braga - 2nd Leg match preview

Braga at Home
By MattoftheSpurs
March 13 2007

So here we are. The start of a trilogy of matches that could well shape our season. This is only Spurs' 2nd home match out of the last seven played and for those who travel extensively it's nice to be back at the Lane.

14th March 2007

 

Tottenham Hotspur Versus Sporting Club Braga

UEFA Cup

Round of 16, 2nd leg.

White Hart Lane.

Kick Off 8.15pm.

 

So here we are. The start of a trilogy of matches that could well shape our season. This is only Spurs' 2nd home match out of the last seven played and for those who travel extensively it's nice to be back at the Lane. The previous week saw the Lilywhites take on the Portuguese club and dispose of them quite comfortably 3-2. The score line, slightly skewed by two poor refereeing decisions. The first to award Braga a penalty when Tottenham were 2-0 was a joke quite frankly. Despite Paul Robinson saving the spot kick the rebound was duly dispatched. The second poor decision was awarding Braga a free kick that never was which again resulted in a goal for the Portuguese club. Up until that point Tottenham had dominated. Despite going in at the break at 0-0 it was the North Londoners who had dominated. Dimitar Berbatov especially had been excellent. So much so that lesser clubs in the Premier League have been casting jealous glances in his direction. Spurious articles have appeared from green eyed sources  but rest assured that Berbs is only too happy to lead the line at White Hart Lane.

 

The travelling faithful (and the anxious television audience) had to wait until the 57th minute before the deadlock was broken. Lennon on the left fed the ball To Keane in the centre and despite being heavily marked Keane managed to volley a shot high into the Braga net.

 

The lead was doubled in the 71st minute when Malbranque made no mistake when turning in Lennon's cross. Then came the refereeing errors which levelled the scores at 2-2. With the clock ticking down Spurs made the vital breakthrough in injury time. Zokora played a defence splitting pass and Keane managed to stay onside. Through one on one with the keeper Keane's strong shot was too much and flew into the roof of the net via the Braga keeper.

 

So Spurs go into the 2nd leg 3-2 but more importantly they have the 3 away goals. Braga need to score at least twice to stand any chance of an upset but Spurs should be too strong for them at the Lane.

 

This match will be the 8th European tie of the season so far. Tottenham have scored a total of 14 goals so far, averaging 2 goals a game and have conceded 4 averaging 0.57 conceded per game.

 

We will have to wait to see whether Jol will shuffle the pack as said before this is a trilogy of matches to be played over 6 days. Robinson and Keane, who both missed the Chelsea cup match through injury, could both possibly be available for selection. Ledley King will once again miss out. Chimbonda was rested for the FA Cup match and may still play a part on Wednesday.

 

It would be a major shock for Tottenham not to be in the draw for the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup but this game and this opposition cannot be taken lightly.

 

It's exciting times being a Spurs supporter at the moment and heralds well for the future.

One half of North London's season is over and it's up to the players, coaching staff and supporters to ensure that some pride is retained in this part of the world. That's why we are the Pride of North London.

 

Audere Est Facere.