A Game of two halves - Spurs v West Brom

By Dave P
February 13 2005

In football punditry there are always cliches being used to describe events on the field and one of the most used is 'It was a game of two halves'. Never has that cliche been so true when applied to the events at White Hart Lane this weekend.

The team news came through on all the mobiles in the pub before the game and there it was. We had spent the season trying to find width, with Mendes, Brown and the purchase of Reid so what do we do when we get an important Cup game. Its a 4-3-3 system that is going to be employed. Could be interesting we all thought as we made our way into the ground. Three strikers and get at them seemed to be the plan of the day.

Kick off and we proceeded to....., well, they proceeded to get stuck into us and stick two fingers up at our Plan A and within eleven minutes they were ahead and deservedly so. Zoltan Geras cross found Kanus head which found the back of our net. Then it was Campbell and Robinsons turn to test our England keeper Robinsons ability to keep his team in the game single handedly. Approaching half time we had only had one meaningful shot which Defoe had put well over the bar.

Then with a minute or so left of a pitiful first half Kelly ran into the Albion box only to be upended by Hoult in their area as he charged out. Definite penalty it seemed at the time but some have since suggested to me that it may not have been. Without the benefit of having seen it again I reserve judgement on that. While we were all waiting for the ref to show the keeper a card of some sort he sneaked off the pitch injured allowing Tomasz Kusxczak to come and try and block Keanes penalty to no avail. One each and we did not deserve to be anywhere near West Brom, let alone level.

Half time and no doubt Hansen was having a field day in the BBC box while those of us in the ground were praying that Jol would switch back to 4-4-2 and not persist with a plan that was not working. Fortunately Jol is not David Pleat and he does store a Plan B or two in the dressing room and the sight of a re-vitalised Simon Davies replacing a fairly ineffective Robbie Keane was a welcome sight indeed.

And so it proved as we then looked like a team that knew what they were doing. Davies out wide, cutting in and running with the ball (Diggers definitely back), Retro on the other side and Brown and Carrick free to do what they do best and the breakthrough came five minutes into the half as for once we actually made a free kick just outside the box count. Carrick squaring to Defoe who rifled the ball straight into the middle of the net from just outside the box - stunning strike, 2-1 and in command for the first time in the game.

Five minutes later Kanoute weaved, stepped over and then squared the ball to Jermaine who again made no mistake. 3-1 and cruising. But for some seemingly bizzarre offside calls by the linesman in the West Brom half we could have had a few one on ones after that. West Brom rallied a bit after the introduction of Earnshaw but still we went forward with Defoe denied his hat-trick by a wonderful save. Some long periods of possession ensured that Albion only really had one more chance as a Neil Clement free kick went through a gap in the wall at pace but straight down the throat of Robbo.

So it ended three - one and a TV Audience will hopefully remember what they saw of us in the second half and will soon forget our little dabble with a Svenlike 4-3-3 experiment. Now we have a week to get our tickets for what will surely be a very good opportunity to knock out a Forest side that will not helped by having just sold their best two players to someone (oh, that's us isn't it). Let's hope that its another game of two halves, two good halves for us.

After the game Bryan Robson apparently alluded to the officials not giving decisions their way during the game but had the lino nearest me got his offsides right I feel we may even have won the game by a bigger margin. How a player (Kelly) can receive a ball, turn and go round the player behind him, and then be given offside is beyond me.

Still, it's the cup, It's the year of the cockerel and we're through and that's what counts.