Orlando Pirates 0 - 3 Tottenham Hotspur (Vodacom Challenge FINAL)

By: Jay | July 28th, 2007

Vodacom Challenge logo
Manchester United have tried and failed where Tottenham Hotspur have succeeded. The Vodacom Cup is in the tight, bear-like grip of Big Martin Jol because the Spurs have beaten Orlando Pirates 3 - 0 in the final of the prestigious pre-season tournament.

Two goals from record signing Darren Bent and another from Dimitar Berbatov was enough to walk away with the trophy. The final game of the series worked out well for Tottenham, who will be glad to have won some silverware, even though it means little, and to have retained their 100% pre-season record. Three good games from South Africa, great fans and a great work out before the new season - the Vodacom Challenge has been a success. I must say that our hosts were brilliant, and we were supplied with excellent training facilities and made some new friends along the way.

The match itself was a slightly slower affair than our previous meeting with the Pirates, but we can put that down to a little fatigue, the higher altitude of the stadium and the very hot weather. It didn’t seem to faze Spurs as they raced to 3 goals within 22 minutes and the game was effectively over. Darren Bent looked very sharp, and whether he was trying to impress the manager or strike partner Dimitar Berbatov, I’ve evidently put him in my Fantasy Team instead of Robbie Keane. Saying that, my team has been through rigorous changes and is likely to have further changes before the start of the season. Anyway, with captain, and torch-bearing central defensive behemoth Ledley King out for a while yet, and to miss at least a month of the new campaign, we started with Dawson and Rocha in central defense. I’ll sum up Dawson’s performance by quoting commentator Tim Sherwood: “I see Dawson’s still got that magnet on his head from last season.”

Match report can be found here.

Spurs team: Robinson, Chimbonda, Stalteri, Dawson, Rocha, Malbranque (Maghoma, 83), Zokora (Jenas, 46), Huddlestone (Keane, 57), Taarabt (Routledge, 46), Bent (Defoe, 46), Berbatov (Tainio, 72). Subs: Cerny, Kaboul, O’Hara, Daniels.

The series is over and the next 2 friendlies are Leyton Orient (away) and Torino (home).

I’d love to write a bit more on issues like :-

Will the Egyptian’s leave?
How long will King be out for, and will it hurt us?
How good can Adel Taraabt be?
Who’s gonna start up front?
What, if any, will be our final transfers in before the new season?
Where can we realistically expect to finish in the Premiership?
Can I really win my Fantasy League with Richard Dunne at the back?

These are all valid questions. But they are for another time. Until then, bathe in the glory of watching these Spurs goals, whilst keeping a clean sheet. And if you listen carefully you can hear Darren Bent saying “have it” as he pushes the ball past the last defender on his way to scoring his second goal.