Watford 1 Spurs 2: Back On The (Moose) Tracks

By: Sam | December 3rd, 2008

Bad pun, i know. Don’t care. Along with Burnley, Derby and Manchester United, we’re now part of the final quartet in the Carling Cup for the third year running. On a cold and dreary evening just north of London, the worst defensive side in the Championship went ahead on thirteen minutes through Hungarian Tamas Priskin, but a Roman Pavlyuchenko penalty seconds before half-time and a Darren Bent strike with fifteen minutes sealed the deal. Let’s extrapolate.

I must tell you, I was mighty nervous in those first twenty minutes, as I’m sure you were too if you’re a Yid. Every Spurs initiative seemed to stop dead and switch over to Watford, who on the other other hand seemed sharp, decisive and calm. The goal was a really pretty one, starting with an A+ tackle by Harley, who followed up and ran down the pitch, fed Priskin in the center who turned equally coolly and unleashed a near-perfect left-footed shot just beyond Gomes. Although the marking on the goal reminded me of your opponent on a video game set to Beginner, full credit to the boys in yellow for it. After that, we began to look a little more alive, for example Lennon’s fantastic cutback and outside-footed effort that was parried masterfully by Loach, who really did have an excellent match (except for the second goal, of course). After that, the hunger for an equalizer was clearly to be seen. Every potential interception was lunged on, like Jenas did midway through the half.

The best chance, however, fell to Pavlyuchenko, minutes before he scored, when somehow he inherited the ball on the corner of the box on a fast-paced move, all alone, but put a tiny, tiny bit too much on it and saw it painfully hit the bar. Two minutes later came the penalty, a unfortunate call for Jenkins but all in all the correct decision. He did catch him, and Jenas went down. That, my friends, is a penalty. Loach almost got to it, but in the end Roman got his seventh this season and we got a major confidence boost going into the second half.

In the second, there was a major turning point when Jay Demerit, who was having a solid game, was taken off due to Zokora accidentally trampling his thigh, and was replaced by Lloyd Doyley, who did just about nothing to help his team’s cause. On sixty-five, we made a switch of our own, putting Darren Bent on for the ever-improving Frazier Campbell. Full marks to Harry for that one. There were a great deal of chances after that, such as Dawson’s sliding effort on the corner, Woodgate’s header that was cleared off the line, and Bent’s near-miss from Assou-Ekkoto’s cross. The goal came, however, albeit with a bit of luck. Pavyluchenko had the ball tapped away from him and straight to Bent, who fired a super strike to the near post which squeezed past Loach, who really should have had it all the way. I’m not complaining, though. We did a fine job of protecting the lead, only really getting a bit scared with Hoskins’ shot with two minutes left, but that was well saved by Gomes.

After settling in and allowing that first goal, we really did gel and make some crisper passes and smarter decisions. On top of that, our boys were much more keen on trying their luck and just striking the bloody ball. That’s the mindset we have to get into every minute of every game. Just ask Darren Bent, who didn’t have much to look at when he nabbed the winner.

Individual marks:
Heurelho Gomes: I’m trying hard, but I can’t think of a bad thing to say about his performance. Couldn’t to anything on the goal, and made some really solid saves thereonafter. For once, was perfect in almost all of his aerial interventions. 7.5
Vedran Corluka: Not as involved as we’ve come accustomed to seeing him, but all the same a fairly consistent ninety minutes on his part. A number of smart blocks in and around the penalty area, but I want to see him up the field more often. 5.5
Benoit Assou-Ekkoto: Forget everything (okay, maybe not…) he’s done so far this season, he had a majestic match today. A few really good crosses that should have been turned in, and some strong defensive play. 7.5
Michael Dawson: As usual, was very good in the air, and was more often than not on top of things when it came to keeping the strikers at bay. Had some involvment going forward, but he can still do better with some of the decisions he makes. 5.5
Jonathan Woodgate: Elected MOTM, and I don’t want to hear anyone say he didn’t deserve it. Made some important challenges, almost scored and was as always a formidable presence defending set pieces. 7
Aaron Lennon: Everyone should try running at defenders with their right hand up. He knows how to get it done. Sometimes a bit lacking with the final ball, but we know we can expect this from him every game. Fierce runs and dangerous balls in. 7
Didier Zokora: Him, on the other hand, was not impressive. Was invisible for most of the game, except for two very decent runs on either side of the half. He has the ability to create, he just needs to understand it. 4
Jermaine Jenas: Hasn’t played very well the last couple of matches, but here’s an improvement. Showed strength and determination, had a few chances at goal. Still could contribute a bit more like he did last season, but it’s getting better. 6
Jamie O’Hara: Had a very productive first half, not really in the second. That said, he made some good runs and opened up play on a great number of occasions. Also was spot-on for many set-pieces. 6
Roman Pavlyuchenko: Everywhere at once. This is really the kind of striker we need at Spurs. Could easily have gotten more than one, but very much deserved his goal. Explosive going forward. 7.5
Fraizer Campbell: Absorbs everything he learns, every match, and puts it to good use. A couple chances, almost scored with that overhead attempt, and caused problems in the box. 6 / Replaced by Bent, who was involved in everything we threw forward, and got his just reward.

Monday we’ve got West Ham over at Upton Park. They drew Liverpool in the late match last week, so let’s build on this win without getting ahead of ourselves, and hope we’re fit and ready for then. Come on you Spurs!!!!!