TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR  2  (1)  BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION  1  (0) 
Date : –  1st November 2020 Kick off : –  19.15
Competition : –  Premier League  Venue : –  Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 
Crowd : –  0,000
Referee : –  Graham Scott (Berks & Bucks) Linesmen : – Mr. Simon Long; Mr. Tim Wood
Fourth official : – Simon Hooper
VAR official : – Jon Moss VAR Assistant : –  Nick Hopton
Weather : – Windy, chilly, rainy
Brighton kicked off the first half attacking the Park Lane end
Playing time : –    90+12 minutes

 

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION
GOAL-SCORERS
  Kane  (p)  12m 13s   Lamptey  55m 27s

  Bale  72m 32s
   
CARDS
  Ndombele (foul on Lamptey)  7   Burn (foul on Lamela)  45+4
  Reguilon (foul on Gross)  39
   

 

  TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR   BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION
   1.   Hugo LLORIS (c) 26.    Robert SANCHEZ
     
  2.   Matt DOHERTY   4.
 34.
33.
  Adam WEBSTER  (c)
  4.   Toby ALDERWEIRELD   Joel VELTMAN
15.   Eric DIER   Dan BURN 
  3.   Sergio REGUILON      
    2.   Tariq LAMPTEY  ( 10.   Alexis MacALLISTER  79)
  5.   Pierre-Emile HOJBJERG   3.   Ben WHITE
17.   Moussa SISSOKO   8.   Yves BISSOUMA
  20.   Solly MARCH  ( 30.   BERNARDO  65)
  7.   Heung-Min SON   (33.   Ben DAVIES  85)  
28.   Tanguy NDOMBELE     (18.   Giovani LO CELSO  64)
13.   Pascal GROSS
11.   Erik LAMELA   (  9.   Gareth BALE  7 )
14.   Adam LALLANA
     
 10.   Harry KANE  (p) 11.   Leonadro TROSSARD   ( 18.   Danny WELBECK  74)
Substitutes Substitutes
12.   Joe HART   1.    Mat RYAN
14.   Joe RODON 29.   Andi ZEQIRI
  8.   Harry WINKS 24.   Davy PROPPER
27.   Lucas MOURA 17.   Steven ALZATE

 

Manager : – Jose Mourinho Manager : –  Graham Potter
Kit Supplier : –  Nike Kit Supplier : –  Nike
Shirt Sponsor : –  AIA Shirt Sponsor : –  American Express
Colours : – 
Colours : –
Images of kits courtesy of the marvellous Colours of Football website

 

MATCH REPORT

After the disappointment of the loss in Antwerp on Thursday, Spurs needed to bounce back in this game at home to Brighton and the 2-1 win wasn’t easy, but earned Spurs a very welcome first home win of the season.  The Seagulls had plenty of possession, but their team changes handed a first game to a 21 year old goalkeeper and left the front line without a forward, leaving them without a focal point for their decent passing football.  Jose made nine changes from the Europa League game and left the likes of Bergwijn, Alli, Aurier and Sanchez out of the matchday squad.

It was a breezy, chilly November evening and the game started with an early free-kick to Brighton, it looked like it could produce a threat to the Spurs goal, but it was Reguilon who rose to head the ball away and then Sissoko had to clear a low ball into the box.  Three minutes in, Spurs took the ball off Brighton and broke forward with Son and Erik Lamela linking well, with the Argentine playing a low ball into the goalmouth, looking for Harry Kane, but debutant goalkeeper Robert Sanchez got to it.

Son did well to play the ball to Sergio Reguilon, who performed a 360 and had a shot at goal and Sanchez did well to push the ball over the top.  Son’s cross into the box was cleared and then Bissouma tried to get it away at the second attempt, but only up in the air to the edge of the box, where Lallana went up with Harry Kane and the referee pointed to the edge of the box for a free-kick to Tottenham.  Kane might have been aware of Lallana’s presence, but it was a rash challenge to make that close to the area.  With the officials at Stockley Park looking at it, the word came down to Geoff Scott that it was on the line and therefore, deemed to be a penalty.  Kane took the ball, strode up to it and buried it to the keeper’s left to put Tottenham ahead as the keeper guessed the wrong way.

Twenty-five minutes into the match, Tottenham were the ones sweating on VAR, as Trossard’s run into the box looked to be hindered by Matt Doherty pulling him.  After a review, VAR decided that it wasn’t, although Doc’s arms looked to be around the Belgian, but he went down when he knew he didn’t have a chance of reaching the low pass in from White.  A corner to Brighton soon afterwards saw the giants of the Seagulls defence come forward, but they didn’t cause any stress as the ball missed them out.

However, Brighton got a period of possession, without making a lot from it, but they were getting set-pieces.  With tall players to aim at and a goal from one in the corresponding fixture on Boxing Day last season, it might have not been a good idea to conceded free-kicks and corners, as it has caught us out already since the start of the season.  As Brighton pressed on the Spurs goal, the regularity of the referee’s whistle sounding against Tottenham increased.  Lloris had to be brave to dive to claim a header down from a corner, with Veltman making contact, but Hugo was fine to play on.

Lamptey almost put Lallana in, but he didn‘t have the ability to bring the ball down, when he might have been in a good position to shoot.  With injury time running out, Brighton gave the ball away in their defensive third and Burn fouled Lamela right on the edge of the box.  Erik took it and it had the power, but not the placement as it went over the bar, when a ball into the middle rather than attempt on goal from the dead ball line was more than a little hopeful.

At the start of the second half, a Kane free-kick picked out Son in the box, but his first touch was loose, but he recycled the ball and Kane was challenged by Bissoma in the box, with Brighton players surrounding the referee immediately, perhaps trying to deflect a guilty verdict by VAR.  It wasn’t a penalty and the Seagulls’ players were indicating that they thought it was a dive.  Of more importance, Hojbjerg went down away from the play, which looked as though he might have suffered a ligament injury.

When it looked as though Spurs should have a free-kick, with March sliding in on Hojbjerg, the referee played on and the ball came to March, who fed Trossard and it was moved on right to Lamptey, who finished clinically to level the score.  VAR once more were called into action.  Then the referee was invited to take a look at the pitch-side monitor.  Then the referee gave the goal.  Unbelievable.  It looked like a foul all day long, but then I’m not a referee.

The goal gave Brighton confidence to go forward and Spurs looked rattled, with the team strung out and not holding the ball well.  When they did get the ball at the Brighton end, substitute Giovani Lo Celso played a pass to Sissoko and then it went on to Lamela, who drove a shot against the foot of the post, with goalkeeper Sanchez required to make a fine reaction stop when it cannoned off Veltman trying to run back towards his own goal.  Not from that corner, but the one after, the ball was played in and flicked on to the far post and Harry Kane’s first touch seemed to be going wide, so he got a foot to it and the ball struck the post from close range when it looked as though it might have been the opportunity to put Tottenham ahead once more.

Then the moment Spurs fans had been waiting seven years for happened !  Alderweireld’s diagonal ball from the right up the left picked out Reguilon’s run and the Spaniard checked back to play the ball into the box right-footed where his Real Madrid team-mate rose in the middle to head the ball past Sanchez to restore Tottenham’s lead.  Webster had stood stock still when the ball came in, with Bale given the freedom of Tottenham to power his header home and his joy was clear to see as he celebrated with his team-mates.  The goal had been coming with the woodwork being peppered and Gareth made sure that his effort wasn’t anywhere near the post .. or the keeper, putting it wide of the keeper’s dive to his right.

Brighton responded by bringing on a recognised forward in Danny Welbeck, who had been released by Watford and they were looking to try and get him in behind the Spurs defence, but our back four were alert to the danger.  They couldn’t avoid the VAR vultures looking at a ball that hit Eric Dier on the arm in the 83rd minute, but it ended up being outside the box, so they couldn’t give a decision on that.  Then a ball was played into the mixer by Brighton and Hugo did well to take one over his head under the bar (like the one away to Brighton last season when he hurt himself), grabbing it to his chest when very close to the line and then he took a hit from Welbeck as he grabbed the ball as it was played in to the near post area.

The fourth official held up the added time showing six minutes, with the injuries and VAR decisions, so there was still a long way to go !  However, Tottenham saw out the added time, with Brighton looking to have run out of ideas or run out of steam, but Spurs kept going, with Sissoko running the ball into the corner and then Kane holding the ball up well, well away from the Tottenham goal.

It was by no means a classic Spurs performance, even in terms of what the team have produced this season, but they stuck at it.  They were fortunate that there was no-one to finish the moves that Brighton put together, so they will need to tighten up, as other sides will get players on the end of moves.  There were flickers of how we can play, with the move for Bale’s goal being a prime example. 

Once again, it was a much changed side and unless there are two teams training together within the club, the mixing of the players may be disruptive in providing consistent performances in all competitions, but it appears that Jose is keeping his big guns for the league games and changing for the Europa League to the squad players and it is up to them to stake a claim for a place in the first pick XI. 

It will happen again when the side travel to Bulgaria for Thursday’s match against Ludogorets, but the winning mentality needs to be strong throughout the squad and players need to be ready when they are called upon.  It showed today that even up against it, albeit against a side who have not been achieving results their football deserve, we managed to earn three points for the second league match running by keeping playing and believing.

That happened quite often under Pochettino, with Spurs winning matches at the death, but now it is seeing games out that is going to help with the side’s progression.  Radio phone-in hosts were trying to stir up some talking points by wanting Spurs fans to call in to tell them why we’re going to win the league.

Well, nobody knows what will happen between now and then and after the happenings of this year, it would be stupid to try and predict anything, but we are giving ourselves the best chance to win a trophy and the team have the quality to give anyone a game.  With VAR it gives the opportunity for anything to happen and maybe it equalled itself out in this game, but in others Lamptey’s goal would have been ruled out and this would have been a more comfortable victory

As it is, I’ll take it and take second place after this hard-earned win.

Orton Brimbles

 

MATCH NOTES

Hugo Lloris’ 200th Spurs appearance.

 

OTHER RESULTS
Newcastle United 2 Everton 1
Manchester United 0 Woolwich Wanderers 1
Burnley 0 Frank Lampard’s Chelsea 3
Sheffield United 0 Manchester City 1
Liverpool 2 West Ham United London 1
Aston Villa 3 South Coast Big Club 4
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Crystal Palace 0
Fulham 2  West Bromwich Albion 0
Leeds United 1 Leicester City 4

Premier League Table 2020-21

Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Points Goal Difference
1 Liverpool 7 5 1 1 17
15 16 +2
2 Leicester City 7 5 0 2 17 9 15 +8
3 Tottenham Hotspur 7 4 2 1 18 9 14 +9
4 Everton 7 4 1
2 15 11 13 +4
5 South Coast Big Club 7 4 1 2 14 12 13 +2
6 Wolverhampton Wanderers 7 4 1 2 8 8 13 0
7 Frank Lampard’s Chelsea 7 3 3 1 16 9 12 +7
8 Aston Villa 6 4 0 2 15 9 12 +6
9 Woolwich Wanderers 7 4 0 3 9 7 12 +2
10 Manchester City 6 3 2 1 9 8 11 +1
11 Newcastle United 7 3 2 2 10 11 11 -1
12 Leeds United 7 3 1 3 13 13 10 0
13 Crystal Palace 7 3 1 3 8 11 10 -3
14 West Ham United London 7 2 2 3 13 10 8 +3
15 Manchester United 6 2 1 3 9 13 7 -4
16 Brighton & Hove Albion 7 1 2 4 11 14 5 -3
17 Fulham 7 1 1 5 7 14 4 -7
18 West Bromwich Albion 7 0 3 4 6 16 3 -10
19 Sheffield United 7 0 1 6 3 10 1 -7
20 Burnley 6 0 1 5 3 12 1 -9