SOUTH COAST BIG CLUB |
0 | TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR |
5 | |
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(0) | (5) | ||
Date : – Sunday 15th December 2024 |
Kick off : – 19.00 |
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Competition : – Premier League |
Venue : – St. Mary’s Stadium |
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Crowd : – 31,090 |
Referee : – Darren England (Sheffield & Hallamshire) | Linesmen : – Mr. Neil Davies; Mr. Akil Howson | |
Fourth official : – Sam Barrott | ||
VAR official : – Paul Tierney | VAR Assistant : – Richard West | |
Weather : – Mild, dry, light wind | ||
Spurs kicked off the first half attacking the Northam Stand end | ||
Playing time : – 90 + 9 minutes |
SOUTH COAST BIG CLUB | TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR | |||
GOAL-SCORERS | ||||
None | ![]() |
Maddison 00m 36s | ||
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Son 11m 18s | |||
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Kulusevski 13m 24s | |||
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Sarr 24m 48s | |||
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Maddison 45+4m 00s | |||
CARDS | ||||
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Fernandes (pushing Bergvall onto the goalpost) 36 | ![]() |
Bergvall (foul on Wood) 30 | |
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Maddison (foul on Downes) 50 | |||
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Johnson (delaying restart) 58 | |||
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TEAMS | ||||
1. | Alex McCARTHY | 20. | Fraser FORSTER | |
2. | Kyle WALKER-PETERS | 24. | Djed SPENCE ![]() |
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6. | Taylor HARWOOD-BELLIS | 6. | Radu DRAGUSIN | |
35. | Jan BEDNAREK | 14. | Archie GRAY | |
3. | Ryan MANNING ( 16. Yukinari SUGAWARA 62) | 13. | Destiny UDOGIE ( 23. Pedro PORRO 28) | |
4. | Flynn DOWNES | 29. | Pape Matar SARR ![]() |
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10. | James MADDISON ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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7. | Joe ARIBO | 15. | Lucas BERGVALL ![]() |
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18. | Mateus FERNANDES ![]() |
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21. | Dejan KULUSEVSKI ![]() |
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33. | Tyler DYBLING | 19. | Dominic SOLANKE ( 42. Will LANKSHEAR 82) | |
7. | Heung-Min SON (c) ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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9. | Adam ARMSTRONG (c) ( 19. Cameron ARCHER 82) | |||
20. | Kamaldeen SULEMANA ( 15. Nathan WOOD 15) | |||
Substitutes | Substitutes | |||
13. | Joe LUMLEY | 40. | Brandon AUSTIN | |
14. | James BREE | 79. | Malachi HARDY | |
10. | Adam LALLANA | 74. | Maeson KING | |
24. | Ryan FRASER | 64. | Callum OLUSESI | |
27. | Sam AMO-AMEYAW | |||
32. | Paul ONUACHU |
= Assist
= Goal scored
= Own goal scored
Manager : – Russell Martin | Manager : – Ange Postecoglou |
Kit Supplier : – Puma | Kit Supplier : – Nike |
Shirt Sponsor : – Rollbit | Shirt Sponsor : – AIA |
Shirt Sleeve Sponsor : – P&O Cruises | Shirt Sleeve Sponsor : – Kraken |
Colours : –![]() |
Colours : –![]() |
Images of kits courtesy of the marvellous Colours of Football website | |
MATCH REPORT |
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With both managers under pressure this match looked like being a nervous meeting between South Coast Big Club and Tottenham, but with the principles of both managers hell-bent on playing an open game, goals were more or less guaranteed, but Russell Martin wasn’t imagining that they would all be flying past his goalkeeper, as Spurs ran in five first half goals. Easing off in the second half to prevent it being a cricket score, Spurs declared at five and Martin was bowled out by the SCBC board soon after the match.
There was an air of expectation among the home fans, with Tottenham depleted and deflated from a poor run of results that had seen only one win in eight matches – the 4-0 away win at Mancashter City. A potential three points in their battle against relegation so early in the season was making the St. Marys faithful boisterous, but that lasted a matter of seconds before the boos were ringing around the cavernous bowl. Djed Spence made his first premier League start. The right back made a forceful run after turning away from Downes on the halfway line before sliding a pass to James Maddison running into the penalty area and the England midfielder slotted low past Alex McCarthy to give Spurs a very early goal after only 36 seconds. The goal came from playing out from the back and built through their half to spring forward with Djed making a great run, rounded off by a good, low finish with his right foot. Spurs were controlling the ball for the majority of the first 10 minutes and Son had a shooting opportunity on the left, cutting inside after taking down a big diagonal pass from Sarr, but McCarthy was behind the low effort. Sonny’s next effort found the net when Maddison’s long ball from the right was flicked off Bednarek’s head to let Son run onto it and fire it low through the keeper to make it 2-0 with 12 minutes gone. It was difficult not to get hopeful that a win was on the cards, although we were two up against Chelsea in 12 minutes and look what happened ! However, SCBC are a different kettle of fish. And man, did they stink the place out. With some home fans heading home and the rest groaning and moaning, Russell Martin took action making a substitution to change the shape of the side, as his diamond midfield formation was failing to shine. It was shocking to see how readily the fans wanted to leave, but I guess when you have seen it all before too many times this season, you already know the ending. SCBC got an effort on target in the 18th minute when Dybling bent a ball in front of goal with the outside of his right boot and Armstrong was free to put a header straight into the arms of Fraser Forster. Following another Spurs corner, Spence crossed in the second phase and both Solanke and Son were free on the left, with Son’s volley scuffed as Dom’s presence put him off, but the ball wasn’t cleared very far and it came out to Maddison just outside the box and he bent a shot wide of the far post. When Destiny Udogie out-muscled Walker-Peters tight on the touch-line and ran the ball 50 yards forward, Saints were caught upfield. He released Son on the left and his pass square to Pape Matar Sarr saw the midfielder switch feet to easily get around Nathan Wood to fire past the keeper from 10 yards out. It was neat footwork from the Senegalese, however the weakness of the SCBC side was shocking, but Tottenham were being clinical with their finishing to be 4-0 up inside 25 minutes. The only downside was that Destiny had to go off with what appeared to be a thigh muscle injury, so Pedro Porro came on with Spence switching to the left side. SCBC superstar Tyler Dybling let the ball run away from him and go off for a throw-in as things were continuing to fall apart. From a home free-kick at the Spurs end, it was cleared and Maddison nicked it around one of their players, putting himself away and then releasing Son to shoot only to see McCarthy tip it over the top. As Son stood over the ball, Bergvall was making a run in the box only for Fernandes, who had been pushing Spurs players all over the place up until now, shoved Lucas into the goal-post. He got booked and frankly, it is questionable as to whether it should have been a red, as it was dangerous. Spurs were easing through the wide open spaced in the SCBC defence and Maddison set up Son to step-over past Walker-Peters and fire a shot in to the near post, which the keeper saved, but the referee failed to spot it and gave a goal-kick. It was so straightforward for Tottenham that they played a number of passes in our own box before moving the ball the length of the field without much of a challenge, giving Son another opportunity that his hit low but without conviction and McCarthy got down to it to save. As the clock reached the four minutes of added time, Spence had all the time in the world to play Son down the left and his ball with the outside of his right foot sent Maddison running into the box. He reached it just before the dead-ball line, chopped it back with his left foot, sending Wood for a half-time pie, then with his right foot lifted a shot above McCarthy at the near post and sent it in at the far post. Cue the boos from the home fans and the incredulous cheers from the away section, as Spurs scored five goals in the first half of a Premier League match for the first time ! It was a classy piece of work to get the ball into a position to shoot and then to find the net past the keeper from such a tight angle was a great finish. It had been an outstanding performance by Spurs, albeit against a naïve and open SCBC side who allowed us to play our game with little idea of how to play their own. With some better finishing to other chances, it could easily have been 10-0. It is possibly the worst 45 minutes I have seen a team play against us and we were excellent in making it count. What we needed to do in the second half was more of the same to build up a head of steam to maintain the pain on the home side. Ange brought on Brennan Johnson for Son at the start of the second half, but after a few minutes of Spurs possession, Manning won the ball and ran forward before falling to the ground in the area, but it was never going to be a penalty. Djed needed some attention as Manning had put a hand in his face but was OK to carry on. The full-back’s pace was coming into play going back towards his own goal, making some good recovery runs to win the ball. When Armstrong got onto Manning’s ball over the top, his shot went wide of Forster’s goal to the left but he was offside anyway. SCBC’s build-up was so slow that it allowed Spurs to get behind the ball. They won a corner on the hour and when it was cleared and Manning went down the right, trying to get a corner off Porro, he was furious when it wasn’t awarded. He should have seen the one in the first half that McCarthy “saved” ! Instead of punishing his dissent with a yellow card, the referee put an arm around him and ushered him off as he was being substituted. Walker-Peters faced up Pedro Porro and from inside the box hit a low shot that rippled the outside of the net wide of Fraser’s right hand post. Following a corner that we cleared, Aribo played a sweet ball across to the far post, but Wood could only volley it back across goal and wide of the far post. Out of possession, SCBC were setting up as a 5-4-1 and while this was quite compact, it did allow Spurs to pass the ball around with impunity. When they did break out, the ref let a couple of fouls go and Dybling tried an effort from 25 yards, but it was comfortable enough for Forster to take into his chest. Our passing started to look a little tired with 15 minutes left, prompting Ange to bring on Werner for Maddison and Dorrington for Djed Spence, making his debut. Dybling had a shot a couple of feet wide to the left as Johnson played Porro into trouble on the left and SCBC worked the ball across. They had the ball in the back of the net in the 80th minute, when Armstrong dinked a ball into the middle of the box from the right and Fernandes was there to head low between Forster’s legs, but any celebration was short-lived as the linesman’s flag was up for offside. Both sides made attacking changes with eight minutes remaining, with Archer on for Armstrong and Will Lankshear replacing Dominic Solanke. Working a short corner back to Sarr, he hit Tottenham’s first shot of the second half on target three minutes from time. That brought chants of “We want Levy out” from a handful of Tottenham “supporters”. Coming when Spurs are 5-0 up away from home, there was little appetite among the bulk of the Tottenham support to keep it going. The very fact that they find something negative to whinge about at such a stage in the match makes you wonder whether they deserve any success. At least the Saints fans who want Russell Martin out have some basis for their dissatisfaction. Werner burst away from Sanuchi on the left and he played a great ball into the middle of the goalmouth and Johnson came in to put it wide from close range, although it might have been from an offside position. A late ball to the far post in the Tottenham box was well defended by Archie Gray who got there before Fernandes and the game was played out to a easy 5-0 win. A big win like this allowed Ange to put out some of the younger players and he gave Alfie Dorrington a well-deserved debut. Having been performing well in the U21s until hit by injury last season, he is cool under pressure and good on the ball. This 15 minutes will have helped him see what it is like in the first team and hopefully, there will be an opportunity to play him in one of the Europa League group matches to give him more game time. Both Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall did well in their respective roles, while the others on the bench will be awaiting their opportunity in the future. There wasn’t a bad performance among the Spurs players, but then it would have been hard to play badly against such a powder-puff side as SCBC. A comment that Russell Martin made after the match about his players not being able to commit a foul on Djed Spence in the middle of the pitch speaks volumes about the ability of his side. Not just not being capable of bringing a player down, but needing to rather than making a tackle. Such limitations being recognised by the manager indicated that the quality to even fight to stay in the top flight was absent. It was really sad to see Kyle Walker-Peters, a fine defender, having to perform in this side. Let down by his team-mates, he was one of the home players who kept going and it was touching to see Son comforting him as the teams went off at half-time. As for the rest of the Saints players, the majority of them got the club out of the Championship, but that is where they belong and will be returning. The signings they have made may have some potential, but in the Premier League, they have been found out and if Spurs had kept going in the second half, it could have been double figures. Any concerns about whether the three points would be heading back to N17 were extinguished when it was 3-0 within a couple of minutes. Son was freed down the left wing and he had time to settle himself and look square across the face of goal for Solanke. He was baulked by Bellis-Harwood’s block but the ball ran in front of Dejan Kulusevski and he had the simple task of passing it into the net. Maddison’s pass from deep had found a lot of space in behind Walker-Peters and that allowed Son time to pick his option. The three points take us up to 10th but in the pack of clubs within a couple of points of each other, so a couple of wins could put us right back in amongst the top six, but the next two matches are against leaders Liverpool and fourth placed Nottingham Forest. If we want to compete at the top we need to get something out of those games Pete Stachio |
MATCH NOTES |
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OTHER RESULTS | ||||
Liverpool | 2 | Fulham | 2 | |
Newcash United | 4 | Leicester City | 0 | |
Woolwich Wanderers | 0 | Everton | 0 | |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1 | Ipswich Town |
2 | |
Nottingham Forest | 2 | Aston Villa | 1 | |
Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | Crystal Palace | 3 | |
Mancashter City | 1 | Mancashter United | 2 | |
Chelsea | 2 | Brentford | 1 | |
AFC Bournemouth | 1 | West Ham United London | 1 |
Premier League Table 2024-25
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Points | Goal difference | ||
1 | Liverpool | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 13 | 36 | +18 |
2 | Chelsea | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 37 | 19 | 34 | +18 |
3 | Woolwich Wanderers | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 29 | 15 | 30 | +14 |
4 | Nottingham Forest | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 19 | 28 | +2 |
5 | Mancashter City | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 28 | 23 | 27 | +5 |
6 | AFC Bournemouth | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 21 |
25 | +3 |
7 | Aston Villa | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 25 | 25 | -1 |
8 | Fulham | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 22 | 24 | +2 |
9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 25 | 24 | +1 |
10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 36 | 19 | 23 | +17 |
11 | Brentford | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 32 | 30 | 23 | +2 |
12 | Newcash United | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 21 | 23 | +2 |
13 | Mancashter United | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 19 | 22 | +2 |
14 | West Ham United London | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 29 | 19 | -8 |
15 | Crystal Palace | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 16 | -4 |
16 | Everton | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 15 | -7 |
17 | Leicester City | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 34 | 14 | -13 |
18 | Ipswich Town | 16 | 2 | 6 |
8 | 16 | 28 | 12 | -12 |
19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 16 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 24 | 40 | 9 | -16 |
20 | South Coast Big Club | 15 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 36 | 5 | -25 |