TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR  2  (0)  LUTON TOWN  1  (1)
Date : –  Saturday 30th March 2024 Kick off : –  15.00
Competition : –  Premier League Venue : –  Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Crowd : –  61,534
Referee : –  Jarred Gillett (Liverpool) Linesmen : – Mr. Darren Cann; Mr. Neil Davies
Fourth official : – James Linnington
VAR official : – Michael Salisbury VAR Assistant : – James Mainwaring
Weather : –  Sunny, warm, dry
Spurs kicked off the first half attacking the Paxton Road end
Playing time : –   90 + 14 minutes

 

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR LUTON TOWN
GOAL-SCORERS
    Kabore  (o.g.)  50m 24s   Chong  02m 18s
    Son  85m 32s   
CARDS
  Hojbjerg  (foul on Barkley)  90+5   Barkley  (foul on Maddison)  31
  Lo Celso  (kicking ball away)  90+6   Burke  (foul on Maddison)  36
       Mpanzu  (foul on Porro)  46
       Mengi  (not retreating 10 yards)  90
 

 

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR LUTON TOWN
13.   Guglielmo VICARIO  24.   Thomas KAMINSKI
     
23.   Pedro PORRO  12.   Issa KABORE 
17.   Cristian ROMERO  16.   Reece BURKE     (  27.   Daiki HASHIOKA  46)  
6.   Radu DRAGUSIN  15.   Tdene MENGI 
38.   Destiny UDOGIE  45.   Alfie DOUGHTY  (  10.   Cauley WOODROW  83)  
      
29.   Pape Matar SARR (  18.   Giovani Lo CELSO 68  )    8.   Luke BERRY  (  18.   Jordan CLARK  63) 
8.   Yves BISSOUMA (  9.   RICHARLISON  85)    6.   Ross BARKLEY 
 17.   Pelly Ruddock MPANZU 
21.   Dejan KULUSEVSKI (  22.   Brennan JOHNSON  46)       
10.   James MADDISON  (  30.   Rodrigo BENTANCUR  68)  30.   Andros TOWNSEND
16.   Timo WERNER  9.   Carlton MORRIS  (c)
    14.   Tatith CHONG     (  32.   Fred ONYEDINMA  74)  
7.   Heung-Min SON  (c)    (  5.   Pierre-Emile HOJBJERG  88       
Substitutes Substitutes
40.   Brandon AUSTIN 1.   James SHEA
33.   Ben DAVIES 23.   Tim KRUL
12.   Emerson ROYAL 33.   Joseph JOHNSON
37.   Micky van de VEN 43.   Zack NELSON
44.   Axel PIESOLD

    = Assist        =  Goal scored       =  Own goal scored

Manager : –  Ange Postecoglou Manager : –  Rob Edwards
Kit Supplier : – Nike Kit Supplier : – Umbro
Shirt Sponsor : –  ICanServe Shirt Sponsor : – Utilita
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Colours : –
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Images of kits courtesy of the marvellous Colours of Football website

 

MATCH REPORT
Desperate to survive in the Premier League, Luton Town took a shock early lead at the THS, but then employed tactics that were not sustainable, ending in a  2-1 victory for Tottenham.  The combination of sterile negative play and time-wasting took its toll on the away side and an astute half-time substitution by Ange Postecoglou changed the game in Tottenham’s favour as the regular feature of relentless attacking football wore the Hatters down, as it has other teams this season.

It is a fact that Spurs have found it difficult to break down teams who set up to stifle their play, but this was yet another game of two halves, with a repeat of the previous two matches which saw us struggle in the first half.  While it went from bad to worse at Fulham on the last outing ending in a 0-3 defeat, at Villa and here it was possible to secure enough attacking play to see off the opposition.  While the way we played in the first half wasn’t bad and didn’t warrant the boos at half-time from fans who seem to imagine that all we have to do is turn up against teams in the lower half to win, the luck hadn’t gone our way. 

With the players returning from international duty, there had probably only been a few days to work together as a squad to prepare for this match and with Micky van de Ven fit, but not ready to start the game, Radu Dragusin took the left sided central defender role and Timo Werner was given a start with Brennan Johnson benched.  It was a sunny Easter Saturday afternoon as Spurs kicked off attacking the Paxton Road end.  Porro’s early ball over Doughty sent Kulusevski clear on the right wing and with Udogie and Werner making runs into the box, Son and Sarr hung back and Dejan’s ball looked for them, but pulled it back behind both of them.  That allowed Luton to pick the ball off and send Townsend away on their right.  He beat Bissouma too easily and passed inside to Barkley, who took a touch and squared it to his left where Chong shot low across Vicario to find the net off the inside of the far post.  With just two minutes gone, it wasn’t the start that Spurs were looking for after the Fulham beating.  From what had been a promising moment at the Luton end ended with a goal at our end.  Porro had been blocked off by Morris to stop him getting to Chong, but nothing was given.

Spurs settled to play the ball well and Werner stood up a cross for Sarr to win at the far post, but put his header wide and then Timo nudged a ball into the box where Kaminski got to it before Kulusevski.  It was the first of many stoppages as the keeper seems to have a very low pain threshold and needed more treatment than a garden shed.  The added time from these and every other stoppage by Luton intended to break up the game meant it was going to be a  late finish. 

In the 14th minute, Kulusevski’s pass out to Werner on the left saw him take the ball on into the penalty area, where he turned Kabore inside out and then shot left-footed across the keeper, but the ball went wide of the far post by inches.  Unfortunately for Tottenham, the referee from Down Under had a loose understanding of the Laws of the Game and was giving Luton free-kicks, mainly for fouls on Morris, when he had a generous handful of his marker’s shirt beforehand and then the official wasted as much time as Doughty (who seems to be the only player that Luton have who can take set-pieces and ambles around like an asthmatic on a steep incline) when he explained that Luton players were offside when they were standing behind the last white shirt at free-kicks.  It was a shambolic performance by the referee, who failed to consistently control the game, with an example being Lo Celso’s late booking for kicking the ball away.  Fine, yes, it’s a yellow card offence, but he allowed so much time-wasting to go, as well as players consistently committing fouls and not being carded for them.

Then it looked as though Spurs had equalised in the 20th minute.  Sarr won the ball high up the field and Kulusevski touched it on for Son to break into the box, taking the ball around the keeper’s left and squeezing  shot on goal that hit the face of the near post before rolling across goal to come off the other post.  It came out to Werner, whose shot was blocked by Kabore and then Sarr followed up with a powerful drive that Mengi blocked on the goal-line.  The heavily watered pitch wasn’t helping players, who were regularly slipping over, but that wasn’t an excuse for Townsend, who “won” a procession of free-kicks by suddenly stopping when a Spurs player was chasing him.  But then the Luton players didn’t think they did much wrong during the match, with backchat to the referee every time they conceded a free-kick themselves.

Werner and Sarr sent inviting balls across the face of goal without a team-mate being in the right place at the right time, but the final ball wasn’t quite right when Tottenham attacked.  It was difficult, as eleven Luton players got back behind the ball and tried to press Spurs when they were on the ball, which they had to try to do, as they were doing little up front.  Doughty looked to capitalise on a long cross from the right, with a volley that looked as though it might be on target, but Porro shrugged off the intended block by Chong to block for a corner and from it Berry, one of the shortest players on the pitch, won a header that sailed over the angle of the goal.  From another Luton set-piece, Spurs broke away and Son had a shot blocked, but that was it for the first half.

Ange brought Johnson on for Kulusevski and the right wing worked the ball immediately, forcing Mpanzu to throw an arm at Porro off the ball and manage to hit him in the calf at the same time.  Straight away, the passing was crisper and more urgent as Porro took another kick, this time from Chong.  It gave Spurs a free-kick on the right side and Porro took it, but didn’t beat the first man.  Maddison then tried to run at the defence in their area, but got crowded out and Luton broke, with Barkley having a weak effort that Vicario dived down to his left to save, but it wasn’t a difficult one.  From his throw-out, Spurs moved the ball through midfield to Johnson on the right.  He played it inside to Porro and took the return pass that was beyond Doughty and inside the box, whipping a first-time low cross towards Werner at the far post, but Kabore beat him to it and fired it into his own net from a couple of yards out.  It was a fantastic move and for all those Spurs fans who moan and groan about us playing out from the back, it was another vindication of Postecoglou’s belief in the way he wants the team to play.  Johnson’s ball was the delivery that Tottenham had been looking for and although it only put us level, the goal lifted the crowd and while the visiting fans had claimed “Chong will tear you apart”, his anonymity following his goal meant that hew as leaving his team a man short. 

Spurs were really on it now and a neat move around the right corner of the area saw Johnson and Maddison link, with James back-heeling the ball for Son to slide a pass for Porro to run onto and put in a pass across the face of goal just like Johnson’s three minutes earlier and there was Kabore again.  This time we were all wondering how he could miss from exactly the same position, but he managed to clear the ball off for a throw.  When Johnson played the ball to Sarr in the box, it was a little behind him and he flicked the ball up with a Luton defender inadvertently knocking the ball towards his own goal, where Sarr had continued his run, but he couldn’t control it and the ball ran through to Kaminski.  The linesman signalled offside, but as the last touch came off a defender, it would have been one for VAR to pore over had it gone in.  The keeper had to be alert when Porro played a low ball across to Son, 12 yards out and from a central position, he shot first time and the save was made by the goalie’s legs.

Luton pinned their hoped on Carlton Morris throwing his weight about, but the fact he concentrated on that rather than playing football much reduced any threat he might have caused us and his approach seemed to be typical of the Bedfordshire team’s way of playing.  Son tried to break away but before he got too far, Mengi brought him down with a cynical tackle and the weak referee failed to realise that it was worth a yellow card.  It really does make you wonder if there is any review of their performance, as time-wasting is frustrating and they will book someone for that, but when a foul stops play progressing, regardless of where it is on the pitch, they just look the other way.

The stock move that brought about the equaliser was almost replayed when Maddison switched play to Porro and his firm pass into Sarr just outside the area was in turn played in behind Doughty for Johnson to rifle a ball along the six-yard line and Kabore got this one away too, when he could have had a hat-trick of own goals !  From the resulting throw, Son had acres of space on the right and pulled a cross to Maddison on the other side of the penalty spot, but he couldn’t get it down quickly and when he did his shot was blocked.  Luton tried to play it out, but they just don’t have the proper attributes to do that and Porro easily took it off Morris, took it to the dead-ball line and crossed, with a deflection panicking Kaminski, who had to fist it out as it looked like creeping in at the near post, seemingly damaging himself on the woodwork in the process.  Once more, the physio had to come on to give him lengthy treatment. 

Dragusin slid in on substitute Clark to stop him getting a cross in to conceded a corner, which Vicario came for but Romero beat him to it, heading the ball outside the box to where Clark was and he shot low, forcing a full length save to prevent the low shot sneaking inside the post.  ON 68 minutes Sarr and Maddison made way for Bentancur and Lo Celso.  It was Rodrigo who was first into the action with a teasing cross that Son couldn’t reach in front of goal and Werner came onto at the far post, but could only head back across goal rather than at it.  Spurs were finding space down the right as Doughty, no doubt worn out by having to cross from one side of the pitch to the other to take set-pieces, tired and Johnson had the run on him.  A fine ball laid back into Porro’s path by Johnson allowed the Spaniard to fire a first time shot, but it went narrowly over the top.  Chong hit the turf for the last time before being replaced, as he just couldn’t take the pace that Tottenham were playing at.

The narrowest of margins prevented Spurs taking the lead after 77 minutes, when Dragusin strode forward down the left and passed to Werner, who then played a ball behind Kabore for Lo Celso.  Gio played an early ball towards the near post, where Brennan Johnson shot at goal, hitting the keeper and the ball ran across goal to the far post where Doughty kicked the ball out.  It looked as though it had crossed the line, but the referee didn’t get notification from the goal-line technology that it had and when you saw the picture of the ball’s proximity to the goal-line, you couldn’t come closer to scoring than that.  There were micrometres in it !  Luton rode their luck in the first half and now had a season ticket to fortune.

It is interesting when a player gets injured in the opponents half, then gets up to run 60 yards back to defend and then goes down requiring treatment.  That was what Clark did and lots of Luton players were starting to limp about the pitch, with Tottenham’s play taking it’s toll on the visiting players.  With Woodrow replacing the knackered Doughty, Spurs brought on Richarlison for Bissouma, who went off the pitch in front of the East Stand.  Little did he know that he still was to be involved in the game !  Luton fans got excited when they won a corner in the 85th minute, but from it, Porro headed out and the ball broke to son inside his own box from about the area that he started his run to score against Burnley a few seasons ago.  This time he got to the halfway line and played it left to Werner, who took on Kabore.  This time he played a ball into the middle of the box and found Brennan Johnson with his back to goal.  He had the wherewithal to know he couldn’t do much with it, so touched it back for Son to run onto and fire a shot past the keeper taking a deflection off Hashioka.  Cue celebration in the crowd, but Yves, who was making his way in front of the South Stand ran onto the pitch to slam the ball back into the net and then picked a ball off a cone and kicked it high into the afternoon sky !!  There may have been a booking for him amongst all the madness, but what mattered was that Spurs were ahead and the Luton player sunk to the turf, having been run ragged and that early lead had evaporated into the N17 afternoon.

It was Sonny’s last involvement, as Ange brought on Hojbjerg – “The Finisher” – to help Tottenham see out the game.  As it was Luton suddenly started to want to  hurry up play, with Kaminski wanting a ball to be thrown to him by a ball-boy, when the new ruling states that “ball assistants are not allowed to throw a ball back to a player, but the player has to collect a ball from the nearest cone.”  Meanwhile Kaboure wrapped up a dreadful afternoon with a cross into the crowd as the 90 minutes came to an end, only for 90 minutes to be added on.  In that time Hojbjerg got booked for a foul to stop a Luton break (a different outcome to the foul on Son earlier in the match) and Lo Celso got a yellow card for kicking the ball away, which Clark didn’t when he had been given offside.

Lo Celso chased back well to rob the ball as Clark looked to set up a shooting chance for Onyedimna and that was their last chance.  In truth, they had few chances, as they struggled to maintain possession and their concentration on aggression and trying to man-mark left them leg heavy and beaten at the end of the match.  While it wasn’t a vintage Spurs performance and it took a long time to turn the match around, the incessant waves of attacks ran Luton into the ground and “Luton were falling apart again” to paraphrase their fans’ song.  While the style the Hatters play is feted to be much changed, the personnel make it difficult for them to try to go toe-to-toe with the better sides, but they had a good go.  After being given a goal start Luton retreated into a defensive mind-set that produced few goal-scoring chances but a spirited performance almost earned them a point.  However, Spurs keep going and going and kept to their game plan.  And it paid off.  It might not always and against better opposition, it might be a less pleasing result, but at least there is a standard approach to matches and on this occasion it went our way.

Peter Parker

 

MATCH NOTES
  • Heung-Min Son scored his 160th goal for Tottenham, putting him clear as the fifth highest scorer in the club’s history.
  • Fred Onyedinma made his Luton Town debut from the bench.

 

OTHER RESULTS
Newcash United 4 West Ham United London 3
AFC Bournemouth 2 Everton 1
Chelsea 2 Burnley 2
Nottingham Forest 1 Crystal Palace 1
Sheffield United 3 Fulham 3
Aston Villa 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
Brentford 1 Mancashter United 1
Liverpool 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Mancashter City 0 Woolwich Wanderers 0


Premier League Table 2023-24

Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Points Goal difference
1 Liverpool 29 20 7 2 67 27 67 40
2 Woolwich Wanderers 29 20 5 4 70 24 65 46
3 Mancashter City 29 19 7 3 63 28 64 35
4 Aston Villa 30 18 5 7 42 20 59 20
5 Tottenham Hotspur 29 17 5 7 61 43 56 18
6 Mancashter United 29 15 3 11 40 40 48 0
7 West Ham United London 30 12 8 10 49 54
44 -5
8 Newcash United 29 13 4 12 63 51 43 12
9 Brighton & Hove Albion 29 11 9 9 51 46 42 5
10 Wolverhampton Wanderers 29 12 5 12 42 46 41 -4
11 Chelsea 28 11 7 10 49 47 40 2
12 Fulham 30 11 6 13 46 47 39 -1
13 AFC Bournemouth 29 10 8 11 43 53 38 -10
14 Crystal Palace 29 7 9 13 34 49 30 -15
15 Brentford 30 7 6 17 42 55 27 -13
16 Everton 29 8 7 14 30 41 25 -11
17 Nottingham Forest 30 6 8 16 36 52 22 -16
18 Luton Town 30 5 7
18 43 62 22 -19
19 Burnley 30 4 6 20 31 65 18 -34
20 Sheffield United 29 3 6 20 27 77 15 -50