It was another training and
draining day for the Spurs players as they ended the tournament at the
bottom of the pile in what had been dubbed "The Gayest Kit
Cup" on certain websites. So perhaps it was good not to win
the competition or is it a bad thing to come last and where does that
leave our kit ?
The TV certainly allows you to take in a
lot more than you might have seen in the vast, cavernous bowl that is
the Olympic Stadium of Seville. Gardner's shirt pulls in the area,
Taricco's treading on an opponent and worst of all the performance of
our two trialists. Unfortunately, nothing could cloud the fact
that Bakari and Silva have neither the touch or presence on this showing
to make them worth taking a punt on.
The pitch was no better than a ploughed
field again and the opposition looked little interested in making a game
of it, so it was left to Spurs to hand them the chances they got during
the match. A comic clash between defenders left Tomic in front of
goal 18 yards out, but he must have been shocked that the ball was at
his feet, because he shot wide with only Robinson to beat.
Defoe was his usual busy self and made a
chance for ... no-one in particular, as they had not anticipated his
dinked cross to the far post and it floated away. He did better
when Edman and Ricketts linked to free him in the box and his first time
left foot shot from the left corner of the area was pushed onto the post
by the Partizan keeper.
Jermain struck lucky by striking just
before the break. A clearance upfield was nodded back by Gardner
and Silva did the one good thing he produced in the match, by heading it
on to Defoe. Running forward, he had clocked the fact that the
keeper had raced forward, leaving himself suspect to the lob. And
that was what Defoe produced, landing the ball into the empty net.
A class piece of finishing in a barren desert of not very much else.
The goal came with three minutes to go to
half-time, three minutes after Defoe again tested the keeper (by now
their second of the game) with a shot taken with the outside of his
right foot, producing a diving save. Robbo had little to do in
goal, but on 50 minutes, a cross into the box went over Gardner (who had
a bit of a mare) and was chested down for Ilic to smack a shot straight
at the Spurs keeper. However, the rebound fell to Boya, who stuck
it away for the equaliser.
With the subs coming on, the play got
broken up and only Ifil's inventive runs down the right produced much
excitement for Tottenham. Robinson was made to dive five minutes
from time, but both sides seemed to settle for penalties ... even though
they might not have realised it was a sudden death competition right
from the start. Jackson's was straight down the middle and
straight into the keeper's middle, while the Partizan kick sent Robinson
the wrong way to leave Spurs fourth.
I suppose that in the 34 degree heat, it
would be unfair to expect a full-blooded game, but if Santini learned
nothing more than Silva and Bakari are not up to it, then it wasn't a
wasted journey.
MEHSTG TOP MAN : - PHIL IFIL
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