Tottenham’s capital gain over Magpies
Written By: Robert Halter
Spurs were out for revenge at home to the Magpies in the Capital One Cup quarter final. On two minutes, Danny Rose tumbled over first Emmanuel Riviere and then Spurs shot stopper, Michel Vorm and required treatment. Four minutes later, the Lilywhites were in Newcastle’s final third but a looping strike by Benjamin Stambouli was diverted over the bar from a cruel deflection off the back of Michael Williamson. In the ninth minute, Andros Townsend created space for Nacer Chadli on the left side of the area but the Magpies keeper, Jak Alnwick cut the angle out and collected safely. In the sixteenth minute, Moussa Sissoko surged forward and tested Vorm with a stinging low effort which was palmed away by Vorm at full stretch. But two minutes later, a clanger by Alnwick handed the opening goal on a plate for Spurs as from a Christian Eriksen corner, Alnwick dropped a routine catch and Nabil Bentaleb picked up the pieces to fire the ball in from close range. Midway through the first half, the flag was already raised before Riviere missed a point blank header from a well placed cross by Yoan Gouffran. In the twenty fourth minute, another shot from outside the area by Sissoko required a strong double handed block by Vorm to keep the Toon Army at bay. On thirty two minutes from a Rose throw in, Stambouli was unable to find a clean strike as the ball rolled into Alnwick. Four minutes later, a miss placed pass from Gouffran gave the ball away to Harry Kane, whose surging run ended with his low drive brushing past the left post, as Townsend supported him as a decoy. But on forty one minutes, the Spurs bench were fuming after Magpies captain Fabricio Coloccini’s challenge on Kane in the area wasn’t penalised despite Kane taking a fall. Two minutes later, Gouffran did not have his shooting boots on as he skied the ball inside the Spurs box from a cross by Remy Cabella. But the Lilywhites had one foot in the semis with less than a minute played in the second half, as Eriksen’s square pass to Chadli was met with a measured finish which was aided by a deflection off Coloccini as the ball was planted into the left side of the net. Urgency returned to Newcatle’s play but Cabella could not apply the finish to find a way past Vorm. Again the Magpies surged forward but from a low cross by Ayoze Perez Guiterrez, the ball eluded both Cabella and Riviere on the line, in the fifty fifth minute. But within two minutes, Spurs responded as Eriksen was again creator for Vlad Chiriches to test Alnwick with a stinging low strike. Frantic defending by Paul Dummett turned over a Townsend cross but from Eriksen’s resulting corner, a goal bound header by Tottenham captain Jan Vetonghen was cleared off the line from Massadio Haidara, with a hour played. Changes were made as Newcastle took off Riviere for Adam Armstrong and Spurs then brought on Mousa Dembele in place of Chadli. The game was sealed on sixty three minutes, as Dembele combined with Townsend, before Kane swept the ball past Alnwick, into the right side of the goal mouth. After an injury delay with Sissoko, Spurs then changed Kane with Roberto Soldado. It was an inspired substitution as Alnwick failed to hold onto a well driven shot by Eriksen and from the rebound, Soldado brought the ball down with his chest before ramming his shot home from close range in the seventieth minute. The Magpies soon took off Sissoko for Vurnan Anita. On seventy five minutes, Rose teed up Soldado but Alnwick threw himself at the ball to defuse the situation. A final Spurs change was made as Bentaleb was taken off for Etienne Capoue while the Magpies brought on Harris Vukic for Cabella. After Dembele required treatment from a flailing arm by Alnwick, there was a brief delay. On eighty three minutes, Armstrong’s low drive drifted wide of the left post and within two minutes he was then denied by Vorm’s finger tips with a low strike. It was too late in the day as Guiterrez tried his luck from distance as Vorm was at hand to deal with the effort.