Swans shut up shop with Spurs
Written By: Robert Halter
Tottenham Hotspur had never lost to Swansea City in the Premier League, winning ten out of twelve meetings. From a Christian Eriksen cross, a miss placed pass from the Swans captain, Federico Fernandez, fell to Dele Alli, who turned the ball wide of the right post, early on in the game. After Alli drew a foul from Sam Clucas, a free kick by Harry Kane, was drilled over the Swansea wall, and Lukasz Fabianski, dived at full stretch to his right, to stop the ball creeping in. On eleven minutes, an incisive pass from Moussa Sissoko, created space for Heung-Min Son, on the left side of the box, but Fabianski, blocked his strike into the outside netting. Midway through the first half, after Kyle Naughton brought down Jan Vetonghen, a curling free kick by Eric Dier, bent past the top right corner. A burst of pace down the left from Tammy Abraham, cleared the path for Tom Carroll, but his tame strike failed to trouble Hugo Lloris, moments later. On thirty seven minutes, as a cross was whipped in from Son, the ball was turned over the bar by Fernandez, and from the resulting corner by Eriksen, the ball was poorly put out by Abraham, and a fierce low drive from Kieran Trippier, went wide of the mark. In the forty third minute, off a Tom Carroll corner, a header from Mike van der Hoorn, rose above the upright. Before the half time break, a ball across from Eriksen, was met with a long range curling strike by Vertonghen, which was caught by Fabianksi, as he leapt over to his left. On forty eight minutes, after Vertonghen combined with Son, the ball was driven in by Eriksen, straight into the body of Fabianski. In the fifty seventh minute, as Eriksen and Sissoko created space, Son drove the ball into Fabianski. But Spurs closed in on goal when Toby Alderweireld found Son on the left side of the area, who had his strike pushed out by Fabianski, and as the ball was pulled back from Sissoko, a right footed shot from Kane, rattled against the crossbar. The Swans soon took off Renato Sanches for Leroy Fer before the Lilywhites later replaced Sissoko with Serge Aurier. On sixty five minutes, from an Eriksen corner, Son from the left by line was cut out by Fabianski save and from a re-taken corner by Eriksen, a bullet header from Kane was acrobatically tipped over by Fabianski. A minute later, Alli sent a strike too high from the centre of the box through a headed pass by Son. The Swans made a further change by taking off Abraham for Wilfried Bony, before Spurs brought on Fernando Llorente against his former club, as Son was taken off. Through an assist by Vertonghen, on the half turn, Kane skimmed the ball past the left post, in the eighty first minute. .A later change by the Swans saw Wayne Routledge on for Van der Hoorn. In stoppage time from an Eriksen corner, a header out by Fernandez was latched upon by Trippier, who smashed the ball past the left post at pace. Another chance fell to Aurier, who stabbed the ball wide from Llorente’s header, but Spurs could not find the key to break the deadlock as the game ended as a goalless draw.