Spurs thwarted by the Throstles
Written By: Robert Halter
With the departure of Tony Pulis, taking temporary charge of West Bromwich Albion was Gary Megson for the Baggies visit to Wembley stadium against Tottenham Hotspur, in late November and it was WBA that took a shock lead in the fourth minute, when from a Kieran Trippier throw in, Dele Alli got caught in possession, and Jake Livermore, slid the ball through to Salomon Rondon, who tucked the ball past Davinson Sanchez and a lemon footed Hugo Lloris, into the bottom left corner. In the seventh minute, a Gareth Barry strike, strayed wide to the left following a headed pass by Sam Field. Two minutes later from a Trippier corner, a soft header by Harry Kane, was comfortably collected by the Throstles keeper, Ben Foster. On the quarter of the hour mark, through a pull back by Alli, a right footed strike from Harry Winks, went low past the left post. In the twenty seventh minute, from a pass through by Christian Eriksen, Kane off his left boot, struck a drive right of the goal. In the thirty second minute after an assist by Ben Davies, cutting in from the left, Heung-Min Son, hit a swerving effort from outside the box, which was kept out at full stretch by Foster. The Baggies keeper was then warned about time wasting, after Davies’s strike had gone behind for a corner off Kieran Gibbs. On forty one minutes, from a Trippier corner, a rising header by Eric Dier, was clutched out the air by Foster. Before half time, through an Eriksen pass, a cross by Son, went past the goal mouth, before Trippier put the ball over to Dier, who put his header out of play. In stoppage time, from a Davies pass, a bending strike by Son, was deflected off Livermore, onto the outside roof of the net. Two minutes into the second half, Kane had an effort saved by Foster, from an assist by Alli. In the fifty fifth minute, after a long pass by Barry, the ball was driven narrowly wide of the far left post by Matt Phillips. On the hour, there was a double Spurs change as Fernando Llorente replaced Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Demble took over from Winks while Albion later switched Jay Rodriguez with Hal Robson-Kanu and also took off Sam Field for James McClean. The Lilywhites pressed again for an equaliser, when from a Trippier corner, off a poor header out by Rondon, the ball was struck by Kane, agonisingly past Alli at the back stick. But on seventy four minutes, Spurs got back on level terms, when Trippier found Alli, on the right, whose low cross was toe poked in by Kane through the legs of Foster. In the next West Brom change Barry made way for Claudio Yacob. In the eighty second minute, Trippier put a cross over, and from close range, a cushioned header by Kane, missed to the right. Foster was finally booked for time wasting by referee, Michael Jones. This followed in the eighty fifth minute, when Eriksen played in Kane, whose snap shot nearly went out the reaches of Foster, whose was under threat by Alli. Then in the next minute, a three way combination started with Son and then Alli, before Kane, fired the ball past the right post. In stoppage time, after a foul on Rondon by Sanchez, a long punt forward from a free kick by the Baggies captain, Jonny Evans, fell to Robson-Kanu, whose left footed strike was stopped in the centre of the net by Lloris. Near the end of the match, from a Phillips right wing cross, off the left instep of Rondon, he was fractions away from winning the game as the ball drifted past the far left post before the points were shared as Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion ended at a goal apiece.