Spurs score late goals against Hornets
Written By: Robert Halter
Tottenham Hotspur were unbeaten in their last seven home games with Watford, prior to the Hornets meeting with the Lilywhites under the floodlights at Wembley stadium, end of January. In the ninth minute, Moussa Sissoko put the ball over to Heung-Min Son, who bent the ball past the far left post. On fifteen minutes from a Sissoko assist, a low drive from Christian Eriksen deflected off Adrian Mariappa, before Ben Foster made the save to parry the ball away with a low dive to his left. Two minutes later, Fernando Llorente and Eriksen combined, before Foster smothered Son, by rolling onto the ball in the left side of the area. On twenty five minutes, after Troy Deeney’s strike rebounded off Eriksen, the ball was curled past the top left corner from Daryl Janmaat. A long goal kick from Foster was held up by Gerard Deulofeu, and then driven by him, low past the left post, in the twenty ninth minute, before the Lilywhites responded when Sissoko found Son, whose snap shot was stopped by Foster. But against the run of play, the Hornets stung Spurs, when from a Jose Holebas corner, a downward header by Craig Cathcart, squeezed past Davinson Sanchez and Hugo Lloris, into the centre of the net, for an opening goal in the thirty eighth minute. The Lilywhites response was a low drive across the box by Son that went past Llorente in the middle and Serge Aurier at the back post. Before the re-start for the second half, Lucas Moura replaced Aurier. On fifty one minutes, Sissoko’s cross was nearly put into his own net by Mariappa as Foster made a point blank save before Llorente blazed over inside the six yard box. The Hornets responded instantly, as Deulofeu, drove the ball narrowly past the far right post. In the fifty ninth minute, from Toby Alderweireld’s over the top ball, Moura brought the ball down on his chest but then lost control of the ball in front of Foster. The Golden Boys soon took off Deulofeu for Isaac Success. After Mariappa appended Moura, a free kick from Eriksen was met first time by Alderweireld, whose shot was kept out by Foster’s foot, and as Alderweireld put the rebound back in, Llorente headed the ball high over the left side of the upright. Another Hornets change resulted in Tom Cleverley being taken off for Ben Wilmot. On sixty eight minutes, after Moura fell in the box, Llorente sent a pass across to Danny Rose, whose left footed strike was cleared off the line by Wilmot. The Lilywhites then brought on Kieran Trippier for Sissoko. But Watford then went close, from a through ball by Success that was turned into the outside netting of the right post by Denney. On seventy six minutes, a speculative long range attempt by Harry Winks was pushed over the right corner of the crossbar from Foster. Another chance went begging for Watford, when through a Deeney header, Success sliced the ball wide to the right. Spurs then changed Jan Vertonghen with Erik Lamela. Then in the eightieth minute, the Lilywhites finally broke the Hornets resistance, when Llorente steered the ball in a packed penalty area towards Son, who riffled his strike past Foster, into the middle of the net. Spurs stepped up a gear again in the eighty seventh minute, when Rose’s cross was met with a cushioned header from Llorente, into the bottom left corner, to capture all three points for the Lilywhites. In stoppage time, Success showed his frustration, when he got booked for forcefully retrieving the ball from a ball boy, after the boy was slow in handing the ball over, as Watford were defeated 2-1 by two late goals from Spurs.