Lilywhites shade the Eagles
Written By: Robert Halter
Tottenham Hotspur had won each of their last four Premier League games against Crystal Palace with the Eagles unable to score in their last four away league matches at Spurs. In the second minute from a Wilfried Saha delivery, the outstretched hand of Spurs stand in goalkeeper, Paulo Gazzaniga, clipped Mamadou Sakho, as he threatened in on goal. On nine minutes, a through ball from Jan Vertonghen, was met first time by acting captain, Harry Kane, but to no affect as Eagles shot stopper, Julian Speroni, collected the rolling ball. In the thirteenth minute, after Heung-Min Son won the ball off a crest fallen Luka Milivojevic, at long range, Christian Eriksen, had a pop shot at goal. There was a delay in play after Harry Winks was injured, after a boot on his shin by Milivojevic. The next Spurs casualty was Kane, after he was brought down by Timothy Fosu-Mensah, after Kane turned awkwardly. During the thirty first minute, Winks put the ball out wide to Serge Aurier, whose cross over to the left, was connected to with a miss placed header from Danny Rose. In the thirty fifth minute, Rose combined with Kane, and a poor clearance from Fosu-Mensah, was latched upon by Kane, but he could only find the outside roof of the net. But the Eagles responded a minute later, from a Yohan Cabaye corner, as Crystal Palace captain, Scott Dann’s low header was scrambled off the line by Gazzaniga and then cleared from Vertonghen. In the forty second minute, a sideways pass from Winks, was fired in by Vertonghen, and as the ball deflected back off Dann, it required Speroni to back track to make the stop. In the next Spurs move, Winks and Eriksen paved the way for Son, who blazed his strike high over to the right. Following that, Moussa Sissoko put the ball into the path of Winks, but his tame effort missed the target. Before the break, Andros Townsend got the first booking for pulling the shirt of Sissoko. Before the second half resumed, Mousa Dembele replaced Winks. On forty eight minutes, from a stray ball by Aurier, it opened up space for Townsend, who charged forward before unleashing a low strike which at full stretch, Gazzaniga, turned behind at the bottom right corner. From the resulting corner by Cabaye, a header by Dann was unable to find the target. In the fifty second minute, Rose made the move into box, off a deflection by Jeffrey Schlupp, before a lob by Davinson Sanchez, was clasped behind the goal line by Speroni. The Eagles then picked up another booking for Schlupp after a foul on Aurier. But on fifty seven minutes from a breakaway move by the Eagles, when Aurier gave the ball away, an incisive pass by Townsend set Saha free, who rounded Gazzaniga, but turned his strike wide of the far left post. But just before the hour mark, from Cabaye’s corner, as the ball spun off Eric Dier, a forward advancing header from Milivojevic, was clawed away from inside the near left post by Gazzaniga. But Spurs got the breakthrough on sixty four minutes as Sissoko played the ball into Kane, whose pass found Rose, who had his shot blocked by Dann, and from a Sissoko cross back in, the ball was then poorly put back out by Cabaye, which fell to Son, who bent his strike into the bottom left corner. In the seventy third minute, Saha weaved his way forward but a strike from Cabaye, missed to the left. The Eagles soon changed Joel Ward with Bakary Sako while Spurs brought on Fernando Llorente for Kane. In the eightieth minute from a Cabaye corner, a cushioned header from Dann, went over. On eighty two minutes, from Vertonghen’s pass, a chance went to Son, but he could only find the outside netting of the left post. Then on eighty seven minutes from an Eriksen corner, a downward header from Sanchez, went out wide to the left. In stoppage time, Spurs changed Ben Davies for Rose but the slender 1-0 victory for Tottenham Hotspur over Crystal Palace, left the Eagles doomed at the bottom of the Premier League with just four points while Spurs moved into third place in the table after their win at Wembley.