Spurs bide their time with Burnley
Written By: Robert Halter
Tottenham Hotspur were unbeaten in their six Premier League matches with Burnley under their manager Mauricio Pochettino, prior to the Clarets visit to Wembley stadium for a mid December clash against Spurs. After Danny Rose was chopped down by Aaron Lennon, a free kick from Kieran Trippier, drifted past the far right post, in the sixth minute. On twelve minutes from a Robbie Brady corner, the ball was punched clear from Hugo Lloris. Then a minute later, through a dangerous delivery by Brady, the ball was put out of play by Ben Davies, and from another Brady corner, an unmarked Charlie Taylor, was unable to convert the ball at the far post. In the eighteenth minute, a raking long ball by Erik Lamela, was struck on the volley from Lucas Moura, but his effort went wide of the left post. Through a breakaway Spurs move in the thirty first minute, Harry Kane sprayed the ball across to Moussa Sissoko, whose incisive pass went to Lamela, who struck a close range left footed shot which was smothered by the Clarets keeper, Joe Hart. Four minutes later, Kane’s over the top delivery, was out of the reach of Dele Alli, on the right side of the box. In the thirty seventh minute, a long ball forward by Kane fell to Rose, who cut in from the left, before miss firing with a high wayward strike to the right. Within a minute, from Oliver Skipp’s through ball, Lamela blazed high over the upright. In the forty third minute, from a Lamela corner, a combination between Sissoko and Trippier found Skipp, whose miss placed header went left of the target. Then from a poor kick out from Lloris, the ball went straight to Phil Bardsley, whose cross was skied over from an Ashley Barnes header, towards the end of the first half. After Lamela appended Jack Cork, a free kick by Brady was crossed over by Lennon, and a scissors kick from Barnes ricocheted back off Kane, who made a decisive block to avert the danger, in the early stages of the second half. In the fifty second minute, through a Trippier assist and ball in by Kane, stepping back to make the stop, Hart bumped into the right post. After another foul by Lamela on Cork, referee Graham Scott booked Brady for time wasting as there was a delay in him taking the free kick. The Lilywhites then replaced Moura with Christian Eriksen. Another Clarets player was booked for time wasting at a throw in as Bardsley was shown a yellow card. On seventy four minutes, Eriksen put the ball out wide to Rose, whose delivery dropped to Lamela, and it took a point blank save by Hart, to keep Lamela’s shot out, before a vital interception was made by Kevin Long on Kane, to stop the Spurs marksman from converting the rebound. Spurs then took off Skipp and brought on Heung-Min Son. Later Burnley switched Barnes with Chris Wood, followed by another Tottenham change of Fernando Llorente for Lamela. A gilt edge chance was squandered by Spurs, when Trippier’s cross was brought down on the chest from Llorente, and an unmarked Son, from the right side of the six yard box, drilled the ball past the far left post, in the eighty fifth minute. Five minutes later, Kane’s pass through to Son on the right, was crossed low as James Tarkowski nearly put the ball in his own net on route to Alli, who struck the outside netting of the left post. But Spurs finally got the breakthrough in the first minute of stoppage time, when through a long ball by Trippier from inside his own half, it was brought down by Alli towards Kane, whose lay off was smashed by Eriksen, into the left side of the net. A double change was made by Burnley, first Jeff Hendrick for Brady and afterwards Sam Vokes for Lennon, but there was to be no Christmas cheer for the crest fallen Clarets, whose 1-0 defeat left them without an away win against Spurs in any competition since a league cup quarter final tie back in January 1983, but more alarming for Burnley was defeat saw them drop into the bottom three, while Tottenham moved third from top in the table.