Tottenham 2 Aston Villa 0: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR took third place in the Premier League with this win, but they looked capable of reaching far greater heights as verve continues to rise in this squad. Although Aston Villa's doggedness showed that morale is intact, the victors' satisfaction was far wider than the result suggests and Emmanuel Adebayor could have had far more than the two goals.
Tottenham, craving a stadium that will generate greater means, could feel disadvantaged by comparison with this season’s Champions League clubs but they have turned a comparative lack of means into an advantage. They had the confidence of men who know their careers might well be on the rise.
A total of 22 points from their previous eight league matches simply emphasised that Aston Villa would have to be prepared for suffering.
Conversely, some of the play in the opening exchanges was surely medicinal for Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, who took his place in the dug-out for the first time since minor heart surgery. He must have pined ever more than is customary for a return to normal life when, in his absence, others had the pleasure of keeping watch over such accomplished football.
No one wasted time thinking of scoring statistics here when there was such conviction and flair to the attacking.
If the side could be castigated for its work in the first half the criticism lay in that slight lack of cold-bloodedness, but Spurs had at least ensured they did not get too fretful since the lead was taken early. After 14 minutes Gareth Bale turned a corner-kick back into the goalmouth and Adebayor was athletic enough to convert the opportunity with a scissors kick.
If Tottenham were to be faulted it was for dallying before they extended the lead. There was even a sense that they were luxuriating in their zest and technique. While ruthlessness was not at the forefront of the hosts, they were sufficiently purposeful to leave their opponents 2-0 down by the interval.
For the sake of variety, Spurs scored a second in relatively mundane fashion in the 40th minute. Bale’s delivery from the left was treacherous and James Collins seemed to confuse his goalkeeper Shay Given as he failed to deal with it. Adebayor was on hand to prod the ball home for a second goal. The opposition barely received much notice.
Gabriel Agbonlahor was a willing runner but a finisher such as Darren Bent might have despaired of ever getting a chance.
Villa have not had such prominence of late, but they have generally shown some degree of resilience in away games, even if they did come to White Hart Lane without a victory on the road in this campaign.
This match, all the same, constituted the start of a demanding spell that sees Villa face most of the prominent clubs before 2011 draws to a close. It would have been natural if the apprehension had deepened before they reached the respite of the interval.
Alex McLeish had not intended that his team would stay so far back. There was a pair of strikers and there may have been some intention of disturbing Tottenham with breaks on the flanks.
The tactics had no effect because the opposition could not be kept at bay. Villa did not have a calm period in which to execute whatever plan had been concocted for this test.
There was little left to lose for the visitors. So it was that Villa strove to go on the attack and did enjoy a corner kick as well as a little flurry. Even so, there was no indication that the balance of play had altered.
The bout of boldness even let Tottenham practise their counterattacking. Adebayor could have completed a hat-trick as early as the 52nd minute but having broken clear he slipped his shot wide of the near post. That was not an indication that hunger was fading in the striker.
That hat-trick stayed on his mind and, coming in from the left, he curled an attempt fractionally beyond the post.
McLeish will not be soothed, but his team had endurance. A spectator would have been taken aback to remember that this was simply a 2-0 lead as the closing 20 minutes approached. It might have appeared cruel to bring on a poacher such as Jermain Defoe, but Redknapp was being practical. Rafael van der Vaart has had a hamstring problem and it would have been senseless not to protect him by curtailing his participation in a game already decided.
TOTTENHAM: Friedel, Walker, King, Kaboul,Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Parker,Modric (Sandro 90), Bale, Adebayor, Van der Vaart (Defoe 69). Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Gallas, Giovani, Bassong, Pienaar.
ASTON VILLA: Given, Cuellar (Bannan 63), Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Hutton, Herd (Delph 87), Petrov, Agbonlahor, Bent, Heskey. Subs Not Used: Guzan, Ireland, N'Zogbia, Clark, Weimann. Booked: Herd, Petrov.
Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).
GuardianService
