Norwich 0 Tottenham 2:IF THE Manchester duo of City and United had dared to consider that the Premier League title race was their own little private duel, they can think again.
Third-placed Tottenham Hotspur closed the gap on the top two to seven points with a rousing win against Norwich City at Carrow Road last night and they also have a game in hand on their rivals.
There may yet be much work for Tottenham to do but the manner in which they softened up Norwich in the first half, then polished them off in the second spoke volumes for the patience and staying power that Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, has instilled in his side.
If the title race was not to become an all-Manchester affair, Tottenham needed to continue their rich vein of form since they were humbled by the pair at the start of the campaign. Spurs had lost only once in their previous 14 league matches, a run which included 11 wins.
Redknapp unsurprisingly decided to rest Ledley King after the injury-prone central defender had played in successive games, with Younes Kaboul replacing him alongside William Gallas. Rafael van der Vaart overcame a hamstring problem and took his place on the right flank but with freedom to roam.
That he did to good effect – as did his team-mates – in a stirring first-half display that at times had Norwich gasping for breath. Time and again Tottenham tore through them but, typically, they responded with courage. It was all the home side could do to hang on.
Steve Morison, the Norwich striker, might have been the first player to chance his arm but it was a weak 30-yard effort that Brad Friedel gathered easily.
From then on until the break it was the Spurs show, with John Ruddy, the Norwich goalkeeper, proving the party pooper. Norwich may have failed to keep a clean sheet in 18 matches this season but Ruddy was determined to do his best in making it 19th time lucky. First he saved from the rampant Gareth Bale, who tormented Ritchie de Laet on the left flank and who was the subject of unflattering chanting from the “Snakepit” section at Carrow Road about his appearance.
It did not faze Bale. He kept coming back for more, going close with a curling shot at Ruddy, after he had been set up by Emmanuel Adebayor, and another fierce effort that flew narrowly wide via a deflection off Zak Whitbread. The Wales winger then forced an error out of Russell Martin, only to blaze over as Ruddy left his line.
Norwich did make the occasional foray, mostly through the muscle of Morison and Grant Holt, but there was too little finesse and Friedel was rarely troubled.
How Norwich had stayed on equal terms was almost inexplicable. And so it continued after the interval, with Bale at times seeming to take on Norwich almost single-handedly, either hugging the touchline or cutting into the area. Three minutes into the half, he was at it again, jinking in from the right, but with a cross to an available team-mate the best option, he selfishly tried a shot.
In the space of 12 second-half minutes Spurs took a 2-0 lead. In the 55th minute Scott Parker, van der Vaart and Adebayor combined brilliantly and Bale had only to place his effort past Ruddy, who got a hand to the ball but failed to keep it out. Then a lightning trademark break from Tottenham, instigated by Luka Modric, allowed Bale a free run on Ruddy. He accepted it with relish, drew Ruddy from his line and delicately dinked the ball over him. For once, the idiots in the Snakepit fell quiet. Bale had silenced them in the best possible manner.
Guardian Service
NORWICH: Ruddy, De Laet (Barnett 64), Martin, Whitbread, Drury (Bennett 75), Fox, Crofts (Pilkington 75), Surman, Hoolahan, Morison, Holt. Subs not used: Rudd, Johnson, Jackson, Wilbraham. Booked: Whitbread.
TOTTENHAM: Friedel, Walker,Kaboul, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto (Rose 72), Modric, Sandro, Parker (Livermore 90), Bale, Van der Vaart (Kranjcar 85), Adebayor. Subs not used: Gomes, Pavlyuchenko, Bassong, Pienaar. Booked: Gallas.
Referee: Michael Oliver(Northumberland).
