Sunderland 1 Tottenham 2:THE MILAN scouts who spent Saturday evening by the River Wear possibly reached three principal conclusions: Niko Kranjcar should not be underestimated, Spurs remain stubbornly resilient and Fabio Capello is seriously misguided if he believes Sunderland are long-ball exponents.
With Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric all indisposed – although the former two could be fit for tomorrow night’s Champions League date at the San Siro – Tottenham’s teamsheet left home fans optimistic about Sunderland’s chances of bolstering their Europa League qualification campaign.
Instead, Harry Redknapp’s players reinforced a burgeoning reputation as English football’s comeback kings. Watching Spurs rally impressively after spending the first half looking destined for defeat against an evolving passing side Capello was nonsensical to label long-ball last week, Sunderland supporters realised their mistake.
Apart from misjudging Kranjcar’s individual talent, they had overlooked the visitors’ strength- in-depth and steadfast refusal to surrender. Even so, Tottenham began deceptively slowly.
With Stephane Sessegnon and Kieran Richardson floating elusively in the space between midfield and Steve Bruce’s lone striker, Asamoah Gyan, Spurs struggled to second guess their enterprising hosts. Redknapp could not complain when Richardson’s low cross was expertly controlled by Gyan, who swivelled before directing a high-velocity shot beyond Heurelho Gomes.
“No, I don’t think Sunderland are direct,” said Tottenham’s manager when questioned about the England coach’s assertion that Darren Bent is better off at Villa Park than the Stadium of Light because Gerard Houllier’s team plays a more sophisticated brand of football than Bruce’s.
“Sunderland were passing through us early on. They interchange well, they’ve got good movement.”
All this kaleidoscopic positional interchanging and slick one- and two-touch stuff gradually began exerting a mental as well as a physical toll on Bruce’s side. It certainly told on Titus Bramble. The centre-half’s long-standing concentration problems duly resurfaced when he lost Michael Dawson at a corner. Craig Gordon seemed cued up for a spot of heroics but, proving wholly unequal to the challenge, Scotland’s arguably unsighted goalkeeper allowed the centre-half’s free header to pass tamely between his legs.
Forty-four minutes had passed and it was nearly time for Redknapp to remind his players about their knack of recovering from losing positions. Sure enough, within an hour Sandro’s cross, John Mensah’s attempted headed clearance and Kranjcar’s sumptuously volleyed winner had conspired to enhance their hopes of another top-four finish.
Kranjcar’s assured touch and vision from a left-sided station proved highly significant in turning the tide. It was hard to credit that until recently he seemed surplus to requirements at White Hart Lane and had been offered in part-exchange during mooted January transfer deals.
Afterwards Redknapp acknowledged that Kranjcar had been “unlucky” and “deserves” a place in the starting line-up against Milan.
“Niko works very hard, he’s been out of the team all year but he stays back practising every day after training and really thinks about the game,” he said. “You need players like Niko but we’ve created a good spirit at our club; there are no toerags at Tottenham.”
These days rare talent is underscored with grim resolve. “There was a time when Spurs went behind and you could pack up and go home,” said Redknapp.
“We don’t do that any more. We claw out results at tough places. And we’ve got character; we’ve got people like Michael Dawson with that never-say-die attitude.
“Not so long ago Michael was my fourth-choice centre-half, now he’s an England international.”
If Milan have been reminded that leaving Dawson unattended at dead balls can be damaging, they also now know that removing Bale, Modric and Van der Vaart from Redknapp’s catalytic equation is not necessarily sufficient to draw Tottenham’s creative sting.
Guardian Service
