Tottenham 3 Swansea 1:HARRY REDKNAPP was dismissive in the aftermath of any mention of recent rot, claiming he rarely "goes home worrying if we've not won in four, five or however many matches" but, behind the scenes, a wave of relief will be coursing through this club.
Tottenham Hotspur have recovered their rhythm and, by returning to winning ways on the weekend Arsenal stuttered, are separated from third place only by goal difference. Momentum in the pursuit of Champions League places may have shifted again.
This was a timely fillip to breathe conviction back into any of the doubters. Spurs had mustered passages of enterprising play during their recent five-game win-less streak, only for a return of two points from a possible 15 to represent scant reward.
They had stretched Manchester United here and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, battered away relentlessly at Everton, and even led comfortably at one point at the Emirates. What they had needed, as Redknapp pointed out, was “a bit of luck” and a win to nudge them back into the groove. The late rally here, fuelled by two goals from Emmanuel Adebayor, has served that purpose.
Overcoming a side still relatively fresh from the Championship might not normally have such a restorative effect but Swansea have regularly left lofty opponents red-faced, huffing and puffing in pursuit of the ball. They had been slick and impressive in recovering an early deficit here, and were hinting at building upon Gylfi Sigurdsson’s smartly taken equaliser, only for Tottenham’s key performers to impose themselves on the occasion.
Therein lay real cause for optimism. When Gareth Bale stated post-match that “we’re back”, he may have been talking less about the team and more about those personnel upon whom this team relies to make a difference.
The Welshman stood out, unnerving Angel Rangel with his bursts to the by-line, veering in-field if crowded on the flank, and constantly leading the hosts deep into Swansea’s defensive numbers.
Luka Modric, this team’s visionary, conjured passes that rendered a normally solid defensive unit prone. That pair had combined to edge the hosts ahead early on, the Croatian slipping his pass inside Rangel for Bale to collect and pull-back and, via Ashley Williams’s attempt to intercept, Rafael van der Vaart steered a glorious first-time shot beyond Michel Vorm.
There are few rearguards in the division who can suppress that attacking trio when they are in full flight, with Aaron Lennon also back before the end. Even so, it took the re-emergence of Adebayor, the team’s focal point, to ensure they prevailed.
The centre forward had not scored in the league here since the last win, a five-goal thrashing of Newcastle in early February that had started to feel disconcertingly distant. Swansea had coped with the on-loan Manchester City striker’s threat on the turf, markers buzzing around his leggy presence to force him into areas where he could not inflict damage. But, at 6ft 3in, he would not be thwarted in the air.
Denied the ineligible Steven Caulkner at the heart of their defence, Swansea were dwarfed late on as a pinpoint delivery from Van der Vaart and then Lennon, as a substitute, could not be suffocated at source.
Adebayor, towering first above Neil Taylor and then Garry Monk, thumped headers beyond Vorm with glee. “When you’ve got that stature and physicality . . . well, we couldn’t deal with that,” conceded Brendan Rodgers.
Tottenham, even if they do return to Europe’s elite club competition, may struggle to retain Adebayor next season given the sheer size of his €215,000-a-week salary at the Etihad.
Spurs, should they win at Sunderland on Saturday lunchtime, would edge clear again in third before Arsenal host Manchester City on Sunday. The tete-a-tete between north London rivals on the fringe of the title race goes on.
