SCOTSPURS

MATCH REPORTS FOR 2006-07

Here you will find match reports for all Tottenham matches in season 2006-07. For the odd game that we Scotspurs are unable to attend, or is not on live television, there may be a delay in the report being submitted, at least until football first has finished!
Hopefully most of our reports this season will be ones where Spurs have rampaged the opposition, with dazzling skills, and goals aplenty, but we shall see!

Spurs 0 Everton 2 - 26/08/06

Once again,no Scotspurs were in attendance for the 2-0 defeat from Everton, but for one of the better match reports around i would suggest clicking on the link below.

Spurs 2 Sheffield United 0 22/08/06

Spurs saw off the Blades, thanks to early goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Jermaine Jenas. No one from scotspurs was in attendance and as the game was not on live television it is difficult for us to write up a report.

Instead i have lifted a report from a site i believe to be among the very best for Spurs match reports. Please click on the link below for the report.

Bolton 2 Spurs 0 19/08/06

Tottenham continued their horrendous record at the Reebok Stadium earlier this evening, losing 2-0 to Bolton. The Lily Whites were never really in the match and other than a couple of chances that were passed up, never looked like making the breakthrough. From the very start Spurs looked a little sluggish and they failed to recover from a real double whammy inside the first 13 minutes.

Firstly Kevin Davies powered a header into Robinsons top left hand corner from a right sided corner on 9 minutes. Although Robbo had little chance, such was the accuracy of the header, there was evidence of some pushing and holding, giving Davies the freedom of the six yard box. From there you would hope for Spurs to step up a gear, but more sloppy play continued in the next 2 or 3 minutes, before they were punished for more daydreaming.

A poor clearance fell to Ivan Campo, 40 yards out,and at an angle, he hit a daisy cutter which skidded off the turf, beating Robinson for to his right. Although a good strike from the Spaniard, a similar goal you are unlikely to see again this year. Fourteen minutes in and already Spurs looked doomed to yet another bad day in Bolton.

For the remainder of the half, Spurs were poor in possesion, Davids and Jenas particularly guilty of being a little slow in their decision making. Bolton, at this stage, were winning most, if not every, loose ball and Spurs just looked a yard off the pace. New signing Dimitar Berbatov showed some nice touches and made a couple of decent runs, but either ended up with no support, or in one instance being fouled on the edge of the box, from which Jenas blasted over.

Our best effort of the first period was a good Defoe effort from around 20 yards after he created space for himself.

The second half, if the truth be told, was no better, and it was not until Keanes introduction midway through the half that we rallied briefly and we might have grabbed a lifeline had Berbatov got round the keeper after latching onto a terrific through ball by Keane.

Bolton, although not exactly brilliant themselves, probably deserved the three points. They were the hungrier team and but for Robinson, and indeed woeful finishing, the final score line could have been much worse. All in all, not a day to remember in the weeks and months ahead, but hopefully it will serve as a timely reminder to the players, that we must begin to match the likes of Bolton for desire. Sometimes, in games like this, you should almost certainly leave the fancy stuff on the training ground.

Newcastle 3 Spurs 1 - 01/04/06

An altogether frustrating afternoon on Tyneside left Spurs feeling like April Fools on a day when Arsenal closed the gap with a resounding 5-0 win over hapless Aston Villa.
An excellent Robbie Keane finish from a great Lennon cross wasnt enough as Spurs succumbed weakly to a very average Newcastle side. Within 65 seconds the Magpies were ahead as when Spurs were sliced apart on the Right hand side, with the defence all at sea. N'Zogbia was allowed time to advance to the corner of the 6 yard box where he squared for Lee Bowyer, who nipped in ahead of Dawson, to poke past Robbo in the Gallowgate end goal.
Spurs levelled on 19 minutes with their first meaningful attack. The ball was played wide to Lennon on the left flank, where he made inroads into the box, twisted Stephen Carr inside and out before dinking in a teasing cross which Keano stuck out his head to ease it past the helpless Shay Given. The Spurs support were in raptures and believed now this was a game we could really go on and win.
However within 17 minutes this looked unlikely as poor defending allowed Shola Ameobi a free hit from 10 yards after Robbo had parried a 20 yard effort. With a little help from his defenders the goal would surely have been avoided, with Tony Gardner very slow to react in particular.
With 37 minutes on the clock, David then gave away what looked like a very contentious penalty for a push on Bowyer, tv replays though, proved that Dean had made the right decision, even if it was not exactly nailed on. Shearer stepped up and put Robbo the wrong way to effectively seal the win.
Before the whistle though, there was a great chance to claw a goal back, when a Jenas free kick found its way to Keano via Mido and the Irishman smashed a shot off the bar, that would probably have knocked the keeper out cold had it been a foot lower.
In the second half we started well enough and had Jenas managed to score when he rounded Given it may well have been a different game. It was though, in all honesty, lost on 60 minutes when Dawson was sent off for tugging Shearer. It was a foul, but Shearer made the most of it, and Daws was given his second yellow.
Even then we tried in vain to create with Keane hitting the outside of the post and firing another effort just wide. There were also a few genuine shouts for handball around the area, but referee Mike Dean was not interested and the game soon petered out.
Looking back the late absence of Ledley King did not help the cause as Gardner looked a mile off the pace and was poor in his distribution. Overall not a great performance, and one we will have to put behind us quickly.
On the day the Spurs support deserved a bit better and i only hope it was a bit of a one off. Keep the Faith!

Sunderland 1 Spurs 1 - Sunday 12/02/03

Spurs travelled to The North East for this afternoons game in good shape after the 3-1 win over Charlton at The Lane last Sunday. However the performance here was in complete contrast to the one which secured the points last Sunday. Spurs, in all white, never really came out of the traps and in the end the good sized away support left the impressive Stadium of Light in a dejectory mood.
Right from the offset good football was a million miles away, with pass after pass goiing astray and too often runs not being picked out. The returning Edgar Davids had, shall we say, a bit of a mare, and he looked unfit and perhaps is not yet ready for a top team return. Edgar and Carrick struggled to control the game in the early stages while Lennon looked disinterested out on the left.
This was not what we had in mind before kick-off and you could feel a hint of frustration among the Spurs fans, who had an early rise for this stupid 1.30pm kick-off.
We took the lead with our first meaningful attack as the half began to peter out. Defoe took up possesion on the right, weaved some magic and crossed low for Robbie Keane to bundle over the line from close in. That was to be the last real action of a dire first half.
If we thought the first half was rough, then we were treated to some truly awful stuff in the second. The midfield lacked any real spark and were struggling to combine with the forward pairing of Keane and Defoe, who, in fairness both worked hard for the team with scant reward.
It was no surprise when Davids left the action midway through, to be replaced by debutant Danny Murphy, who himself had a pretty poor game, by his standards. Soon after Mido replaced Keane, but that change made little difference with Mido failing to get into the game.
Sunderland were working hard and were battling well, but lacked any real quality, so it was a real sickener when they got their leveller on 89 minutes, Murphy firing home from an incredibly tight angle after he had shrugged off Paul Stalteri. To be fair to The Black Cats they deserved their goal and their fans, who i thought backed their team well, almost made the ground shake when they grabbed that unlikely equalizer.
Even after that Spurs had chances to snatch all three points, but all attempts were desperate and easily dealt with or went high and wide.
In summary, a really bad display and the players should feel as gutted as the fans at the loss of 2 very important points. As for Sunderland, they lack real ability, but work hard and probably deserve to be higher up the table for their efforts this season.

Spurs 3 Charlton 1 Sunday 05/02/06

Spurs came into this game in urgent need of points and did not disappoint with a thorough display to see of Charlton.
Within the first ten minutes Jermain Defoe had twice came close and he went onto to play his best game for some time and score two crucial goals. The opener came on the quarter hour mark when he was fed an excellent through pass from Jenas, which the little striker controlled well before twisting and turning his way past Powell to unleash past Myhre in the Charlton goal, via a deflection from former Spur Luke Young.
The Defoe/Keane partnership was actually looking quite good, despite the two occasionally running alongside each other. Perhaps now these two can still create a partnership, only time will tell.
The second goal came on 41 minutes when Robbie Keane had the freedom to pick out Jenas with an excellent bending long pass, the midfielder timed his run to perfection, controlled well and from around 16 yards buried low past the keepers right hand. Credit must go Jenas who had the energy and poise to make the lung bursting run that Keane's pass deserved.
Shortly afterwards great play on the right should have saw Spurs draw further ahead only for Stalteri's run to be cut short on the edge of the box by a Bryan Hughes lunge. The Addicks man was lucky to see only yellow. From the resulting free kick Jenas hammered into the wall and it went behind for a goal kick.
On the stroke of half time Charlton created their best chance when Darren Bent teed up Marcus Bent on the edge of the box, his sizzling volley crashing off the bar, only to be scrambled to safety.
At half time Spurs, who had already lost Tainio, had to change more personnel when the injured Lennon was replaced by Johnnie Jackson, himself returning to the side after 14 months. However it mattered not just seconds into the second half when Huddlestone found Defoe with a perfect low pass, Defoe beat the defender to knock past the keeper from 12 yards. Surely game over and three points in the bag?
Charlton were never a force in the following 25 minutes and Keane and Defoe passed up further opportunities before Addicks sub Jerome Thomas gave them a lifeline on 70 minutes with a low angled drive after Paul Stalteri had shown him inside. Robinson was quite rightly furious with the full-back.
The South East Londoners then had a fair bit of the ball without really threatening much until the 89th minute when a header from Herman Hreiddarsen was brilliantly saved by Paul Robinson. Overall an excellent 3 points from a match that Spurs were in complete control of and at last Charlton beaten at the Lane in the Premiership.

Fulham 1 Spurs 0 - 31/01/06

A really sickening defeat this, losing to a 90th minute Carlos Bocanegra header. In a game of precious few real chances it looked as if 10 man Spurs would hold on for what would have been regarded a decent point. Dawson was sent off with 20 minutes remaining but even then Spurs were the better side, but were failing miserably with the final ball.
Throughout the evening Rasiak was a dissapointment, too often losing control & possession and he was hooked for Defoe, who had little time to change the course of the game. Andy Reid had to go off injured in the first half and that too will be a worry going into the Charlton game on Sunday.
In a nutshell we controlled most of the game but were far from lethal around the area and were hit with a real sucker punch for the goal that Fulham barely deserved. It is now four games without a win and we must turn this around against the Addicks on Sunday.

Two games no goals

Since my last proper report Spurs have visited Anfield and lost 1-0 to a Harry Kewell goal. Despite playing well in the North West we were unable to get the breakthrough and near the end Paul Stalteri was rightly sent packing.
Last Saturday Aston Villa visited the Lane and despite Spurs playing some excellent football and creating some decent chances Sorensen was in inspired form for The Villains. Gareth Barry was sent off with a few minutes remaining but the Villa held on for the point.
Due to work commitments i have been unable to see any lengthy action and as such cant actually do a proper report for the above games.
If anyone reading this would like to do the odd match report for games they attend then feel free to contact us at tartanspurs@yahoo.co.uk

Leicester City 3 Spurs 2

Sunday 8th January 2006 at The Walkers Stadium, FA Cup Round 3

Spurs entered this cup tie as hot favourites having come off the back of a great run in the league, while City were under performing in the Championship having failed to register a win in their last eight games.

Spurs had Davids, King and Mido missing from the usual starting eleven while Teemu Tainio had to settle for a place on the bench. Leicester started the game in a 4-3-3 formation but that would later be changed in an effort to nullify the threat of Lennon who was giving left - back Alan Maybury a torrid time.

The opening goal came when Maybury brought down Lennon between the haf way line and goal but in a wide position. Carrick swung in the kick which Robbie Keane rose to head off Douglas' right hand post. The ball fell to Jenas 6 yards out who had shown great anticipation and deserved the reward.

At this stage Leicester barely threatened and it looked like it was going to be a comfortable evening for Spurs. Then Craig Levein threw on Elvis Hammond in 35 minutes and things started to look better for the Foxes.

It was Spurs however who increased their lead in the 40th minute when good interplay between Rasiak and Keane sent Paul Stalteri free on the right, he took a run and from the corner of the box unleashed a thunderous effort into the postage stamp via a slight nick off the post, Douglas had no chance.

Before the half was over Levein's substitution and tactical changes had paid dividends when Hammond scrambled the ball over the line after some sloppy defending from Spurs.

In the second half City started the brighter and had several opportunities all wasted before a glorious chance was spurned by Stephen Kelly to put Spurs 3-1 up, Keane picked the ball up in his own half and played a superb high ball to Kelly who had the freedom of the stadium but shot far wide from 20 yards.

Kelly soon regretted that as minutes later The Foxes were level when a corner was only half cleared and Stephen Hughes fired in a 20 yarder which clipped Dawson en-route leaving Robinson no chance. From then on in Spurs had a lot of the ball but never really looked like scoring with Rasiak in particular very poor upfront.

With stoppage time showing on the clock a long ball found ex Hearts striker Mark De Vries unmarked 25 yards out, although the Dutchman appeared offside, no flag was raised and he took a few steps before beating Robinson low to his left. Spurs had no answer and little time and The Foxes had created a giant killing act.

In conclusion it has to be said that Spurs had too many players playing below par, Carrick had an off - night, Rasiak did little of any use and Defoe was non - existent after replacing Brown.

Spurs Line - Up : Robinson, Stalteri, Kelly , Dawson, Gardner, Lennon (Tainio), Jenas, Carrick, Brown (Defoe), Keane (Capt.), Rasiak.
Att : Approx 20,000

MANCHESTER CITY 0 SPURS 2 04/01/06 8PM

Spurs went into the game confident after the fine 2-0 win over Newcastle at the Lane that rounded up 2005. Just as in 2005 Spurs started their year in Manchester, this time against the blue half and with more success than the 0-0 draw at Old Trafford 12 months ago.
City came into the game on the back of a poor run of results losing to Wigan and Chelsea and picking up a point at The Riverside. According to most reports they had played well in those games though and were due a little slice of luck. Spurs on the other hand had won 5 and drawn 1 of their previous 7 outings and were mildly confident of picking up maximum points.
On the injury front Spurs were without the influential Davids, the tenacious Tainio and of course capatain Ledley King. The only real injury worry for City was Sibierski. For Spurs in came Brown and Lennon with Gardner again partnering Dawson in the absence of King.
The early part of the game was a reasonably quiet affair, with Spurs holding the upper hand possession wise and playing some neat passing football, without causing City any real problems. Keane had an effort wide which he really ought to have at least got on target.
Spurs did finally break the deadlock and it was due to some fine work by Lennon on the right. Distin should have cleared the danger but chose to allow the ball to run out, Lennon seized on this, keeping it in and crossing low for Mido to score with a low effort to David James' left from around 10 yards.
While Spurs were still in overall command for the rest of the first half, City had a couple of half chances to equalise, none of which troubled Robinson.
Spurs kicked off the second half and almost completely dominated til the end, bar a 10 minute spell where City had a lot of the ball and were pressing hard without every really looking like scoring. Spurs had various chances to add a second with Keane bending a 20 yarder past after good work by Lennon and Brown firing just wide from 22 yards after a good run which saw him beat a couple of defenders before unleashing the shot. Jenas then made a decent run through the centre but with options to his left and right held the ball a fraction too long before it got caught up in his feet and then cleared to safety.
Although looking reasonably comfortable 1-0 is never enough and had City taken advantage of some chances, notably Cole firing wildly over from around 10 yards and Bradley Wright-Phillips dragging his effort wide then they might have had something to shout about before Robinsons long kick found Keane who shrugged of the challenges to send an excellent low shot to James' right that sealed the game.
The Irish striker certainly enjoyed his celebrations in front of a noisy travelling support and it was fitting reward for a hard working shift for the stand in captain. Keane has really found some form of late and is striking a good partnership with Mido, who will be leaving later this month to play in The ANC for Egypt which is a real blow when the two are blossoming together.
Performance wise there was certainly no failures, once again Stalteri was solid at right-back, Dawson excellent at the heart of defence, Lennon super on the right but special mention must go to Mickey Brown, so often in the shadows this season, who played out of his skin, running at the Blues defence, tackling with verve and was very unlucky with the effort on goal after a lung bursting run.
In conclusion a very good away performance and 3 points to boot, City were never really in the game and the way Spurs pressured them and closed them down was the reason for that.
The Spurs Line - Up was ; Robinson, Stalteri, Young-Pyo (Pamarot), Dawson, Gardner, Brown, Jenas, Carrick, Lennon (Defoe), Mido (Rasiak) and Keane. Att - 40,000 (approx 2300 Spurs)

Latest Reports - News

I have had some problems with the site recently, regarding bandwidth and its only now i am able to keep things better up to date. I hope to have a report on every game, and varied stories to the actual day of the game where possible. As you may appreciate i cannot make it to the Lane every week, distance causes that and some of the reports will be based on what i see on Football First or read on the net etc.

My plan is to begin the reports again from the Man City game on 3/1/06.

WIGAN 1 SPURS 2

Saturday 26th November 2005 At The JJB Stadium 3pm.

Spurs went into this game on the back of the dissapointing draw with West Ham 6 days previously and after 4 games without victory it was a must win match. This report is a picture of my day as well as the match itself.
My day began at 7am, had the usual shower, shave and that other thing, got in the car for the hour and a half drive to the servive station where i was meeting another couple of Scottish based Spurs fans for the trip south. After a quick stop and a filled roll, we were on the road again by about quarter past nine. None of the three of us had met before but our mutual love of all things Tottenham soon had us all chatting and the trip to Wigan seemed to pass quickly. We arrived at The Fox & Goose pub around half 12 and had the crack with the Cumbria Spurs Lads for a while, sorted out tickets etc. After a few beers and a fish supper it was time to head to the Stadium. Mally, the Cumbria lad, had been informed the walk from pub to ground was 15 minutes but it was half an hour through a labyrinth of gritty backstreets and a residential area or two. We were starting to panic about missing kick-off by this time! Making matters worse of course, was the fact there seemed to be no football fans around and we were given variable directions by a number of locals.
Eventually the Stadium appeared on the horizon and people started to look as if they were actually going to the game. What a relief! Next obstacle was the tiny little bridge over the canal - and we think the access is bad at WHL! Anyway as usual we were at the other end of the ground from where we were coming from.
As we started to approach the Spurs end the chants of "Yid Army" were like music to the ears - we were now amongst our own. 5000 Tottenham people in that stand - I had a feeling we would do just fine today. Right from the first kick the Spurs Fans were superb, as good as i have seen at any game for a long time and we were soon to be rewarded when Tainio's ball over the top caught the usually reliable De Zeeuw out and Robbie picked up the scraps to round Pollitt and stroke the ball into the empty net.
Wigan, to their credit tried to come back into the game, firing a few efforts over the bar from distance and winning a few corners, however Spurs might have increased the lead has Keane managed to get on the end of a nice back-heel from Mido and Keane also had a penalty claim waved away after some pushing and pulling from Henchoz. Half - time and 1-0.
The second half started with Wigan as the brighter side, without them really causing any harm in the box and Dawson in particular was having a very solid game, throwing himself at anything Wigan had to offer. the midfield quartet were doing their job effectively, although Carrick was caught in possesion a couple of times and was lucky it was in areas where any danger could be covered.
Going into the final third of the match we were looking a little nervous and might have conceded a penalty when Lee handled, although it would have been a harsh decision.
Then out of the blue Davids won the ball just inside our half, before starting a run, leaving Henchoz in his wake before unleashing a superb drive from the angle of the box under Mike Pollitt in the Latics goal - cue chants of "Ed, Ed, Super Ed, Super Edgar Davids" which seemed very very loud. The Spurs fans were in fine voice and this a goal there support deserved.
Suddenly though Wigan were back in the game with a couple of minutes remaining when Lee McCulloch tucked home a simple goal after some less than solid defending. Soon After the fourth officials board went up - FOUR MINUTES!! - where an earth did this come from? And it was a tense time with the home side throwing long balls towards goal, thankfully to no avail!
At the whistle the fans gave the players a well deserved standing ovation and it was great to see Robbo making sure the team applauded the supporters for their efforts.
Anyway it was surprisingly easy getting out of the stand, especially after the shenanigans at half-time where it was just impossible to move and again it was time to cross the bridge - far too small for 20 odd thousand fans!
Once the bridge was negotiated the local gendarmes decided to send us cross country to get back to the car, finally it was reached and after a quick pee in the pub it was time to hit the road again. All in all a fine day made all the better by the excellent Spurs Support and Edgars' touch of class.