Stoke City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2: match report
Read a match report of the Premier League game between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday May 12, 2013.
Goal time: Emmanuel Adebayor celebrates scoring the winner for Tottenham Photo: PA
Four weeks after trudging off the sodden turf of FC Basle’s St Jakob-Park,
guilty of taking a dreadful penalty, Emmanuel Adebayor has significantly
repaired his reputation to ensure Tottenham Hotspur’s quest for a Champions League place will go to the last day
of the season.
Adebayor was persona non grata after that comedy moment in Switzerland that
conspired to condemn Spurs to a Europa League exit, but manager Andre
Villas-Boas’s hopes of avoiding slumming it in the same competition next
season are very much alive.
After a second goal in a week, Adebayor has breathed life into Spurs’
ambitions of a top-four finish and piled the pressure back on former club
Arsenal, who must now beat FA Cup winners Wigan on Tuesday night to wrestle
back control.
Suddenly the home game against Sunderland next weekend does not appear the
damp squib many had feared for Tottenham and, though their destiny is out of
their hands, this season could yet have a memorable finish.
Adebayor’s winner seven minutes from time secured Spurs their 10th away
victory of the season as Stoke City’s 150th-anniversary celebrations fell flat, despite a spirited
second-half performance after the dismissal of midfielder Charlie Adam.
Villas-Boas said: “It was an extremely important victory for us because it
keeps us in the frame and makes it still possible for us to make the
Champions League.
"The dream is still alive for us. It’s not down to us anymore, but we still want to take it to the last day when we play at home and Arsenal are away [at Newcastle].
“Arsenal are ever so good, that [is why] it’s going down to the wire. What we will see is a Wigan side who are very motivated. They will give Arsenal a hard game. I expect a competitive game.
“For us, the objective to take it to the last day of the season is still open.”
It did not look promising early on, at a venue that has proven difficult for Spurs in recent years. The smoke had only just cleared from the extravagant pre-match celebrations when Steven Nzonzi threatened to extinguish Spurs hopes again with a near-post header from Adam’s disputed free kick.
It was a goal synonymous with Stoke and in the early stages it was a reminder of their early Premier League years, a score the reward of high intensity and lung-busting commitment.
Spurs could have fallen further behind but a fatal lack of communication between Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and Marc Wilson presented Clint Dempsey with a 20th-minute equaliser.
Scott Parker’s pass was cut out by Wilson, as Begovic left his line to clear, and Dempsey pounced on the ball to produce an opportunist lob from 30 yards and revive his side’s season.
Begovic redeemed himself with an excellent save from Michael Dawson’s header as the game ebbed and flowed, with tempers becoming increasingly frayed.
Adam has previous with Spurs after two highly publicised tangles in the past with Bale and was walking a tightrope after an early booking from referee Kevin Friend.
So there was an air of inevitability to his dismissal – even if just 70 seconds after half-time – though his second caution, for a foul on Jan Vertonghen, appeared somewhat harsh.
Dempsey almost bundled in a Bale corner as Spurs began to dominate, though Stoke’s burning sense of injustice inspired a typical backs-to-the-wall performance, epitomised by captain Ryan Shawcross’s efforts.
Time was ticking away and Bale cleverly found space in the box only to drive wide, but Dempsey finally found a way past the Stoke defence to break the offside trap and his pass gave Adebayor an easy finish from close range.
For Stoke manager Tony Pulis, at least a sixth successive season at the top table is guaranteed. He can surely look ahead to next season confident of continuing in charge, but the dismissal of Adam dominated his thoughts.
“What disappoints me is that we’ve had a full house here today, it’s been a great day,” he said.
“They’ve turned up to watch a great game of football and it’s been taken away from them. That’s the real disappointment on our 150th anniversary and in my opinion, the two challenges, I’m not sure they were bookings.”
Match details:
Stoke (4-4-2): Begovic; Shotton (Cameron 74), Shawcross;, Huth, Wilson; Adam, Whitehead, Nzonzi, Etherington (Wilkinson 57); Walters, Crouch (Jerome 57).
Subs (not used): Sorensen, Jones, Owen, Kightly, Jerome.
Booked: Huth, Begovic, Adam, Shotton.
Sent off: Adam
Spurs (4-4-1-1): Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Caulker, Vertonghen; Lennon (Defoe 75), Huddlestone, Parker (Dembele 68), Dempsey (Sigurdsson 84); Bale; Adebayor.
Subs (not used): Friedel (gk), Naughton, Carroll, Holtby. Booked: Huddlestone
"The dream is still alive for us. It’s not down to us anymore, but we still want to take it to the last day when we play at home and Arsenal are away [at Newcastle].
“Arsenal are ever so good, that [is why] it’s going down to the wire. What we will see is a Wigan side who are very motivated. They will give Arsenal a hard game. I expect a competitive game.
“For us, the objective to take it to the last day of the season is still open.”
It did not look promising early on, at a venue that has proven difficult for Spurs in recent years. The smoke had only just cleared from the extravagant pre-match celebrations when Steven Nzonzi threatened to extinguish Spurs hopes again with a near-post header from Adam’s disputed free kick.
It was a goal synonymous with Stoke and in the early stages it was a reminder of their early Premier League years, a score the reward of high intensity and lung-busting commitment.
Spurs could have fallen further behind but a fatal lack of communication between Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and Marc Wilson presented Clint Dempsey with a 20th-minute equaliser.
Scott Parker’s pass was cut out by Wilson, as Begovic left his line to clear, and Dempsey pounced on the ball to produce an opportunist lob from 30 yards and revive his side’s season.
Begovic redeemed himself with an excellent save from Michael Dawson’s header as the game ebbed and flowed, with tempers becoming increasingly frayed.
Adam has previous with Spurs after two highly publicised tangles in the past with Bale and was walking a tightrope after an early booking from referee Kevin Friend.
So there was an air of inevitability to his dismissal – even if just 70 seconds after half-time – though his second caution, for a foul on Jan Vertonghen, appeared somewhat harsh.
Dempsey almost bundled in a Bale corner as Spurs began to dominate, though Stoke’s burning sense of injustice inspired a typical backs-to-the-wall performance, epitomised by captain Ryan Shawcross’s efforts.
Time was ticking away and Bale cleverly found space in the box only to drive wide, but Dempsey finally found a way past the Stoke defence to break the offside trap and his pass gave Adebayor an easy finish from close range.
For Stoke manager Tony Pulis, at least a sixth successive season at the top table is guaranteed. He can surely look ahead to next season confident of continuing in charge, but the dismissal of Adam dominated his thoughts.
“What disappoints me is that we’ve had a full house here today, it’s been a great day,” he said.
“They’ve turned up to watch a great game of football and it’s been taken away from them. That’s the real disappointment on our 150th anniversary and in my opinion, the two challenges, I’m not sure they were bookings.”
Match details:
Stoke (4-4-2): Begovic; Shotton (Cameron 74), Shawcross;, Huth, Wilson; Adam, Whitehead, Nzonzi, Etherington (Wilkinson 57); Walters, Crouch (Jerome 57).
Subs (not used): Sorensen, Jones, Owen, Kightly, Jerome.
Booked: Huth, Begovic, Adam, Shotton.
Sent off: Adam
Spurs (4-4-1-1): Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Caulker, Vertonghen; Lennon (Defoe 75), Huddlestone, Parker (Dembele 68), Dempsey (Sigurdsson 84); Bale; Adebayor.
Subs (not used): Friedel (gk), Naughton, Carroll, Holtby. Booked: Huddlestone
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