He was tripped up in the area in the first half. He tried to stay on his feet. Could have been called a penalty as well.
Nice to see Lamela get his first goal , wouldn't mind him replacing Lennon on sunday if he shows the form he did today
I'm unable to watch the game (at work) but are we seriously playing another game using a narrow 4-2-3-1 again? http://www.flashscore.com/match/CAKPfvqS/#lineups;1
Dembele scores from point blank and then misses a great chance to score a second. AVB elects not to use his third sub to take Soldado off. Not sure why he wouldn't take him off...he's been ineffective today.
Done and dusted (snow!). Great stadium they have with what looks like an old-style pub overlooking the goal line. We won, they lost, farthest north game ever played by Spurs? Europa march is well in hand. Can we get anything going in the league for goodness sake?
For our meaningless game this Thursday I want to see AVB trying something new, not necessarily using the kiddos only. I really want him to go back to a 4-3-3 though and see what can happen, perhaps even a 4-1-2-1-2 would be a nice gamble to try? This could be the opportunity to get Soldado getting some goals and carry that confidence over to the Premier League
AVB just said that he is expecting to give Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen some minutes in tomorrow's match, that is fantastic news (especially for Rose). Also he said he thinks Chiriches will be fit to play against Liverpool but Vertonghen probably won't be...
some real pedigree amongst the clubs dropping into the Europa from the CL groups stages: juventus benfica ajax Napoli porto shakhtar basel viktoria Plzen I hate the fact that teams eliminated from that competition drop into this one; but there's no denying that playing clubs like juve, benfica, and ajax are what being in Europe is all about. i'm pretty sure four of them will be seeded (as are we) so some of those we can't draw for the next round; but I think juventus, ajax, and porto are all possibilities. you don't suppose porto would bring a bit of motivation to play against AVB, do you? anyway, the next round doesn't pick up until late February, so hopefully we'll've found a bit of form by then. not sure if I've mentioned it before, but i'd like to win this.
well UEFA and FIFA have "random" draws all the time that bring in obvious storylines, like the recent germany and usa won for wcup. wouldn't be surprised at all if Spurs were drawn against Porto. A Juve vs Spurs final would be epic
wouldn't it, though? [salivates] ... or benfica or ajax. I know those clubs aren't what they used to be, but for us oldies those names are amongst the pantheon of European football. I don't care how much success ever comes to the likes of Chelsea, citeh, PSG, or any Russian high rollers ... those names will never move me like benfica and ajax.
lots of good news on players coming back from injury: Roberto Soldado starts up front for Tottenham as Danny Rose returns from injury and Andre Vills-Boas decides Cristian Eriksen is only fit enough for the bench. Jermain Defoe is not in the squad. Tottenham starting XI: Friedel; Naughton, Capoue, Fryers, Rose; Dembele, Holtby; Lamela, Sigurdsson, Townsend; Soldado
Great to see Rose starting, and glad Eriksen is deemed fit enough for the bench. It will be good to have him back. I reckon more minutes for Lamela and Soldado is a good thing, too. I may be in the minority these days but I still rate Soldado.
I am LOVING this starting XI, except CB though. Really happy to see Holtby tried out in the CMs spot to get deep creativity and loving that Rose is fit. I expect Soldado to finally get some service tonight! ------------Soldado---------- Townsend-Sigurdsson-Lamela -----Holtby-----Dembele------ Rose--Capoue--Fryers--Naughton ------------Friedel---------------
Townsend on the left again, pleased to see that. won a good freekick already. and we score from it Soldado from Sig freekick.
Wow. We barely escape one, then Soldado sends in a header off a Siggy free kick on the edge of the box.