Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Middlesbrough
Tottenham and Middlesbrough fought out a fast-paced 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane this afternoon as two fortunate deflected goals gave the two mid-table sides a share of the spoils.
Spurs were the dominant side in the first half and they deservedly went ahead through a Jonathan Grounds own goal. But the home sides went to sleep midway through the second half as Boro’s constant pressure paid dividends when Stewart Downing struck the equalizer, with a little help from Jermaine Jenas’ ricochet.
First Half
Middlesbrough kicked off the game and they wasted little time to register the first shot on target. Gary O’Neil drifted in a perfect cross for Jeremie Aliadiere and the Frenchman rifled in a stinging volley which Radek Cerny managed to parry out, but only to Alfonso Alves who slammed the ball into the net but the flag had already gone up for offside.
Spurs responded straight away through some delightful passing build up down the left, which ended with Dimitar Berbatov teeing up Jermaine Jenas for a shot on the edge of the box but the midfielder blazed his first time effort into the crowd.
Both sides kept up the lively tempo with Aaron Lennon looking especially energetic for the hosts and Aliadiere constantly making a nuisance of himself for the visitors.
The best chance of the game came on 11 minutes when Robbie Keane created some space for himself on the left to dink in a cross for Berbatov, but the Bulgarian could only head straight at Mark Schwarzer despite being unchallenged in the air.
The North Londoners had another opening in the 18th minute when Jenas sizzled right down the middle, breezing past two Boro defenders but carried the ball slightly too far ahead into the box as Schwarzer rushed off his line to smother it away.
Boro had little to show infront of the opposition goal. Emanuel Pogatetz and Julio Arca had half chances but both were unable to hit the target and trouble Cerny, as Spurs deservedly went ahead in the 25th minute.
Berbatov, with his back to goal, cleverly hooked the ball up to lob a cross in to the far post as Lennon skidded forward to connect with a volley and the ball ricochet off both Jonathan Grounds and Schwarzer to end up in the back of the net.
Gareth Southgate’s side had a decent spell of possession after that but the distinct lack of creativity in midfield left them struggling to break down the home defence. They did, however cause a momentary scare for the hosts in the 36th minute when a miscommunication between Jonathan Woodgate and Cerny resulted in the goalkeeper fumbling a harmless cross. But good thing he did though, as he had drifted outside of the penalty box with the ball in hand.
Spurs quickly regained control of proceedings and Jenas came close to doubling his team’s advantage a minute before the break when he curled in a freekick that sailed just inches over the bar.
Second Half
The visitors began the second half the same way they did the first, charging upfield early on. Alves created the first real danger when he cut in to the middle from the left to find space to shoot but Michael Dawson stuck with him all the way and successfully blocked the attempt at goal.
Five minutes later, Boro centreback David Wheater sent a looping header from an O’Neil cross towards the top corner of the goal but Lennon popped up to head it clear on the line.
Straight to the other end, Lennon teed up Keane for a shot from 20 yards out but his half volley took a slight deflection off Wheater and with the sting taken off the shot, Schwarzer easily made the save.
Right on the hour mark, Berbatov should have made it two-nil. The forward expertly brought down an Alan Hutton cross but crashed his shot against the post after taking a deflection off Pogatetz.
Spurs then suddenly began to look jittery as Boro started to grow in confidence. Alves wiggled past Woodgate in the box but his goal-bound shot was blocked by the alert Dawson.
The telling pressure finally paid off in the 69th minute as Stewart Downing equalized for the visitors. The left winger unleashed a hopeful shot from 25 yards and the ball skimmed off the top of Jenas’ head to leave Cerny stranded as he helplessly watched the ball bobble across the line.
Juande Ramos’ men collapsed sensationally after that goal as Boro dominated thoroughly, piling on incessant pressure in search of the winning goal.
On 80 minutes, they came close to taking the lead when Alves ran onto a direct ball from defence, skipped past Dawson but with only Cerny to beat, he dragged his shot inches wide off the far post. Two minutes later, Young drilled in a cross from the right but Cerny nicked in ahead of Alves to palm it away and Sanli Tuncay’s rebound shot was blocked by substitute Gilberto.
Spurs almost stole it at the end, though, when Jenas swung in a freekick which Schwarzer spilled, but the Aussie recovered quickly to clutch on to the ball. One-one was how the game ended and Southgate will be the happier of the two managers with the draw after his side came back strongly from a sluggish first half to salvage a point.
Teams
Tottenham (4-4-2): Cerny – Hutton, Dawson, Woodgate, Chimbonda (Gilberto 69th min) – Lennon (Bent 75th min), Jenas, Zokora, Malbranque (Huddlestone 60th min) – Berbatov, Keane
Unused subs: Forecast, Tainio
Middlesbrough (4-4-2):Schwarzer – Young, Wheater, Pogatetz, Grounds (Johnson 63rd min) – O’Neil (Tuncay 74th min), Boateng, Arca (Rochemback 66th min), Downing – Alves, Aliadiere
Unused subs: Turnbull, McMahon
Goals
1-0: Tottenham (Grounds 25th min, o.g)
1-1: Middlesbrough (Downing 69th min)
Bookings
Tottenham: Nil
Middlesbrough: Pogatetz (29th min), Arca (44th min), Young (93rd min)
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