Premier League - Stoke compound Spurs woe

Eurosport - Mon, 20 Oct 09:47:00 2008

Tottenham's miserable start to the Premier League season was compounded as Stoke ran out 2-1 winners at a wind-swept Britannia Stadium.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Premier League Stoke-Tottenham Danny Higginbotham scores past Heurelho Gomes - 0

Spurs ended the game with just nine men after they lost Gareth Bale early on and Michael Dawson as time ran out to red cards.

Danny Higginbotham (pictured) opened the scoring from the spot kick which resulted from Bale's indiscretion and while Darren Bent's equaliser gave Spurs hope, Rory Delap's second half strike proved decisive.

But Stoke were made to sweat for all three points after Ricardo Fuller missed a second penalty deep into 11 minutes of added time - a result of a serious head injury to Vedran Corluka - and Delap struck the rebound against the cross bar.

Spurs had a penalty shout waved away in the final moments of the game before Dawson received his marching orders and Fuller crashed a shot against the bar in a breathless finale.

Chants of 'sacked in the morning' rang out as Spurs boss Juande Ramos was left to contemplate his role in the club's worst start to any season after claiming just two points from eight matches.

The day got off to the worst possible start for the visitors when they lost a man and went a goal down before even 20 minutes were on the clock.

Bale received his marching orders after he brought down Tom Soares in the box to deny the Stoke midfielder a clear goalscoring opportunity. Referee Lee Mason had no choice but to point to the spot and brandish a red card.

Higginbotham kept his cool, despite having to re-spot the ball three times as the swirling wind played havoc with his preparations to take the kick, firing past Heurelho Gomes and into the right hand corner.

At that point, it would have been easy for the beleaguered Spurs players to let their heads drop, but credit to Juande Ramos's side, they responded well.

As is so often the case, the side with 10 men found inspiration in the face of adversity, and on this occasion Spurs went on to dominate the remainder of the opening period.

It took them just six minutes to level the scores, Bent swooping with a typical striker's goal after Alan Hutton's goalbound shot fell into his path. Television replays showed the striker was in an offside position at the moment of the initial strike at goal, but the goal stood.

But Spurs were unable to maintain that level of play after the break and Stoke took the lead for a second time after 53 minutes, Delap getting on the end of a teasing Mamady Sidebe cross at the back post to direct the ball into the net.

The goal deflated Spurs somewhat and the hosts finally began to make their man advantage count, Seyi Olofinjana going closest to adding another just after the hour mark with a crisp strike from outside the box.

Ramos's problems mounted with the injury to Corluka soon after; the Croat full-back was knocked unconscious during a collision with his own keeper Gomes and eventually left the pitch on a stretcher before being taken to hospital by ambulance.

Soares wasted an opportunity to seal all three points in the final minute of normal time before he was felled in the box for a second time of the day, this time by Jonathan Woodgate.

Again, referee Mason had no choice but to point to the spot, but substitute Fuller saw his effort hit both posts before Delap fired onto the woodwork for a third time from the rebound.

A miserable day for Spurs was then sealed when Dawson - a 77th minute replacement for Corluka - was dismissed for going over the top of the ball in a challenge with Sidebe in the 10th minute of time added on.

Despite the late hour, there was still time for Fuller to send a shot against the angle and referee Mason deny Spurs a penalty shout of their own as Bent's attempted cross appeared to hit Andy Griffin on the arm.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

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  1. stokie till i die, was embarrassed by the 1st half but­ very very happy in the second,
    especially when fuller­ passed most of the spurs defence, that was­ entertainment.
    good job they sacked ramos, maybe­ redknapp can halp them on their quest for relegation.
    I­ reckon the relegation will look like this
    18. West Brom­ 20-odd pts
    19. Newcastle 11 pts
    20. Tottenham 2 pts

    From cinnibarina, on Sun 26 Oct 12:29PM

  2. i think you lot have missed the point, spurs got a­ kicking from the mighty potters! up the stoke, ha ha ha­ ha ha ha .....................

    From leigh, on Mon 20 Oct 11:05PM

  3. Well done, Sussex by the Sea! Really up to date! Still­ on dial-up, are we?

    From GW, on Mon 20 Oct 7:21PM

  4. Even a triangle has more points than Spurs.

    From Sussex BY The Sea, on Mon 20 Oct 3:53PM

  5. ALL ENGLISH FOOTBALL
    PREMIER LEAGUE – FA CUP – CARLING­ CUP
    CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – UEFA CUP
    ALL MATCHES ON WEB: ­ PREMIER LEAGUE, LIGA, SERIE A, BUNDESLIGA AND CHAMPIONS­ LEAGUE - UEFA CUP
    ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS OF PREMIER­ LEAGUE MATCHES

    From go to www.premiership.altervista.org, on Mon 20 Oct 12:47PM

  6. to sake jol,to get rid of defoe,keane,berba, it's­ all a mistake from the start. n now, spurs is paying­ the price!!! there is no need to sack ramos or changing­ player, the one that need changing is the owner n the­ board!!! hopefully some rich guy will takeover spurs n­ rise it back from the dead!!!!

    From Uzer, on Mon 20 Oct 10:44AM

  7. the championship league will surely happy if spurs­ participate in it!! haha....wake up spurs!!

    From Uzer, on Mon 20 Oct 10:40AM

  8. Jol was treated in a most disgracefull manner,levy and­ co worship money selling berbatov well ok he wanted to­ go keane and robinson well that was a mistake and­ clearly getting rid of defoe that was as well(although­ he had a gorgeous girlfriend and treated her like­ poop).there is no attack,no defence(woodgate excepted)­ and no midfield sorry but you are @#$%.tell me this you­ diehards what on earth is going on when you let 4­ players of their quality go and dont replace them? how­ the hell will you stay up its obvious even if you­ change the manager get some signings in january they­ wont gel in time and loosing to stoke who should have­ scored 4 it is obvious to me a Leeds fan you are on­ your way down ,ive seen this before.

    From CHEEKY BOY, on Mon 20 Oct 10:20AM

  9. spurs is sinking even deeper!! they're already­ sinking with a massive speed and it look like it's­ going to be deeper n deeper. with 70 million pound­ spending, is this how the money is being spend??­ totally waste!! if not b'coz the board have to pay­ 15 million to ramos if he's been sacked, ramos­ probably have been thrown out of the club!!! as a­ chelsea fan, it's really sad to see spurs sink to­ that level. spurs trying to imitate chelsea by spending­ big, but even with a lot of money, without the­ combination, it'll never work!! and now, it's­ PROVED!!! spurs have a lot of talented player,but they­ never mix up well. do something!!!!!!! change it!!!!­ bring back the the might spurs i know!!! anyway, BLUES­ FOREVER!!!!!!! WE'RE UNSTOPPABLE!!!!

    From Uzer, on Mon 20 Oct 10:08AM

  10. HC's a moron.........the old division one is the­ premiership......dohhh.

    From nick, on Mon 20 Oct 9:12AM

  11. I'm afraid the table dos'nt lie we are the­ worst team in that league,a lightweight midfield who­ can't tackle, pass or even shoot!!
    The forwards are­ getting no service wot so ever from them, thus putting­ the defence in constant pressure because there is no­ one able to hold the ball up and create some­ chances......

    From Wayne, on Mon 20 Oct 9:09AM

  12. i believe with time they will catch up

    From 4real, on Mon 20 Oct 9:03AM

  13. Maybe Spurs should get a new manager - Someone that­ would fit in with your backward concepts

    Terry Venable­ or Glenn Hoddle - Maybe David Pleat. They would be good­ as they remember the old Division one, which is where­ you're heading.

    You weak bunch of losers got so­ tired drawing against Chelsea taht it has taken you­ this long to recover. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Bye Bye Spurs,­ enjoy languishing in the Championship.

    From H C, on Mon 20 Oct 8:37AM

  14. The players are not good enough, the manager has'nt­ a clue sack him now!! And then Levy sell the club to­ someone who's interested in Football first, and­ money second....

    From Wayne, on Mon 20 Oct 8:30AM

  15. Why blame Ramos,Berbatov and Keane??????

    How about­ blaming the half-wits who would supposedly sweat blood­ for the shirt,as long as they don't get blood or­ sweat in their Aston Martin's and 4x4's,I guess­ they mean!!

    From jhr881, on Mon 20 Oct 8:23AM

  16. Tottenham are pants have always been pants and always­ will be pants .How many more managers do you need to­ try before you get the message.Hope you enjoy the­ champoinship thats where you belong,See Ya!

    From delazzuro, on Mon 20 Oct 8:18AM

  17. I know Juande and Gus claim that Bent and Pav cannot­ play together. But surely they must question that­ belief as the current formation has not produced the­ results and all the other teams in the premiership must­ now believe that ther are only two relegation places­ left after one place has been firmly occupied by us.­ Try something new such as playing the players­ you've got in our squad. Something else is­ obviously better than this bunch of losers that turn up­ every game. Gareth Bale should be taught that good­ deffenders intercep the ball and DO NOT tackle in the­ box. I am coach and I coach deffenders to intercept­ rather than tackle, force the space rather than get­ close. Gareth learn this before your next game or you­ will be thought of as dim.

    From Dennis U, on Mon 20 Oct 8:07AM

  18. 8 games 6 losses and two draws - Derby you were­ fantastic LOL -

    From not printable, on Mon 20 Oct 7:13AM

  19. KEVIN GO TO SLEEP YOU ARE SMATRER WHEN YOU ARE­ SLEEPING.

    From zelezelemitros, on Mon 20 Oct 6:45AM

  20. all these comments of ramos should kill himself are­ completly childish...you boys should grow up

    From kevin, on Mon 20 Oct 6:39AM
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