Premier League - Tottenham ease past Stoke

Eurosport - Wed, 28 Jan 11:09:00 2009

Tottenham brushed aside Stoke City in the Premier League after an imperious first half performance gave them a 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Premier League Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham-Stoke Dawson Woodgate - 0

A jinking run and composed finish by Aaron Lennon gave the home side the lead in the eighth minute, and they proceeded to build on their lead with a ruthless swagger.

The second goal epitomised the burgeoning confidence of Harry Redknapp's much-maligned midfield as David Bentley and Luka Modric exchanged slick passes, before the fledgling strike duo took over; Roman Pavlyuchenko slipped in Jermain Defoe, who finished with aplomb.

Spurs' dominance threatened to humiliate the visitors, but a third goal in the 25th minute was the extent of their misery; Modric, who was in magisterial form, whipped in an innocuous-looking cross, which Michael Dawson met with a powerful header, courtesy of more slack marking.

Former Sheffield United, Everton and Southampton striker James Beattie gave Stoke a faint hope in the 57th minute after Tony Pulis had courageously introduced Ricardo Fuller among three quick-fire substitutions. Beattie latched on to Rory Delap's through-ball and finished clinically from a testing angle.

But the damage was done in a blistering opening period from the home side, with Bentley back to somewhere near his best on the right, and Lennon providing flashes of brilliance which tore Stoke apart.

As early as the fourth minute Modric carved open the Potters' defence with a weaving run which bewildered the hapless Andy Wilkinson, but his curling shot went narrowly wide of Thomas Sorensen's far post.

Wilkinson then made amends with a crucial clearance off the line from Defoe's shot in the 27th minute after fine wing-play by Bentley found the striker in space.

Lennon and Modric combined to great effect again just before half-time, with the latter delivering a cross which Ryan Shawcross and Abdoulaye Faye contrived to miss, but Vedran Corluka scuffed his shot horribly.

After Pulis had made his wholesale changes, Stoke became less charitable at the back.

With Spurs gradually reducing their desire to press forward, the game deteriorated into a feisty but frantic affair; five quick bookings was ultimately a fair reflection.

The visitors barely gave Tottenham cause for concern, with Richard Cresswell's misdirected free header in the 85th minute an isolated clear-cut opportunity.

Spurs debutant Carlo Cudicini was not overly tested thereafter, as Redknapp's side moved up to 13th, with Stoke rooted in the bottom three.

Dan Quarrell / Eurosport

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  1. ok.... so I am stupid ??? I am missing something an 'arry is brilliant ..amongst the best ??? i will go back to be a *sensible* supporter who does not swear *sh-t* you hear worse words on kids TV these days ..get real and dont all you clever supporters here know that you can report naughty people like little me ???
    Let the football do the talking then... i come here when you lose..i come here when you win ..do you ??? stoke city..lol you became good again over night, i will note your names with my empty brain and fingers that should be in my pockets, i will come back everytime you play..its my right yes ??? and I SUGGEST you all keep your fingers crossed that every team you get plays like stoke, be nice wouldn't it ... ?
    see you all soon, i have nothing to hide my nick name Yids ... see you soon garybillingham :D

    From garybillingham, on Wed 28 Jan 4:07PM

  2. yes the portscum fans have finally realised being 3 points off the bottom dos'nt mean their a better team then Spurs, and fizzy pop they're going down!!

    From Wayne, on Wed 28 Jan 12:38PM

  3. What, no pompey fans today.

    From OMG WTF, on Wed 28 Jan 11:45AM

  4. You have to hand it to Harry Redknapp. I think he's in the top 3 of best managers in the league. He consistently turns mediocre teams into winners. I like what he did at Portsmouth and am liking what he's doing at Tottenham now. Look at how far Tottenham have come since Harry joined...and at the same time, how Pompey has fallen. Keep it up Harry.

    From mack.coker, on Wed 28 Jan 10:20AM

  5. modric now showing his outstanding qualities, no way can harry even contemplate any deals with him, pav and defoe are gelling and showing they can link up well together, all we neeed now is the consistancy and stability i believe harry will bring to to the team, and think we can look forward to a much brighter future......C.O.Y.S!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From tony, on Wed 28 Jan 9:34AM

  6. ALL WE HAVE TO DO NOW IS LEARN HOW TO PLAY BOTH HALVES OF THE GAME , I HATE TO SEE THEM PASS THE BALL SIDEWAYS AND BACKWARDS IN THEIR OWN HALF , THEY HAVE TO KEEP PUSHING FORWARD FOR MORE GOALS , THEY TEND TO SLACK OFF WHEN THEY GET A LEAD ,DANGEROUS GAME TO PLAY AS THEY HAVE OFTEN FOUND OUT , WILL THEY EVER LEARN
    PETE NO1 GARDENER

    From NO 1 GARDENER, on Wed 28 Jan 8:53AM

  7. Inter Milan are targeting Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric - and want to offload Italian hardman Marco Materazzi at White Hart Lane.

    Inter boss Jose Mourinho is under orders to trim his ageing squad and 35-year-old Materazzi is being touted around the Premier League.
    ----------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- -------
    No way. We can't swop Modric for this old man. 35yrs?. He's got 2 years left if he's lucky. We don't want old men arry so Modric should go nowhere, not after his domination on the field last night. COYS

    From OMG WTF, on Wed 28 Jan 8:34AM

  8. Nice one,Cyril!

    From nick, on Wed 28 Jan 8:17AM

  9. come on you spurs about time you started to show us what you can do

    From spursjay07, on Wed 28 Jan 7:45AM

  10. to all pompey fans still on here bleating about past players and managers.......get a life your going down!! Fizzy pop!!

    From Wayne, on Wed 28 Jan 7:30AM

  11. THANKYOU MR GARY_T FOR YOUR KIND COMMENT YOUR A TRUE FOOTBALL FAN , YOUR TEAM DONE WELL ALSO , IF SPURS CAN GET IT TOGETHER NOW ,IT SHOULD MAKE FOR A GOOD FINAL , HOPE IT IS A GOOD GAME FOR PLAYERS AND FANS , BEST WISHES FROM PETE A SPURS FAN FOR 50 YEARS

    From NO 1 GARDENER, on Wed 28 Jan 7:30AM

  12. coys..up the table we go

    From andy, on Wed 28 Jan 7:20AM

  13. I AGREE WITH YOUR COMMENTS NO.1, SPURS ARE ON TH MOVE NOW,STABILITY,WE DO HAVE A GOOD SQUAD OF PLAYERS, GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO GEL TOGETHER,I WAS AT THE GAME LAST NIGHT,AND ALSO THE MAN UTD GAME,IF WE HAD TAKEN OUR CHANCES WE COULD HAVE BEATEN THEM ALSO.AND LADS IF YOU WANT TO STOP THE SWEARING ON HERE REPORT IT AS ABUSE,ITS A FOOTBALL FORUM, NOT A SWEARING COMPETITION,TRUE SPURS FAN,
    JIMBO.THFC.

    From jim, on Wed 28 Jan 6:40AM

  14. Modric was masterful, Pav and Defoe indeed linked up nicely for the goal. Bentley finally showing what he can do, no showboating ! Great to have Cudicini in goal too

    From ispurs, on Wed 28 Jan 2:48AM

  15. COYS

    From ispurs, on Wed 28 Jan 2:46AM

  16. Happy for Spurs result, I hope they do enough to stay out of the relagation zone.
    I'm a ManUtd fan btw. =)

    From mr.gary_t, on Wed 28 Jan 2:21AM

  17. More bread and circuses, nevermind what's happening to the country under the Lib/Lab/Con-tricksters that occupy the House of Treason. Let's just worry about overpaid, greedy, self-serving oxygen thieves!

    From Darth Vader, on Wed 28 Jan 1:19AM

  18. scratch10... garybillingham's got to be a Pompey to make grudge comments like that! If he knew his footie he'd know Harry's credentials as a manager regardless of the club he was managing! But which ever of the two garybillingham supports, he aint going to be happy at the moment!

    From Geoff P, on Wed 28 Jan 12:30AM

  19. And before anyone says anything I only clicked "Submit comment" once so havent a clue why my first comment appeared twice but my points still stand! We don't need the bad language - just constructive comments and debate.

    From Geoff P, on Wed 28 Jan 12:22AM

  20. garybillingham.........Are you pompey or gooner?. Well either way, if your pompey, the yids are above you now. If your a gooner, the yids are on the march. If you are gooner, see you soon, very soon. COYS

    From OMG WTF, on Wed 28 Jan 12:18AM
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