2  Liam ROSENIOR
  6  Curtis DAVIES
15  Paul McSHANE
  3  Maynor FIGUEROA

27  Ahmed ELMOHAMADY  (10  Robert KOREN 70)
  7  David MEYLER     
  8  Tom HUDDLESTONE
11  Robbie BRADY  (17  George BOYD 70)

18  Nikica JELAVIC  (20  Yannick SAGBO 89)
21  Shane LONG 

Unused subs: 
16  Nick JAKUPOVIC
  4  Alex BRUCE
29  Stephen QUINN
12  Matt FRYATT

  2  Kyle WALKER
20  Michael DAWSON
  5  Jan VERTONGHEN
  3  Danny ROSE

  7  Aaron LENNON
42  Nabil BENTALEB
  8  PAULINHO 
23  Christian ERIKSEN

  9  Roberto SOLDADO     
10  Emmanuel ADEBAYOR (37  Harry KANE 90)

Unused subs: 
24  Brad FRIEDEL
  4  Younes KABOUL
16  Kyle NAUGHTON
15  Etienne CAPOUE
21  Nacer CHADLI
22  Gylfi SIGURDSSON
 

Spurs had to settle for a draw at Hull City after a ragged first half and a better second 45 minutes, but failure to take chances (three of nineteen shots on target) cost them the opportunity to further extend their run of consecutive away wins.

Sherwood made a couple of changes, with players returning from injury, as Paulinho was drafted in taking the place of Mousa Dembele, injured by Toure on Wednesday and Jan Vertonghen came in for Vlad Chiriches.

Hull had the first chance of the day when a quick free-kick on their right caught the Spurs defence napping and Nikica Jelavic snuck in to meet it on the volley, but while his cushioned effort just eluded Lloris it also went a little too high and went over the bar.

Spurs hit back with a good opening of their own when Lennon played the ball to Soldado and his cross picked out Emmanuel Adebayor on the edge of the box and the first time volley forced Harper to tip it over the top.  However, in the 12th minute, Hull scored the opening goal of the game and for them, the opening goal of 2014.  A long goal-kick dropped and Jelavic hooked the ball past Dawson and Vertonghen, allowing Shane Long to run onto it from 20 yards out and shooting past Lloris as he reached the area.

While Hull were pressing the Spurs man on the ball, the team did start to move better and find some fluency, although without testing Harper too much.  A dodgy free-kick awarded to Hull after Dawson won the ball with Long gave Jelavic a chance to curl one a foot wide, with Lloris left standing, just seven minutes before the break.  As the clock reached 45 minutes, Christian Eriksen picked up the ball, took it inside one Hull player and ran at the defence; shooting from outside the box and flying over the bar.

The break came and there had not been too many scoring opportunities in the first half, but Hull had taken theirs and Spurs needed to make the Tigers' keeper work harder.

Spurs started the second half slowly, allowing Hull to nick a ball off Rose and win a free-kick down by their right wing corner flag.  They were first to the ball and Spurs were not holding onto the ball very well.

Ten minutes into the half, a move that saw Lennon have a shot blocked and then Eriksen played in on the right, with his drove beaten away for a corner by Harper.  A late challenge where Meyler stamped down on Bentlaeb's foot only got Spurs a free-kick, with no caution for the Hull midfielder, but further punishment was to come.  The ball was played short to Rose, who hit a shot, which was going nowhere until it landed at the feet of Paulinho.  The Brazilian struck a shot on the turn from 12 yards out and the power of it beat Harper's attempt to save making it 1-1 just after the hour.

A couple of minutes later, Long hooked a ball back into the far post area from the right, where Jelavic got there before Walker, nudging a volley against the bottom of Lloris' post, with the keeper tight to it, so unlikely to let it past him.  The game really opened up and only loose passing stopped either side getting away.  Lennon put a low ball into the six yard box, cutting out Harper, but it was a home player there to clear the ball.  Space opened up for Robert Koran, a minute after he had come on as a substitute, but he dragged his shot wide, then Jelavic poked the ball past Lloris, as the keeper came to the edge of the box and Dawson got back to hack the ball away.

Meyler finally got booked for another foul on Nabil, but the free-kick was cleared and when it came back in, the young midfielder struck a low volley a yard wide.   Adebayor put in a good cross into the six yard box, but no Spurs player attacked it, Vertonghen hit a 25 yard free-kick that swerved away from the goal and Eriksen's dipping cross was held by the keeper at his near post.

Long put Jelavic away on the left with five minutes left, after some sloppy Spurs passing, but the Croatian's low shot was kept out by Lloris.  Towards the end, Bentaleb crossed for Soldado to head, but it was too high for him to get any direction on the ball, while Ade was on the floor having been crunched from behind by McShane.  Harry Kane replaced the Togo striker.

At the other end, Jan let Long nip in front of him and dragged him back, conceding a late free-kick, which Tom Huddlestone whipped in from near the dead-ball line.  It went knee high across the face of goal, somehow without anyone getting a touch.

Spurs had a couple of moves going forward but the game ended with a point apiece and that was probably better for Hull than it was for us, especially with Everton winning to go back above us.  And it is the Toffees who provide the next opposition next Sunday in what could end up being an important game for the fifth place if not a higher one.

Burton Bradstock