| Match report
Spurs lost out by a single goal
to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, but hold onto a hope that they may
progress to the Round of 16 next week at White Hart Lane, although
an improved performance will be necessary to do so. They were
lucky in the end to come away with a 0-1 defeat, but on the plus
side they did create chances which showed that there are avenues
through the Ukrainians defence.
Having made a number of
changes, Tim Sherwood still put out a strong eleven for this first
leg of the Round of 32. With Friedel, Naughton, Chadli, Dawson and
Soldado coming in for Lloris, Walker, Lennon, Kaboul and Adebayor,
the team lined up on a ploughed field of a pitch in Ukraine.
The first attacking move came in the ninth minute, Capoue was
dispossessed in the Dnipro half and their star man Konoplyanka broke
quickly on their left wing. Stepping over the ball, he went past
Naughton and his low cross to the near post was met by Rotan, but he
could not nudge the ball on target, putting it out for a goal kick.
Tottenham’s first effort on target came in the 13tgh minute, when
Nacer Chadli did well to hold a ball forward to him and Soldado
flicked his cross at goal with a near post header. Boyko, the Dnipro
keeper, more by luck than judgement got his body in the way and the
ball was cleared for a corner. A minute later, Friedel’s advance to
clear a through ball outside his box, saw Rotan attempt to fire it
back past him from 35 yards, but Brad had got back to stop the ball,
with Danny Rose covering behind him anyway.
The Ukrainians looked as though they were not averse to having a few
clashes on the pitch, like their countrymen had off it. Following
through with challenges and hitting Spurs players from behind, the
referee was weak in allowing this to continue. Rose was taken out
after the ball had gone and then got kicked up in the air from
behind, receiving treatment for the first incident. The way the home
team closed Spurs players down, it was obvious that Juande Ramos
must have implemented his diet regime and probably told his team
that the Spurs players were over-weight and unfit, so could be
easily caught.
Halfway through the first half, Andros Townsend cut inside and hit a
low shot straight at the keeper, while at the other end Friedel was
twice called into action by Matheus, the first when he didn’t get to
a diagonal through ball and the second when he was sent clear,
producing a weak finish when in on the Spurs goalie in the box,
allowing him to make a close range block. It should really have
finished in the back of the Tottenham net.
Ten minutes before half time Spurs had a shout for a penalty.
Soldado did well to play Paulinho in on goal and when he got just
outside the box, Strinic nudged him as he approached the 18 yard
line. The referee decided it was outside the box and that it wasn’t
a goal-scoring opportunity, although the Brazilian only had the
keeper in front of him. The free-kick was just right of centre and
Townsend bent it, but not enough and it flew two yards wide.
Five minutes later, the home keeper Boyko almost handed (or should
that be footed) Tottenham a goal, when he tried to dribble the ball
out of the box, but Roberto closed him down and the goalie slipped.
He ended up more fortunate than our striker on the night, as the
ball went behind him and he grabbed it gratefully.
Tottenham were finding a lot of space in behind the Dnipro right
back and Rose pulled a low ball back from the dead ball line for the
on-running Chadli, but the ball just popped up on him and he could
not control his shot that flew over. When Dnipro attacked
next, Zozulya went through onto a long ball past the Spurs back
four, but his elaborate fall when Danny Rose barged into him a
couple of yards outside the box probably put the referee off giving
him a free-kick, when he might have had a good case for one.
The home team started the second half quickly and caught Spurs
napping on the ball and then from the resulting corner, but
Dawson cleared it for another, which was better defended when it
came in. Ramos’ team were still happy to have the physical battle,
but Tottenham looked more up for it as the temperature dropped.
Townsend hit one clearance back on the volley, which bobbled along
the floor, but didn’t trouble Boyko too much.
By calmly passing the ball around, Spurs were taking the heat out of
the game which Dnipro were trying to generate ... mainly by rolling
around the turf whenever anyone came near them. A substitute with
the appearance of a young Bez from the Happy Mondays watched on from
the bench, as a free-kick was played into the Tottenham box and as
Friedel went for it, Zozulya went down and the referee raced to
point in the area. It looked as though he had given a penalty, but
rightly spotted the forward had feigned a challenge on him and
received a yellow card.
Tottenham’s response was swift. Paulinho held off a challenge from
Mazuch and played a low ball across the six yard box that took out
the keeper, but it jumped up on Soldado as he was about to put it in
and he shinned it over the bar. It just isn't happening for
him at the moment.
The game was getting
stretched a bit, with breakaway moves breaking down at each end,
then both keepers had to do well coming out to deal with through
balls. Sherwood took Townsend off after a shot at goal from 30
yards, bringing on Eriksen, who scored with his first touch, but he
had just drifted beyond his marker when he received the ball.
Konoplyanka showed what he could do with a run that wouldn’t have
been out of place at the winter Olympic slalom course. His close
control saw him get around three Spurs defenders before Dawson
blocked his shot on goal. Then Friedel did well to beat out a shot
from Matheus in the next Dnipro attack, while Bentaleb was brought
down in the box, but not according to the referee. A great
break by Eriksen, who was set clear by a neat Soldado back heel,
ended with the Spaniard hitting a volley that deflected wide off two
defenders.
Rather than Ukrainian football, it resembled American football at
times, with blue shorts throwing blocks as Tottenham players come in
to challenge or intercept. They got the decision ten minutes from
time when Matheus ran through from halfway and accelerated into the
box, with Vertonghen pulling him back by the shoulder and his fall
persuaded the referee to point to the spot. Konoplyanka despatched
it from 12 yards, going in off Friedel’s right hand post.
Bentaleb carelessly gave the ball away that ended with a corner
given away and the clearance fired back over Friedel’s bar.
Then Harry Kane came on for Soldado in the last five minutes, but
just failed to bring down a through pass from Chadli that would have
put him in on goal. When Spurs won a corner, it was played long and
Dawson recycled it for Paulinho to get a shot in that deflected off
a defender onto the post. From that corner, Eriksen’s ball in was
met by Kane at the near post and his volley went across the face of
goal, with Chadli inches away from getting a vital touch. The
Belgian winger conceded a free kick on the left and when Rotan
played it in, two players ran across Friedel’s line of sight, but
the keeper kept his eyes on the ball and beat out the shot, with
Dawson completing the clearance as the Dnipro men turned on to the
loose ball. From that Dnipro hit the post with a Zozulya header,
which was saved and then he got up to throw himself at the ball
again, with Dawson getting in the way to stop his diving header.
Finally, the ball was hit over the bar.
The final whistle brought an end to a very open game, with the home
side probably deserving their victory, as Spurs failed to adapt to
the poor pitch and failed to take the chances they did make. The
fact that this was the first away goal that we have conceded in the
competition shows that we have been very solid on our travels, but
also sends a message that we cannot allow the speedy Dnipro players
space at home, as an away goal for them would mean we needed three
to go through.
Steve Kirkwood |
