SATURDAY 9TH DECEMBER, 2000
FA CARLING PREMIERSHIP
Lawrence, 9
King, 1 (Premiership record)
Windass, 69
Campbell, 21
Carbone, 89
Armstrong, 54
Referee:- Neale Barry
Attendance:- 17,225
Bradford (4-4-2):- Clark; Myers (sub
Sharpe, 59), O'Brien, Molenaar, Atherton; Lawrence (sub Petrescu,
63), McCall, Carbone, Beagrie (sub Blake, 82); Windass, Collymore
Subs not used:- Walsh; Nolan
Booked:- Carbone, Windass
Spurs (3-5-2):- Sullivan; Perry,
Campbell, Thelwell; Carr, Freund, Sherwood, (sub Vega, 90), King,
Clemence; Armstrong (sub Korsten, 86), Ferdinand
Subs not used:- Walker; Doherty, Davies
No bookings
Another away
performance ruined by a defensive collapse precipitated by poor
tactical decisions. Graham resisted any changes to the side that
lost at Old Trafford apart from the Freund/Anderton switch in the
centre of midfield forced on him by Shaggy's suspension
On a wet and
miserable Northern afternoon, Spurs could not have had a better
start with Ledley King scoring his first senior goal after only
10 seconds - a premiership record for the quickest goal. This
goal beats a goal scored by Hoddle after 28 seconds against
Norwich in 1979 as my quickest ever goal, and while it may not
have been as classy as the Hoddle chip, Ledley's 25 yard
deflected effort from a knock down from the kick off was
certainly more welcome as Spurs managed their first away goal
since Rebrov's strike against Coventry four away matches ago
With a goal in
hand Spurs started brightly, with the midfield working the ball
well and Ferdinand and Armo (who warranted special praise from
Bradford fans after the match) looking lively up front. Bradford
stoked up by their new management team forced a couple of early
corners and managed to equalize from a header from Jamie Lawrence
(although it looked like a Ferdinand own goal at the time) which
dribbled into the far corner of Sully's net. Lawrence had not
scored (or been credited with a goal since the goal at the Lane
that won Bradford a point last season) Despite the setback of the
equaliser, Tottenham were playing well enough to give all of the
vocal travelling contingent hope that the first win would not be
far away. Atherton was at full stretch to block an effort from
Clemence and Ferdinand hit a powerful shot wide when presented
with the ball at the edge of the box.
The second
goal came from a Clemence corner and Sol Campbell stooped in a
crowded area to nod home his driving header despite the keeper
getting his hand to it. Sol ran back to where the Spurs fans were
gathered and we responded with the "he's done his country
proud" song - a great moment. How anyone can criticise this
man is beyond me
Apart from a
curling shot from Carbone which sailed wide, it was all Tottenham
as we went on the offensive tearing the home side apart and it
needed a great saving tackle from man of the match Windass on
Carr to stop the best right wing half in the country adding to
his already impressive goals tally. Ferdinand nearly got on the
end of a King pass after more good work by Clemence and Matt
Clarke in the home goal had to be alert as Armo raced on to a
long pass
At half time
the talk of was getting another goal or two and getting that
elusive first away win, and despite only being a goal up, no one
could see Bradford getting back into a match Spurs were
dominating
The rain
started to fall harder as the second half started and after a
brief fully of activity in and around the Spurs goal, it was
Tottenham attacking the Symphony Stand housing the Tottenham fans
who scored again. Sherwood, who is generally more effective in
his more advanced midfield role, found Ferdinand on the right-hand
edge of the box and while most people thought that Les was going
to shoot, he squared the ball to Armo who had the simplest of tap
ins to claim his second of the season
With all the
misery we've had to endure on our travels in recent months,
surely at 3-1 up against the bottom side, this game was safe now.
The Bradford manager Jeffries waited until the hour mark to
introduce Lee Sharpe for Myers and Petrescu for Lawrence, which
gave more width and variety to the Bradford attack. Spurs had a
couple of chances to put the game safe - Armo remained onside for
once and latched onto long pass in the inside left channel -
being Armo he had to cut back for his right foot and allowed new
signing Molenaar to get a saving tackle in. Just before Bradford
scored their second, Clemence threaded a pass across the edge of
the penalty area with the other wing back Carr just failing to
reach the pass that would have put him in on goal
Almost
immediately, Bradford had their first serious effort of the half
as Sully did well to save a 20 yarder from Beagrie but had no
chance when Atherton crossed for Windass to head home an unmarked
diving header. Even with the new injection of life given by the
goal, Spurs should not have been troubled to see out the last 20
minutes. Graham had two sensible options - either carry on as
they were or play in a similar but more cautious fashion.
Unfortunately, he seems to think that everyone back on the edge
of the penalty inviting the other team on to Tottenham is the
best way to preserve the advantage.
Spurs never
managed to get back in the match and relentless Bradford pressure
saw them have a Collymore goal disallowed, another effort hit the
post and Clem had to clear another effort for the tireless
Windass off the line before the substitutes combined to set up
Carbone with the equaliser. Sharpe crossed from the left and
Petrescu headed back across the box for an unmarked Carbone to
volley home
With some
bizarre irony, Graham decided this was the moment to introduce
Vega for Sherwood and despite Spurs first effort on the Bradford
goal for about 20 minutes in injury time, Spurs held out for a
point.
Plus points
from the game include another very good performance from
Ferdinand, who with a new contract negotiations looming is in the
best form of his Spurs career. King further cemented his position
in the centre of midfield with another polished display. Armo
returned the warm applause of the Spurs fans as he was
substituted, which hopefully signals a warming of the relations
between us