skip to content

  • Kick-off: 15:00
  • Venue: White Hart Lane
  • Attendance: 36178
  • Referee: Stroud, K

Live Commentary

90 mins

FT:Tottenham 6-4 Reading: A sensational game has finally ended with Spurs taking all three points thanks to four goals from Berbatov and this was a superb match.

90 mins

There will be four minutes of added time - could there be four more goals?

87 mins

That goal has really settled the game for sure and Reading have given up the ghost.

84 mins

Hahnemann makes a superb save this time to deny Jermaine Defoe who unleashed a trademark right footed blast towards the top corner.

82 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 6-4 Reading: (82mins) Berbatov is sent through by Kaboul and he lashes it brilliantly past Hahnemann for his fourth.

81 mins

Finally there is some sort of a lull in the play as Reading try to find a way through Spurs.

79 mins

Now Spurs are making a defensive change as Teemu Tainio replaces Robbie Keane.

78 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 5-4 Reading: (78mins) Keane has his penalty saved superbly by Hahnemann but Defoe is on hand to head home the rebound.

77 mins

Surely not again?! Spurs have a penalty now after Huddlestone's shot is blocked and Sonko brings down Robbie Keane.

75 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 4-4 Reading: (75mins) This is unbelievable! Huddlestone with a wonderful little ball into Malbranque and he gets Spurs on terms yet again.

74 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 3-4 Reading: (74mins) Hunt with a great run and he slots through Kitson who finishes beautifully for his second goal.

73 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 3-3 Reading: (73mins) Berbatov clinches the match ball with a superb volley after Reading now failed to clear a corner.

71 mins

Ulises De La Cruz is on and Murty has now gone off.

70 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 2-3 Reading: (70mins) Another set-piece is crucial for the Royals as Kitson flicks Shorey's corner inside the far post.

68 mins

Aaron Lennon is now replaced by Kevin Prince Boateng as Spurs look to change their team dynamic once more.

66 mins

Spurs are alive once again and suddenly the tempo has changed and it seems that Defoe is yet again performing his role of supersub superbly.

63 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 2-2 Reading: (63mins) Immediate impact from Defoe who crosses low into the box and Murty makes a mess of it and only turns it into the path of Berbatov who slots it home with consumate ease.

62 mins

Reading have had a bucketful of chances in the last 30 seconds but all of them have failed to find the back of net, will that cost them?

61 mins

Ledley King is off here to be replaced by Jermaine Defoe - who always scores when he comes off the bench.

60 mins

Kitson is in behind again here but this time his first touch is poor and that allows Robinson to get off his line and clear.

58 mins

The fans are calling for Defoe and the management look like they may be responding as the England man warms up on the touchline.

55 mins

Dave Kitson should have made it 3-1 to Reading but is denied by an outstanding save from Robinson - that makes up for that first half error.

52 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 1-2 Reading: (52mins) More terrible Spurs defending as Ivar Ingimarsson meets Shorey's corner unchallenged to score.

52 mins

Reading with a great chance but a superb tackle on Kitson by King as the big defender came back.

50 mins

Malbranque curls in a delightful cross and Keane gets a boot on the end of it to poke it past Hahnemann but the Royals defenders are in place on the line to hoof the ball clear.

48 mins

Spurs concede an early free kick in a dangerous position and they fail to clear from Shorey and Kitson drives it back in and its is deflected just wide of the post.

46 mins

The two teams are back for the second half as they look to end the year on a high note but which team will be able to finish the job as the second period gets underway.

45 mins

HT:Tottenham 1-1 Reading: A decent 1st half that Reading have possibly enjoyed the better of but the scores are level at the break after another Robinson howler

45 mins

Right on the break Robbie Keane wastes a brilliant chance to put Spurs back in front after superb play from Berbatov presents him with a chance he really should not have missed.

43 mins

Considering the fact that Reading have enjoyed the better of this we have not really seen the Royals strike force of Doyle and Kitson.

41 mins

Ledley King with a superb little dink over the heads of the Royals back four for Berbatov and his cross looking for Keane is bundled behind by Sonko.

38 mins

The game has got a little stop-start of late but when play is flowing it is Reading who are enjoying the better of it and Spurs are having to rely on counter attacks.

34 mins

Shorey puts the free kick over the cross bar but the cheers of the crowd don't illustrate how close it was.

34 mins

The ground falls silent as Spurs fans think Reading have won a penalty but its only a free kick after Lennon wipes out Convey.

30 mins

Berbatov is in need of the magic spray after taking a knock on his ankle but the Bulgarian should be fine to continue momentarily.

27 mins

The game still has plenty of life in it but there is little goalmouth action to comment on with the majority of the battle being fought on in the midfield areas.

24 mins

It is amazing how different the atmosphere here is now compared to ten minutes ago, the crowd are a little flatter and the Spurs players need to get them back on their side.

20 mins

That has given Reading renewed belief that they can take the points from this game but Paul Robinson must be wondering when things are going to completely turn around for him.

16 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 1-1 Reading: (16mins) However with literally his first action Robinson has dropped a clanger as he pushes down Shorey's cross to the feet of the grateful Kalifa Cisse.

15 mins

Paul Robinson has been pretty much a spectator so far with Reading really failing to get the ball into the final third.

12 mins

Aaron Lennon almost makes it two as he uses his pace to get behind Shorey but Sonko is across in the nick of time to tackle the nippy young winger.

10 mins

Kalifa Cisse has been booked already for persistent fouling as he commits yet another offence on Lennon this time.

10 mins

You can see the confidence oozing through this Spurs side at the moment and the passing is crisp and the movement fluid. Reading are having real problems dealing with them.

7 mins

GOAL:Tottenham 1-0 Reading: (7mins) The front two combine brilliantly and Berbatov is free at the back post to tap home Keane's cross.

5 mins

Dave Kitson - a huge Spurs fan apparently - has said in the build up that he would love to score at White Hart Lane and he almost gets in behind Kaboul but the young French defender makes a timely interception.

2 mins

A lively start from the visitors with Bobby Convey seeing a couple of shots blocked by Ledley King - who gets a huge cheer everytime he gets near the ball.

0 mins

Keith Stroud is today's official as the busy festive period passes its middle point and these two sides begin their final game of 2007.

0 mins

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Hunt, Cisse, Harper, Convey, Doyle, Kitson

0 mins

Tottenham: Robinson, Chimbonda, Kaboul, King, Lee, Lennon, Jenas, Huddlestone, Malbranque, Berbatov, Keane

0 mins

Steve Coppell's side are a bit Jekyll and Hyde this season but the spirited draw at Upton Park on Boxing Day showed that they can still cut it with the big boys and in Doyle and Kitson they have an in form strike duo.

0 mins

Still no starting place for Jermaine Defoe for Spurs today as Berbatov and Keane again get the nod in attack with both looking to add to their recent goal hauls.

0 mins

Welcome to White Hart Lane where an dramatically improving Tottenham Hotspur entertain a Reading side who have been in an indifferent run of form of late.

Match Report

Tottenham host Reading on Saturday with confidence currently sky high at White Hart Lane.

Juande Ramos celebrated his biggest win as Spurs boss as his rampant side thrashed Fulham 5-1 on Boxing Day with Robbie Keane and Tom Huddlestone helping themselves to braces.

The result was the perfect response to last weekend's 2-1 derby defeat by Arsenal, which had brought a four-match unbeaten run in all competitions to a crashing halt.

Under Ramos, Spurs have looked a different side to the one that he inherited from Martin Jol in October and the Spaniard has won eight of his 13 games at the helm.

Ledley King was a welcome return to the side on Boxing Day as the captain made his first appearance of the season.

His return helped counter the loss of makeshift defender Didier Zokora, who is now available again following his recent suspension.

Jermaine Jenas (ankle) and Michael Dawson could also return from recent knocks, but Gareth Bale (ankle), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) and Ricardo Rocha (hip) remain sidelined.

Meanwhile, Reading arrive at White Hart Lane in the midst of a five-match unbeaten run.

Steve Coppell's improving side moved up to 12th in the table after surviving the first-half dismissal of Brynjar Gunnarsson to hold West Ham to a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day. Dave Kitson equalised Nolberto Solano's opener for the Hammers at Upton Park.

However, despite their recent improvement, the Royals remain one of only three teams outside the relegation zone not to have won an away game all season.

Three draws and six defeats from their nine games on the road is a far cry from last year's form which saw them occupy a top-eight place for much of the campaign.

Clean sheets are also proving difficult for the Royals to collect as they have only kept three in the league - and none since early October - from their 19 matches to date.

The two sides met for the first time since the 1930s last season with both winning on home soil.

The common theme in both encounters were goals from Spurs striker Keane, who scored the winner in a 1-0 success at White Hart Lane, before netting a consolation effort in a 3-1 defeat at the Madejski Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur

Reading

Corners

3 6

Fouls

9 12

Goal attempts

14 12

Shots off target

2 3

Offsides

3 1

advertisment

advertisement