Source: Daily_Mail
Tottenham 4 Middlesbrough 0: Lennon at double as Boro feel backlash
Little wonder Harry Redknapp decided against a Carling Cup knees-up this week. The hangover from last year's final took a whole year to cleanse from the system but Tottenham can finally consider it gone.
The Carling Cup has left the building. Was it carrying some sort of curse? We will find out as it sits in Manchester United's trophy cabinet. Then, in 12 months, conclude that it wasn't.
Instead it has been a tale of self-destruction from Spurs, one featuring quick-vanishing form and an absurd transfer policy. But, having failed to defend the trophy at Wembley on Sunday, this four-goal spree suggested everyone was relieved to be rid of the little silver pot.
Maybe multi-tasking was the problem. It looks so much easier when there is only the Barclays Premier League to focus on. Aaron Lennon grabbed two, Robbie Keane scored his first since returning from Liverpool and Roman Pavlyuchenko got the other.
Three more points and a boost to the goal difference. Relegation worries, what are they? Ask Middlesbrough because their sloppy defensive display sinks them deep into trouble, with the distraction of an FA Cup quarter-final on the horizon.
'We were poor defensively,' said dejected manager Gareth Southgate. 'We looked a threat going forward but we didn't have enough hard work and discipline in the first half. Once you go behind you have to stay in it. We needed to be 2-0 at worst going into half-time. We have to apologise to our fans.'
Boro had arrived at White Hart Lane unbeaten in four games, having just ended a 14-match winless run by beating Liverpool. Whether that meant form was good or bad was hard to deduce but they launched forward like a team high on confidence.
Didier Zokora was deployed at right back to shackle Stewart Downing, who had terrorised makeshift full back Martin Skrtel at the Riverside last weekend, and won the duel.
Downing, a long-time transfer target for Tottenham, forced an early save from Heurelho Gomes after Jonathan Woodgate had given possession away cheaply to Jeremie Aliadiere but drifted out of the game as Spurs took control.
Boro have now gone six away games without a goal. Their sense of adventure helped the entertainment value but exposed their back four to the counter-attack.
Tottenham almost stole the lead with their first foray forward, with Lennon sliding the ball wide. Justin Hoyte produced a terrific defensive header to deny Keane but the Spurs skipper found the net from the resulting corner. Luka Modric delivered the set-piece, Michael Dawson flicked it on and Keane slipped his marker to tuck a simple finish over the line in his 200th Premier League appearance for Spurs.
There was no let-up in the frantic tempo as Tuncay Sanli pulled down a delicious pass from Downing and lashed it past Gomes into the roof of the net, only to find a flag was raised.
Within seconds of thinking his team had pulled level, Southgate saw them slip two behind. It was a cruel but beautiful goal, memorable for Modric's bodyswerve on the edge of the box. A shake of the hips from the little Croat bamboozled Robert Huth and Pavlyuchenko bundled a low cross over the line for his first Premier League goal since November.
A brave block from Dawson denied Tuncay after another error from Woodgate and then Gomes saved as the Turk spun neatly in the penalty area.
But the more Boro risked, the more they looked capable of leaking. Modric was beginning to revel in the spaces created and Lennon darted about dangerously in front of Fabio Capello. 'He must have a chance of being in the next England squad,' said Redknapp. 'He is in fantastic form.'
Tottenham's third came six minutes before the break when Keane threaded a pass through Huth's legs to Lennon. No one had tracked the winger as he cut inside from the right flank, picked his spot and rolled a side-footer past Brad Jones.
Lennon scored his second 12 minutes from time as Spurs coasted home, collecting a clever pass from Keane and dinking it over Jones.
Middlesbrough's slender hopes of rescuing anything went seconds before half-time when Aliadiere missed the target with a routine header at the far post.
Southgate reorganised his back four at half-time, replacing Huth with left back Andrew Taylor and shuffling Emanuel Pogatetz into central defence, but the same pattern persisted.
Boro were attractive going forward - the luckless Tuncay hit the post and had another ruled out for offside - but flimsy in defence and back in the mire. 'We need to restore some pride,' said Southgate. 'We lost a lot of that tonight.'
