Source: Northern_Echo
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Newcastle United 0
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Newcastle United 0[LNB] ALAN Pardew promised to live up to Newcastle's traditions[LNB] when he was appointed as the club's manager at the start of the month, and in the last three days, he has been as good as his word.[LNB] Two defeats out of two over the Christmas period, a futile trip to London, and a failure to create a clear-cut goalscoring opportunity despite playing against ten men for the best part of half-an-hour. When it comes to the Magpies, underachievement is as much a part of the club's DNA as an oft-repeated love of attacking football.[LNB] Trailing to Aaron Lennon's 57th-minute opener at White Hart Lane, Younes Kaboul's dismissal for an attempted head-butt on Cheik Tiote midway through the second half should have been the signal for a concerted Newcastle fightback.[LNB] Instead, it merely heralded half-an-hour of ineffective toil that saw the Magpies fail to force a single meaningful save from Heurelho Gomes as they slipped to their second defeat in the space of three days. Intriguingly, you go have to go back to 2002 to find the last time Newcastle won one of their two post-Christmas matches.[LNB] Luka Modric was forced to clear an Alan Smith header off the line in the final minute of stoppage time, but by that stage, Gareth Bale had scored Tottenham's second goal of the afternoon to make the home side's points safe.[LNB] For the second game in succession, Newcastle produced a performance that was not particularly poor. For the second game in succession, though, they were beaten by a side boasting a more effective cutting edge.[LNB] Suffering that type of defeat is a worrying trait to develop, and while it is far too early to set the alarm bells ringing, this remains a season that could still go one of two ways.[LNB] Ahead of league games against Wigan and West Ham both sides in the bottom four Newcastle are three points off relegation and three points off Blackpool in eighth position.[LNB] Since the start of December, however, it should be noted they have moved in a downward direction.[LNB] Yesterday's game helped explain why, with the Magpies lacking the kind of attacking threat that has made Tottenham such a potent force this season.[LNB] In Lennon and Bale, not to mention the likes of Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric, Spurs boast midfielders able to change a game. In Tiote and Alan Smith, who played alongside each other in the central area, Newcastle have two players who are still to score their first goal for the club.[LNB] Alan Pardew promoted Smith to his starting line-up in place of the suspended Kevin Nolan, and while the former England international battled away gamely, his presence deprived the Magpies of a more potent attacking presence.[LNB] Mind you, when the alternatives were Nile Ranger and Peter Lovenkrands, who finished the game either side of Andy Carroll, perhaps Pardew's team selection was something of an irrelevance anyway.[LNB] If yesterday's game proved anything, it is surely that the Magpies manager needs to sign another attacker during the January transfer window.[LNB] Six of Newcastle's last nine league goals have come from Carroll, and when the England international has something of an off day, as he had against Spurs, it is hard to see where a goal is going to come from.[LNB] In fairness, it was hard to see who was going to break the deadlock for either side in the opening 55 minutes, with chances at a premium at both ends of the park.[LNB] The only first-half opportunity of note fell to Spurs in stoppage time, but after committing a dreadful error as Manchester City opened the scoring on Boxing Day, Tim Krul redeemed himself with a superb save.[LNB] Roman Pavlyuchenko must have thought he had opened the scoring when he met Alan Hutton's right-wing cross with a powerful six-yard header, but Krul had other ideas, flinging himself to his left to palm the ball onto the inside of the righthand upright.[LNB] The ball then rebounded across the face of goal and, fortuitously, bounced off the other post before rolling to safety.[LNB] Having displayed commendable character strength to bounce back from his Boxing Day error, few could begrudge Krul his slice of luck.[LNB] His only other involvement before the break was to tip a van der Vaart free-kick over the crossbar, but he was powerless to prevent Spurs claiming the lead in the 57th minute.[LNB] Kaboul sent Lennon scampering away down the right, and the winger's arrowed drive found the bottom lefthand corner of the net via a slight deflection off James Perch, who was forced to play as an out-of-position left-back in the absence of the injured Jose Enrique.[LNB] It was hard to see Newcastle getting back into the game at that stage, but they were handed a lifeline eight minutes later when Kaboul received a straight red card after angling his head towards Tiote. There was no contact between the two players, but the strength of the French defender's intent was sufficient to warrant a straight red card.[LNB] Newcastle's man advantage mattered little, however, with their only real opportunity of an equaliser seeing an otherwise innocuous Wayne Routledge flash a 20-yard volley past the post.[LNB] Sixty seconds later and the game was up, with Modric inspiring a lightning-quick counter-attack that ended with Bale twisting inside Steven Taylor and drilling an acutely-angled strike past Krul's left hand.[LNB] There was still time for Smith to come close with a stoppage-time header, but a goal at that stage would have meant little, even if it would have been the midfielder's first Premier League strike for five years.[LNB] Matchfacts Goals:[LNB] 1-0: Lennon (57, arrowed a low drive into the bottom left-hand corner with the aid of a slight deflection off Perch)[LNB] 2-0: Bale (81, hammered an acutely angled drive past Krul after twisting past Steven Taylor)[LNB] Bookings: Tiote (35, foul), Palacios (39, foul), Kaboul (51, foul)[LNB] Gutierrez (52, foul), Smith (59, foul)[LNB] Carroll (82, foul)[LNB] Sending Offs: Kaboul (65, violent conduct)[LNB] Referee: Anthony Taylor (Manchester) Was right to dismiss Kaboul, even though the contact between the defender and Tiote was minimal 6[LNB] Attendance: 35,927[LNB] Entertainment: [LNB] TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (4-4-1-1):[LNB] Gomes 6; Hutton 7, Kaboul 4, Dawson 6, Assou-Ekotto 6; Lennon 7, Palacios 5 (Jenas 46, 6), MODRIC 8, Bale 7, van der Vaart 6 (Crouch 72); Pavlyuchenko 6 (Bassong 66, 6).[LNB] Subs (not used): Pletikosa (gk), Corluka, Kranjcar, Keane.[LNB] NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-5-1):[LNB] 6 Krul: Made partial amends for his Boxing Day with a superb first-half save from Pavlyuchenko[LNB] 5 Simpson: Was always going to be up against it against Bale and was beaten for the second goal[LNB] 4 S Taylor: Turned far too easily as Bale scored Spurs' second and found himself stretched more than once[LNB] 6 Coloccini: Generally did well against Pavlyuchenko but struggled against Spurs' midfield runners[LNB] 6 Perch: Should have been tighter when Lennon scored, but acquitted himself fairly well as an out-of-position left back[LNB] 4 Routledge: The standard of his deliveries from the righthand side was well below what was required[LNB] 6 Barton: Battled away gamely in central midfield, but the quality of his set pieces was lower than normal[LNB] 5 Smith: Plugged away enthusiastically at the base of midfield but doesn't really pass the ball forward[LNB] 7 TIOTE: Threw himself here, there and everywhere and rattled Spurs to the extent that Kaboul snapped[LNB] 4 Gutierrez: A thoroughly ineffective display that saw the Argentinian struggle to see anything of the ball[LNB] 5 Carroll: His effort couldn't be faulted, but this was a day when nothing really came off for the striker[LNB] Subs:[LNB] Ranger (for Gutierrez, 67): Lovenkrands (for Tiote, 79) (not used): Harper (gk), Kadar, Williamson, Xisco, Best MAN OF THE MATCH[LNB] LUKA Modric Pulled the strings at the heart of the Spurs midfield and provided the kind of killer pass that Newcastle were unable to fashion.[LNB]
