Source: Team_Talk
No hat-trick celebrations for Bale
Gareth Bale refused to take any pleasure from his first career hat-trick after Tottenham suffered a 4-3 Champions League defeat at Inter Milan.[LNB] Spurs looked set to be humiliated when holders Inter raced to a 4-0 lead inside 35 minutes through goals from Javier Zanetti, a Samuel Eto'o penalty - after Heurelho Gomes had been sent off - Dejan Stankovic and Eto'o again.[LNB]But Bale almost completed a sensational comeback single-handedly, scoring one of the goals of the season before netting twice in the closing seconds to further enhance his burgeoning reputation.[LNB]The Wales international was coy about his achievement after the match, however, insisting the only thing that mattered was the team performance, which improved markedly after an awful start.[LNB]"It's hugely disappointing. We all knew we could do better in the first half. We started off sloppy and we paid the price," Bale told ITV1.[LNB]"But I think with 10 men we showed what a good team we are, and if we'd had 11 men on the field it could have been a different game.[LNB]"It just wasn't a lively start and we paid for it. I think next time we'll learn from this mistake and hope not to have a start like that ever again."[LNB]Asked what was going through his mind when he completed his hat-trick, Bale said: "I just had the ball and put it in the back of the net. There wasn't too much to think about.[LNB]"I was more thinking about getting back into the game, and we did that. But time ran out on us."[LNB]Bale and Spurs at least have the chance to put the ghosts of the San Siro to bed when they meet Inter in the return fixture in a fortnight.[LNB]"We had a lot of positives come out of the second half. We kept the ball well with only 10 men, and[LNB]hopefully at White Hart Lane we can do a better job and get a victory," he said.[LNB]"The result is what matters and it's massively disappointing. We want to put that right next time."[LNB]Spurs boss Harry Redknapp admitted he feared the worst after witnessing his side's nightmare opening to the match.[LNB]"We were bang in trouble at 4-0 down. Any kind of score could have come. We could have been sitting on the end of a seven, eight, nine-goal defeat with 10 men against Inter Milan," he told ITV1.[LNB]Redknapp admitted he did not think his players would run Inter as close as they did come the final whistle, saying: "I'd be a liar if I stood here and said I saw that coming, but second half we got at them at every opportunity.[LNB]"I left the two wingers on and we had a go. It was a fantastic hat-trick from Gareth Bale, an amazing performance again from him.[LNB]"He's as good a left-sided player as there is anywhere around, possibly there wouldn't be too many in the world better than him at the moment."[LNB]Asked what such a performance would do for Bale's value, Redknapp added: "He's not for sale. He's here and we're looking to build a club at Tottenham, not dismantle one."
