Source: Daily_Mail
Tottenham 2 Sporting Lisbon 2: Robbie Keane shines again
Robbie Keane gave his manager something to think about on Sunday night. [LNB]The Tottenham striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Celtic, made one goal and scored another to force his way into Harry Redknapp's plans. [LNB]Keane has scored in each of Tottenham's games in the Barclays New York Challenge after being continually linked with a move away from the club he rejoined for £12million in January 2009. [LNB] Keeping up appearances: Robbie Keane's fine pre-season form continued with a goal against Sporting Lisbon[LNB]The striker twice refused to discuss his future after Thursday's 2-1 win against the New York Red Bulls, but Redknapp said: 'He's still a very good player. He looked sharp and bright today and he's very much in my plans. I wouldn't say it's certain, but at the moment I see him being part of our 25-man squad. [LNB]'If he keeps playing well he can play every game. I thought it was a fantastic finish from Robbie today. He's a quality player, one of our better players. [LNB]'He's got a lot to offer. You want people who want to play. You don't just want people who are happy to sit back and take the money and Robbie's not like that. He wants to play all the time. He put a shift in out there today and scored a great goal.' [LNB] Bright spark: Fit again goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini does well to deny Matias with a smart save down low[LNB]Sporting Lisbon beat Manchester City 2-0 on Friday night here in Harrison, New Jersey, and provided a sterner test for Tottenham than the Major League Soccer side who are hosting this tournament.[LNB]Sunday's match was played at a faster pace and was more intense than the game in which Thierry Henry made his Red Bulls debut, despite the searing mid-afternoon heat and the heavily sanded pitch. [LNB]Keane, in particular, was a man on a mission. The striker was lively and energetic up front, dropping back to receive the ball and creating plenty of chances of his own. [LNB] Head to head: Kyle Walker (L)keeps a close on the ball as Evaldo Fabiano (R) looks to steal possession[LNB]Fittingly, the Irishman opened the scoring after 24 minutes, latching on to a fine pass from Niko Kranjcar and dispatching a right-foot shot into the bottom corner of the net. [LNB]But Sporting equalised less than a minute later. Diogo Salomao steered a pass towards Matias Fernandez with the outside of his left foot and the 24-year-old headed the Portuguese team level. Paulo Sergio's side then took the lead three minutes into the second half through Jaime Valdes. [LNB]But goalscorer Keane turned provider on 69 minutes, threading a ball through to 19-year-old Jonathan Obika, who did just enough to beat the goalkeeper with his left foot. [LNB] Under wraps: Danny rose keeps track with Sporting Lisbon's Yannick Djalo, who is reportedly on Harry Redknapp's wish-list[LNB]It was Obika's second goal in Spurs' pre-season but the former trainee, who has had loan spells at Yeovil and Millwall, will struggle to get first-team action when England pair Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe return to training today and Roman Pavlyuchenko recovers from his hamstring injury. [LNB]First-choice central defenders Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King are also unlikely to be fit for Spurs' Premier League kick-off against Manchester City on August 14. [LNB]Woodgate, 30, has been plagued by a groin injury and still 'can't train or kick a ball', said his manager. King has not played since England's World Cup opener against the United States because of a groin injury. [LNB] Ball watching: Vedran Corluka and Sporting's Liedson battle for possession in New York[LNB]Tottenham played a back four of full backs - Alan Hutton, Kyle Walker, Vedran Corluka and Kyle Naughton - for the second match running, but have Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong, who were on World Cup duty with England and Cameroon, due back at training today, while Younes Kaboul is recovering from a calf strain. [LNB]Reflecting on the pre-season games in San Diego and New York, Redknapp said: 'I would be a liar if I said it was the perfect way to prepare for the new season. [LNB]'We have found it difficult to get the training sessions in that we want, but that is the game now - we just go where we are told. [LNB]'Teams go all around the world now. If I had my way, I would be in Scotland having a couple of games.'[LNB] Spurs face defensive crisis with King and Woodgate set to miss season startAston Villa and Celtic on alert as Harry Redknapp hints Robbie Keane might need to leave Tottenham Hotspur Spurs boss Redknapp believes Man City will win the league... eventuallyTOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC
