Source: Telegraph
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Birmingham City 1: match report
Aaron Lennon maintained Tottenham's perfect start to the season with a late winner, but victory came at a cost with Ledley King and Luka Modric picking up worrying injuries.
Tottenham dropped to second place on goal difference, behind Chelsea, but claimed their fourth Premier League win and fifth of the season to deflate plucky Birmingham City. Peter Crouch claimed the opening goal, only for Tottenham to gift an equaliser.
Sport on television Harry Redknapp, the Spurs manager, said: “We battered them and should have been out of sight. We gave a terrible goal away and brought them back into the game and could have dropped two vital points.”
Manchester United are next up but King failed to emerge for the second half after hurting his groin while Modric was in hospital last night undergoing a scan on his right leg.
That could be good news for England ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Croatia, but not for Tottenham. Modric’s injury will be of prime concern; before his departure he was outstanding on the left side.
Birmingham could have had a penalty when Wilson Palacios shoved Garry O’Connor. But Spurs took hold again and Crouch was denied four times in five minutes, including one attempt against the crossbar and having another blocked by Lee Carsley.
Crouch finally got what he deserved, heading Tom Huddlestone’s free-kick beyond Joe Hart.
Three minutes later, substitute Christian Benítez robbed Alan Hutton and Lee Bowyer poached the equaliser. But Lennon converted Roman Pavlyuchenko’s cross.
