Source: Telegraph
West Bromwich Albion 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1: match report
With Wayne Rooney's travails and the injuries to Jermain Defoe, Theo Walcott and Bobby Zamora, it has not been the best week for strikers. Here, finally, was a sight to cheer them: a fiesta of poor defending, clumsy tackles and dodgy clearances. Both goals came from defensive errors, and that there were only two goals and three yellow cards to speak of was largely down to fortune and the benign influence of Howard Webb. [LNB]Webb could do nothing, however, about the quality of the football, which was essentially mediocre. Too many players had off-days Roman Pavlyuchenko and Aaron Lennon for Tottenham Hotspur; Jerome Thomas for West Bromwich Albion for the contest ever to excel as a spectacle. Both teams deserved their point for being equally inept, but with a Champions League tie looming, the result will be more worrying for Tottenham. [LNB] Related ArticlesPremier League tableTelegraph player raterWest Brom v Tottenham: liveWest Brom v Tottenham: previewPremier League fixturesSport on televisionThe injuries to Michael Dawson and Jermain Defoe have robbed them of both stability and a cutting edge, and Harry Redknapp will hope Luka Modric will not be another long-term absentee after the Croatia limped off in the first half with a knee injury. [LNB]William Gallas did not start as captain for Tottenham, but he took his place in the starting line-up alongside fellow new signing Rafael Van der Vaart. [LNB]Within seven minutes the Dutchman had served notice of his potential, crafting a superb Tottenham move that ended with Aaron Lennon curling just over from 16 yards. [LNB]The early play was all Tottenham's, and they deservedly took the lead. Van der Vaart crossed left-footed from the right; Pavlyuchenko leapt powerfully with Gabriel Tamas and Jonas Olsson, but as Olsson knelt on the turf protesting to Webb, the ball had run loose for Modric, who finished emphatically into the corner. [LNB]That was the high point of Modric's day however, as five minutes later he hobbled off, handing Redknapp another worry ahead of Tuesday's game against Werder Bremen. [LNB]West Brom, though behind, were not the inferior team. Tamas headed just wide from Brunt's corner, and Paul Scharner, playing his first game since signing from Wigan fired just over from 30 yards. [LNB]Eventually, the home side's momentum was rewarded. Marc-Antoine Fortune charged down the left channel and fired a shot that was parried by Carlo Cudicini. Peter Odemwingie headed back across goal, and Chris Brunt rose above Gareth Bale at the far post to head in from about one yard. [LNB]Now Tottenham were in a battle. West Brom succeeded in making Tottenham play on their terms, denying them time and challenging fiercely for every ball. [LNB]The blithe spirit in which the game was being played produced a flurry of chances at either end. Scott Carson got the faintest of fingertips to Bale's shot as he found himself one-on-one with the Welshman. [LNB]Carson also tipped Younes Kaboul's thunderous free-kick wide, while for West Brom Odemwingie squandered a glorious chance when he headed Brunt's corner well over when unmarked. [LNB]Gallas was another player having a difficult time of things, picking up a booking for obstructing Odemwingie and generally finding the robustness of the game a struggle. [LNB]Still, though, the breakthrough failed to come. Two Cudicini saves kept Tottenham in the game; the first a point-black near-post header from Olsson, the second a wicked curling shot by Odemwingie. [LNB]There was still time, though, for a late twist. With the game leaking into its final seconds, Odemwingie back-heeled the ball into the path of Tamas, running from deep and now completely in the clear. [LNB]With the gates of glory swinging open, Tamas dragged his shot wide. One-all, then, and a fair result to a fairly unsightly game. [LNB]
