Source: TheGuardian
Colchester United 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur: FA Cup fourth round – live!
Tottenham made it to the fifth round with an impressive display against League One strugglers. 2.41pm GMT And that’s that! Spurs ease their way into the fifth round for the first time in four seasons. Deservedly so: they were brilliant at times, the real deal all right. But Colchester did themselves proud too, adjusting to the early loss of their central defence, and staying competitive until late in the game. But Spurs got the breaks at the crucial moments - Dier’s deflected goal, Sordell’s shot against the post - and hey, you make your own luck. A very entertaining cup tie. Follow that, Lionel Richie. 2.38pm GMT 90 min: There will be two additional minutes. 2.38pm GMT 89 min: Colchester touch the ball! This is exhibition stuff now. But the League One strugglers have performed well today, and were right in this tie until that late burst of scoring. 2.36pm GMT 88 min: See 86 min. Colchester haven’t had a touch for some time now. 2.34pm GMT 86 min: Spurs calm it all down, knocking it back and forth in the Dad v Toddler style, running down the clock in a most professional manner. 2.32pm GMT 84 min: The crazy run of Goal Every 120 Seconds is broken, but only just. Son dribbles with purpose down the right and reaches the byline. He’s got men in the middle, but his low cross, driven into a mixer at the near post, somehow squirts clear of danger instead of heading into the net. 2.31pm GMT It’s turned into a goalfest! Chadli twists and turns down the left. He fires low into the centre, where Carroll sweetly volleys past Kean from close range. 2.30pm GMT As the game restarts, a fan rushes onto the pitch and asks Vorm for his autograph! What brazen chutzpah! And then Colchester get onto the scoresheet! Massey is found in space down the left. His low shot crashes off the right-hand post and back across the goalline. Davies, rushing back, can’t stop himself running the ball into the net. 2.27pm GMT Carroll, on the right of the Colchester D, shoots. The ball breaks to Trippier on the wing. Trippier curls a delightful medium-height cross to the near post. Chadli stoops ahead of Kent, and guides the ball into the bottom right. 2.25pm GMT 77 min: Eriksen is replaced by Onomah. 2.25pm GMT 76 min: Dier is caught sleeping on the ball. Sordell nips it off him, exchanges passes with Massey, and tears clear on goal! He opens up his body, and looks to sidefoot into the bottom right. He beats Vorm, but the ball crashes off the base of the right-hand post and away. So close to getting back into this game! Lower-league sides need all the luck they can get in the FA Cup, and nothing’s going Colchester’s way. 2.22pm GMT 73 min: Massey has been Colchester’s best player today. He beats a couple of players down the left and fires a shot towards the bottom left. It’s blocked easily enough. The ball breaks to the right of the D, where Brindley attempts to replicate Chadli’s goal. Not quite. 2.20pm GMT 72 min: Son cuts in from the right and turns on the jets. He looks for the bottom left. Kean does well to get down and parry the shot clear. 2.19pm GMT 71 min: Spurs with more of the stroking, left and right and left again, all across the back. “Google tells me that the Weston Homes Community Stadium is closed today,” reports JR in Illinois, who has too much time on his hands. “I am surprised that someone is wrong on the internet, but hopefully for everyone in the vicinity of Essex Google is not wrong in telling me that Lionel Richie will be playing there in June.” 2.17pm GMT 69 min: Spurs hog the ball, knocking it hither and yon. Already they’re looking to run down the clock in a fuss-free fashion. 2.15pm GMT 67 min: A sign that Tottenham know this tie is now over. Kane hands the captain’s armband to Eriksen, and departs the field of play. Son comes on in his wake. 2.14pm GMT 66 min: That said, Spurs should be four or five goals up, so it’s swings and roundabouts. 2.13pm GMT Oh dear, such a shame for Colchester, who are dished out a terrible slice of luck. Dier has the ball 25 yards out, a little to the right of centre. He looks for the top right. It’s not a particularly good effort, but slams into the back of Briggs, and takes a huge left-turn into the left-hand side of the net, bouncing at an agonisingly slow speed past Kean, wrong-footed and rendered impotent. 2.10pm GMT 62 min: Somehow, Colchester are still within touching distance of Tottenham. So it’s time to make their last roll of the dice. An attacking change: the midfielder Ambrose is replaced by the striker Sordell. 2.09pm GMT 60 min: I should be writing Colchester United 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Chadli 60) in big letters. But I’m not. Kane bursts down the left, into the area, and slips the ball low to Chadli. He spins to make space. He’s free, eight yards out. He’s got to score! But he batters a rising shot onto the crossbar, and that’s that. What a miss! 2.07pm GMT 58 min: Kane powers into the Colchester box from the left, but can’t find space to shoot. The ball finds its way to Chadli, who twists and turns on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box, but isn’t able to make room for an effort on goal. Colchester’s makeshift defence slammed the door shut very impressively there. For a brief moment it looked like a second Spurs goal was on the cards. 2.05pm GMT 56 min: Porter and Wimmer challenge a ball down the Colchester inside-left channel. Wimmer sticks his leg out to guide it back to Vorm. Porter goes over Wimmer’s leg and claims a penalty, but he’s never getting that. Spurs meanwhile make their first change, hooking Lamela and throwing on Dembele. 2.04pm GMT 55 min: Yes, much better indeed. Ambrose skitters down the right and curls a glorious deep cross towards Porter at the far post. It’s begging to be met by a diving header. But Porter tries to meet it with a high boot, and the chance is gone. 2.02pm GMT 54 min: A speculative hoof down the Colchester right. Moncur sticks out a boot and takes it down brilliantly. He romps down the wing and this time finds Ambrose in the middle. Ambrose shoots, and the effort from the edge of the box is deflected inches wide of the right-hand post. Had that been on target, it was creeping in with Vorm’s feet planted. From the corner, the ball finds Massey wide on the left. He blooters a shot goalwards, but Vorm has it covered. This is much better from the home side! 2.00pm GMT 52 min: Garvan rakes a delicious pass down the left flank to release Massey into space. Massey makes it to the box, before pulling the ball back for Moncur, who turns in a tight space and sees his snapshot blocked pretty much the nanosecond the ball comes off his boot. Ambrose was in the middle, in space, waiting for a pass there. 1.58pm GMT 50 min: Massey has been busy in attack for the home side. He earns himself a little space down the left, and decides to take a shot from distance. It’s a weak effort, and deflected through to Vorm. 1.57pm GMT 49 min: Lamela appears to be in the mood to put this tie to bed early in this second half. He dribbles in from the left, and again looks for the bottom right. Again his effort is wide, but he’s getting chances. Colchester have come out a little cold. 1.56pm GMT 47 min: Briggs tries to Beckenbauer his way through the middle of the park. Bad decision. He gifts the ball to Kane, who drifts down the Spurs right before dinking the ball across to Lamela, who takes a touch to burst clear into the Colchester box down the inside-left channel. He’s got Brindley on his shoulder, and the full back does enough to put him off. Lamela goes for the bottom right, and squeezes the ball past Kean, but also past the right-hand post. 1.53pm GMT Great news regarding Alex Wynter: he’s conscious and sitting up in hospital. So hopefully, touch all sorts of wooden items, he’ll be OK. Spurs get the ball rolling for the second half. And here’s Steve Wiles with a Colchester-centric take on that eventful first half: “All things considered, when you bear in mind we’ve lost our entire central defence, played for a quarter of the half with ten men, are currently playing an inexperienced kid at centre back (but watch him, he’s gonna be good) along with a left back who finds himself there by accident ... the sheer fact we started to find our way into this match is a credit. Even if we clearly look like blokes running after a ball vs athletes I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.” 1.38pm GMT Half-time entertainment: Related: 13 February 1971 'Dad's Army' knock Leeds out of the FA Cup 1.37pm GMT Not the worst scoreline for United at half time, given the early loss of both central defenders, and Tottenham’s subsequent dominance. In fact, had Moncur picked the right pass towards the end of that half, the teams might be going in level. Strange game in that respect, though Spurs have been much the better side. Could be a fascinating second half. Stay tuned! 1.35pm GMT 45 min +5: Vincent-Young hasn’t lost the confidence to attack. He makes off down the left again, drifts inside, and so nearly releases Moncur, cutting in from the right, with a sliderule pass. But Dier steps in to intercept, having read Vincent-Young’s intentions perfectly. 1.34pm GMT 45 min +3: Vincent-Young attacks down the left. But he passes inside to nobody, and Kane’s first to the ball. Kane drives into the Colchester half, and tries to burst past Kent. If he manages it, he’s clear on goal, but Kent stays strong, block tackles, and clears upfield. Marvellous defending! 1.32pm GMT 45 min +1: Eriksen skates across the front of the Colchester area, left to right. He considers shooting, but slips Trippier free into the box instead. Trippier fires into the centre, low and hard. Kane can’t quite guide it home from close range, and Kent is able to hook clear while sliding along hysterically on the seat of his pants. Brilliant football all round. 1.31pm GMT 45 min: There will be six minutes added to this half, in the wake of Wynter’s early injury. 1.30pm GMT 44 min: Space for Davies down the left. Once again he reaches the byline. But his pullback doesn’t find Kane. Kent hoicks clear. 1.29pm GMT 43 min: A lot of Spurs passing. But right now, they’re going nowhere. 1.28pm GMT 41 min: Moncur dribbles down the middle of the park at pace. Spurs are light at the back, and if Moncur rolls a pass down the inside-right channel for Porter, he’ll send his strike partner free on goal. But he’s high on life, and decides to go it alone. Spurs finally swarm around him before he can reach the box. Far too late, he tries to find Porter, by now on the left, but his flick is no good. A real chance for the League One side to draw level has been spurned. 1.25pm GMT 39 min: Lots of space again for Trippier down the right. Again. Another low cross, with plenty of men in the box, but it’s pretty aimless. The ball breaks to Carroll on the edge of the area. He takes a shot. Nope! 1.24pm GMT 38 min: Spurs are having a lot of joy down the right. Trippier zips past Vincent-Young. His low cross is hacked clear by Briggs at the near post. Then Bentaleb takes a shot from 25 yards on the same wing. The wind catches the curler, and nearly carries it along an absurd arc and into the top left. Kean, running backwards at pace, does well to claw it out for a corner. Was it going in? Not sure, but the keeper couldn’t take the chance. The corner is cleared easily. 1.21pm GMT 35 min: A determined dribble by Massey down the right drives Tottenham onto the back foot. He can’t quite burst through and checks back. But soon enough he’s having another drive down the wing. This time he wins a throw, from which Gilbey shoots from the best part of 30 yards and very nearly takes out the right-hand corner flag. Best forgotten. But signs that Colchester are getting into this match at last. 1.18pm GMT 33 min: Space for Brindley down the right. He whips a high cross towards Moncur, eight yards out, and it’s a good one, but Dier arrives at the last minute to send a defensive header behind for the corner. Vorm claims the set piece without fuss. But that’s a little better from Colchester, who have otherwise been quiet in attack. 1.17pm GMT 31 min: Kane should be on the scoresheet. Bentaleb slides the overlapping Davies free down the left. Davies stands one up into the centre. Kane heads goalwards from six yards. He has to score, but his effort is straight at Kean, who nevertheless saves well with a strong hand. The resulting corner comes to nothing. 1.16pm GMT 30 min: Kane runs powerfully down the right, reaches the area, and opts to go for goal from a tight-ish angle despite having men in the box. It’s not far off. He goes for the near post, and flashes a shot into the side netting. 1.15pm GMT 29 min: A loose ball in the Spurs midfield, a dreadful blind crossfield pass by Carroll. Ambrose intercepts, and makes good towards the Spurs box. He slips the ball to the left for Moncur, who tries to work space to shoot. He doesn’t make enough; Dier is across to block. The corner comes to nothing. The only danger to Spurs so far has been of their own making. 1.13pm GMT This had been coming, and it’s almost a repeat of the Eriksen shot, 60 seconds earlier. Lamela slides Chadli into space down the inside right. Kean is off his line. Chadli, on the right of the D curls into the top left. No more than Spurs deserve. 1.12pm GMT 26 min: Eriksen, from the centre circle, goes on a bold diagonal skitter towards the right of the Colchester D. He attempts to float one into the top left. He’s got Kean beaten, but clears the post too. 1.11pm GMT 25 min: A lull, which is exactly what Colchester needed. A bit of time for their new men to settle, a week’s planning having gone out of the window in double-quick time. 1.09pm GMT 23 min: Porter chases after a speculative ball down the inside-left channel. He’s not far from getting a toe to it, but Vorm bravely comes out to the edge of the area and smothers, taking a knock for his troubles. 1.07pm GMT 21 min: Eastman isn’t able to continue. The big man looks disappointed as he’s replaced by Briggs, but Keen doesn’t fancy taking any chances with a head injury. 1.05pm GMT 19 min: Massey goes chasing a long ball down the middle, on the shoulder of Wimmer, and very nearly gets ahead of his man. If he does, he’s clear in the box, but the Spurs defender stays strong and ushers the ball back to Vorm, who kicks clear. 1.04pm GMT 18 min: A long ball hooked into the Colchester box from the right. It’s going to find Kane at close range, but Eastman intercepts. He can only guide the ball back out to Lamela, though, and the Spurs attacker wins a corner with a shot deflected out to the right. Lamela hits the corner long to Chadli, who once again fails to connect properly with a header. But Spurs are asking all the questions here. 1.01pm GMT 16 min: News of the unfortunate Wynter: he’s concussed, and off to hospital. 1.01pm GMT 15 min: Trippier twists Ambrose this way and that as he makes off down the right. Ambrose gets dizzy quickly. Tripper reaches the byline and fires a low cross to the near post, where Kane very nearly tucks home. The ball ripples the side netting. Colchester are holding on by their fingertips here. 12.59pm GMT 13 min: Ah, here comes Eastman, back and bandaged up, and not a moment too soon. Colchester, relieved, finally launch an attack down the right. Massey swings a ball into the Spurs box, but there’s nobody in blue to meet it. “I’ve been reading rumours that Manchester United might target Pochettino as their next manager,” writes Hubert O’Hearn. “Not that I’m trying to awaken trolls, however in all seriousness, wouldn’t Spurs actually be the preferred job now, as odd as that may be to write? The roster is built, Champions League beckons, and it’s the capital. What strange and delightful times we live in.” 12.58pm GMT 12 min: Lamela, from what initially appears to be a daft distance down the inside-right channel, whips a glorious curling shot past Kean and onto the bottom of the left-hand post. The ball goes out for a corner; the shot deserved a goal. Eastman? Eastman?! 12.56pm GMT 10 min: Colchester are hanging on with their ten men. Chadli has a belt from the left-hand corner of the D. It’s blocked. Then Lamela makes space for himself in the right-hand portion of the area. He can’t get a shot away either. How long can they wait for Eastman to return? Get stitching, doc. 12.54pm GMT 8 min: Colchester have a makeshift defence right now, and Spurs are showing no mercy. First off, Kane sends Trippier free down the right again. A low cross this time, and it nearly finds Chadli in the six-yard box. But Chadli isn’t allowed to sidefoot home, because Brindley hooks away marvellously to save a certain goal. Then Eriksen comes at Colchester down the inside-right, and takes a whack from distance. Kean parries well to stop the ball squeaking into the bottom right. 12.52pm GMT 6 min: Kent comes on for Wynter, who departs on a stretcher. He receives a warm ovation from all corners. God speed. Kent will be partnered by Gilbey in the centre of the defence while Eastman is off being treated. 12.50pm GMT 4 min: It’s going to take a little while to load poor stricken Wynter onto the stretcher. All due care and attention being taken. Kent, who will come on to replace him, is receiving lengthy instruction from his manager on the touchline. 12.49pm GMT 2 min: Dear me. This looks fairly unpleasant. With Kane making a nuiscance of himself down the Spurs left, Eastman crashes into Wynter, his own man, as the pair challenge a high ball. They clash heads in gruesome fashion. Wynter is down on the ground, spark out. He’ll be helped onto a stretcher, while Eastman goes off down the tunnel for an emergency stitch or two, blood streaming down his face. 12.47pm GMT Colchester get the ball rolling. A cracking atmosphere at the Community Stadium. It’s hellishly windy. Kane sets Trippier away down the right. Tripper crosses long for Chadli, who can’t connect properly with his header at the far post. But very nearly a whirlwind start for Spurs. 12.44pm GMT The teams are out! Colchester are in their first-choice blue-and-white stripes, while Spurs have rocked up in their famous lilywhite duds. It would have been easy to opt for third-choice purple, so fair play for their insistence on tradition. Colchester’s kit is predominantly blue, after all. Tottenham’s captain today, incidentally, is Harry Kane. With 15 in his last 18 games, Kane will be a crucial component of Tottenham’s title charge, so it’s to Pochettino’s credit that he’s taking the FA Cup seriously enough to play him today. “I suppose it’s a good sign that the cup is being taken seriously,” begins Steve Wiles, “but I can’t help wishing that sometimes, specifically and only when playing my beloved and bedraggled U’s, the big boys would treat the cup with the disdain it undoubtedly doesn’t deserve.” We’ll be off in a minute! 12.32pm GMT The ever-calm Mauricio Pochettino talks! “My experience is that when you play against lower-level teams, it is difficult, as their motivation is great. We need to show respect, we know it will be a very tough game. We need to play well. We have the possibility to make the fifth round, and while it’s an opportunity for other players to play, we still picked the best starting XI to win. It’s important to keep our momentum going. We want to go far in every competition. Today is a very important game for us.” 12.21pm GMT A very cheery Kevin Keen speaks! “It’s the cup, and everyone in the lower leagues love the cup, because it’s an opportunity to grab the headlines. They’re doing very well at the moment, and we’re not, but we’ll have a go. Everyone in the dressing room is excited. Their second-string aren’t really second-string, so whatever team they’ve picked, we’ll give it a go. We’ve got a lot of young players, and this club is about bringing them through. Hopefully we’ll put on a good show and encourage other young players to come and play for Colchester United. Alex Gilbey is 21 and he’s played 100 games for us. That’s got to be better than sitting in someone’s under-21 side.” 12.07pm GMT Colchester haven’t won a league game in 14, so today’s match against one of the most upwardly mobile teams in Europe should come as light relief. Eh? They make three changes to the XI that started the 3-0 defeat at Scunthorpe: Kane Vincent-Young, Gavin Massey and Darren Ambrose are in for Matthew Briggs, Joe Edwards and Chris Porter.Spurs have given their line-up a good old shoogle, much as expected. Seven changes to the team that began the 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace. Hugo Lloris, Danny Rose, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Heung-Min Son, Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli make way for Michel Vorm, Kevin Wimmer, Ben Davies, Nabil Bentaleb, Tom Carroll, Erik Lamela and Nacer Chadli. That’s still a strong side, isn’t it. Spurs are the real deal nowadays. 12.01pm GMT Colchester United: Kean, Brindley, Eastman, Wynter, Vincent-Young, Garvan, Gilbey, Massey, Moncur, Ambrose, Porter.Subs: Briggs, Edwards, Lee, Kent, Bonne, Parish, Sordell. Tottenham Hotspur: Vorm, Trippier, Dier, Wimmer, Davies, Bentaleb, Carroll, Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli, Kane.Subs: Lloris, Alderweireld, Walker, Alli, Dembele, Onomah, Son. 1.42am GMT “I always score against Jack Charlton.” Ray Crawford’s boast, there, back in 1971, ahead of Fourth Division Colchester United’s fifth-round FA Cup tie against First Division table-toppers Leeds United. It wasn’t an idle one, either. The 34-year-old Crawford - who had been a member of Alf Ramsey’s title-winning Ipswich Town side back in 1962, and therefore knew a thing or two about jaw-dropping outcomes - scored twice in the first 28 minutes against Don Revie’s stellar team. Crawford & Co. never looked back, hanging on for an eventual 3-2 win. It’s arguably the biggest shock in the entire history of the FA Cup. It’s certain that 13 February 1971 remains the most famous day in Colchester United’s history.A win over Tottenham Hotspur today wouldn’t be far off matching it. Colchester are rock bottom of League One, while Spurs have a sniff of the Premier League title. Kevin Keen has some experienced names in his squad - former Crystal Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose, one-time Reading defender Nicky Shorey, erstwhile Ipswich midfielder Owen Garvan - but even if Mauricio Pochettino selects a second-string line-up, you’d expect Spurs to be too strong for their hosts today. But then everyone said that before a fourth-round tie between Terry Venables’ Tottenham and third-tier Port Vale back in 1988, and look what happened there. It’s the nature of the cup. So it can be done. It probably won’t, but it can. It’s on! Continue reading......read full article
