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Post by Football News on Aug 20, 2016 16:23:23 GMT
Spurs 1 - 0 C PalaceVictor Wanyama strikes late for Tottenham to see off Crystal Palace Home team scorersVictor Wanyama 82 Sometimes the writing is on the wall from the start. There will be 18 further home league games at White Hart Lane but already the old stadium is diminished – the north-east corner gone, revealing some girders, scaffolding, Portakabins, a wooden fence and a dark hut on which was scrawled the words “LIVE SUB”. Sure enough, it was the liveliness of the substitute Dele Alli that turned a game that had seemed to be slipping away from Tottenham. He wasn’t directly involved in the winner, nodded in from close range by Victor Wanyama with seven minutes remaining after Harry Kane had headed on Érik Lamela’s corner, but he his sharp pass had initiated the move that won the corner and it was his energy and sense of purpose that dragged Tottenham out of a mire of diffidence and self-doubt. That they got the job done and found a way to win can be taken as a major positive – a reminder of how much Mauricio Pochettino has done to eradicate the Spursiness that has afflicted the club for so long – but there will need to be significant improvement if Tottenham are to repeat last season’s title challenge. There was a disjointedness about them, a lack of fluidity. Harry Kane was used behind Vincent Janssen, who struggled on his first start after his summer move from AZ. The only time they really linked up came via the gloves of Wayne Hennessey, who fumbled Kane’s deflected long-ranger but then recovered superbly to twice deny the Netherlands international on the rebound. That aside, until Kane flashed an effort wide from the edge of the box in added time, Tottenham’s only real threat before the break came from left-wing corners, Toby Alderweireld and Wanyama both spurning chances having won headers less than 10 yards out. Still, that route would prove productive later on. For Spurs it was all hugely frustrating. One misplaced Christian Eriksen pass had Mauricio Pochettino hopping in fury, while his imprecations to an unseen presence behind him became more and more animated as the game wore on. The longer the game went on, the more dangerous Palace became. After a first half in which they’d largely sat back and absorbed pressure, they began to offer a threat, through the surges down the right of Andros Townsend in particular. He had been warmly applauded before kick-off by fans of his former club. Pochettino, who had spent most of the second half glancing at his watch as though determined not to make his substitution too early, finally reacted after 69 minutes and brought on Alli for Eriksen. His first touch was a deft flick over the Palace backline to release Janssen, but with just Hennessey to beat, the striker skewed his attempted lob badly wide. Alli then fired a snapshot just over, but it was his general influence over his side’s attitude and tempo that was so significant in turning the match in their favour late on. Alan Pardew, perhaps, will regret making a double change as the decisive corner was about to be taken, in particular removing Damien Delaney, who seemed to be indicating he was fit t carry on after receiving lengthy treatment, but his major disappointment must be that his side came so close to executing his game plan perfectly. The most worrying aspect for Palace is Pardew’s habit of leading his team into slumps from which they cannot escape. He took 1.68 points per game in his first 37 matches at Palace but is averaging just 0.52 in his last 21. The arrival of Christian Benteke, whose transfer wasn’t completed in time for him to be involved at White Hart Lane, should bring much-needed firepower, but a sense of drift can be contagious. If Spurs had started the season with two draws, they may have been similarly afflicted, but Alli and Wanyama saved them. It may not look like much yet, but the foundations have been laid. Guardian
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