It's been worth waiting for, but here is the second of three exclusive on the spot reports from Spurs Odyssey correspondent - "Johnny Hotspur"

PEACE CUP
MONDAY 18TH JULY, 2005
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 (1) SUNDOWNS 1 (0)

Spurs scorers:-
Keane, 35, 56
Kanoute, 50 Sundowns scorer:-
Chabangu, 77

Spurs (4-4-2):- Cerny; Kelly, Davenport, Gardner, Edman; Routledge, Huddlestone (sub Marney, 89), Mendes (sub Tainio, 46), Reid (sub Lennon, 62); Kanoute (sub El Hamdaoui, 79), Keane (Captain)

Sundowns - Team not published

Another hot and humid one in Suwon but none too bad drinking weather mind; at this point, all the Spurs fans, like zombies among the millions of indifferent Seoul folk who barely know the Peace Cup is on, had found each other, and a place to drink, and were getting to it leading up to kick-off. We all had our tickets for the first class section ready but rather than that, sitting with a good view but separate, most of us decided to get the bottom category ones and sit all together behind the goal. What a lovely idea! Someone to talk football to while the game is on.

The game kicked off and Spurs fielded another line-up entirely ~ all these players at Jol’s disposal, there will be sad little footballers next season when they can’t all play, but tonight in came Edman, Gardner, Davenport, Kelly, Huddlestone, Routledge, Keane and Kanoute into the starting line-up; the rest of them, including our 3 Lions plus Carrick the wannabe Lion, all on the bench.

Lots and lots of action in this free-flowing game tonight; early on Routledge put Kanoute through but he shot wide, but looked stylish mind; West Ham know what they can do with that £4m bid now, don’t they. Then right away at the other end, Sundowns hit us three times with a break down our right that each time came to nothing, the last of which ending with a shot by Ndlovu; is that the one who used to play for Coventry? (Ed:- Yes!)

Sundowns have got tricks galore, and want to use them all tonight, you never know, we might bring one over, a la Mabizela. But Kanoute is on form tonight, and pretty much Top African tonight. Routledge nicks the ball and put Kanoute through, he crossed it, but it went just over Keane’s head.

Then again, Kanoute skins a defender very stealthily and gives it to Reid who shoots over. Jol – you must know this but do not replace this class act would-be legend, at a financial loss, with some Championship one-season wonder like Crouch or Johnson, just don’t.

There is attacking play at each end. A Sundowns player dances through our midfield but Gardner halts him with a storming tackle. Then a few minutes later more danger but this time it’s Mendes; then yet again and it’s Edman. Again, in this fine Sundowns spell, Gardner lets one creep under his foot but the Sundowns striker doesn’t finish right and we got away with it.

Then we even score, there’s a great pass by Huddlestone to Keane, who beats the offside trap, rounds the keeper and yes it’s in for 1-0. “Keane always scores in this stadium,” the Korean news was delighted to show this goal because out of all our players, they know this one. (World Cup…)

Wayne Routledge gets clattered for being flash. Kanoute rounds the keeper but he’s no Robbie Keane and he hits the side netting. Routledge does a nice through pass but Keane’s shot got cleared off the line. Huddlestone got the ball in midfield again and again and done a simple spread ball wide every time. Is there something about this guy?

And half time then. Defoe ran on, got the ball and blasted the ball at the Spurs bench again. Is he going to do this every game now then? I like it ~ it’s got to be done ~ I mean who wouldn’t want to blast the ball at a bunch of guys earning £10k a week for sitting down wearing sportswear? He’s doing what we all want to do! And as far as match rituals go, to me, it’s better then Barthez getting his head kissed by Blanc any time…

Tainio on for Mendes then. Sundowns have a half chance but soon enough we double our lead when Routledge gets put through in a must-score situation, but the goalie saved it into Kanoute’s path, he took it and fired it in like the best.

They pressed back at us but we score next, through Keane and it’s 3-0. Spurs are passing through the team, short and medium passes, and enjoying the game, but at 3-0 the time passed and the subs came on, so it went a bit flat again, with Sundowns trying long shots for a while. Lennon comes on for Reid, and no-one at all knows who is Lennon and who is Routledge.

Spurs look to have true wing presence now – while Chelsea have Robben, Duff, Cole and now, today, Wright-Phillips, and will no doubt win the league with ‘em – Spurs have a non-world class but decent, young set of their own. Routledge, Lennon, Reid and Zeigler; Routledge does two brilliant twists like a true wing wizard and puts Keane through for his hat-trick, but he hits the bar. But finally Sundowns get a goal, which they deserve, when someone gets put through on the left, and slots a nice shot past Cerny into the far right corner for a good goal.

El-Hamdaoui comes on for Kanoute and looks interesting, especially when he got put through but got called offside. (Ed:- We all saw El Hamdaoui's superb back-heeled pass to Robbie Keane too!)Marney comes on for Huddlestone.

There’s time for plenty more chances and saves too – three fine saves by Radek Cerny and clearly Robinson has a proper deputy here. Is Cerny on loan? Can we sell him? He could play for Man Utd right now I am telling you! Meanwhile Keane gets thwarted twice, once in the box and once by the linesman but no more goals but a fine Peace Cup game and tournament, this.

Spurs are enjoying their football, and those who predicted that we would be in better shape come the 2005-6 season look to be right.

Can’t wait for Real Sociedad in Ulsan now and I am sure Spurs are getting to the final of this. Spurs fans are now traveling down south, and for those of you who may be still stray at this point, everyone’s staying in Busan, not Ulsan, where the game is. Trust me; I live in Korea, that is the right choice, ‘cause Ulsan’s crap.

Thanks for reading,

Johnny Hotspur.

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