Away days are back!
It's a long time (March 2020) since any of us travelled to an away game, but I was pleased to see many familiar faces at Molineux on Sunday. One of those was John Ellis who has again become sufficiently enthused to write a few notes of his experience. John kindly gave permission for Spurs Odyssey to publish his comments:-
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
After the euphoria of last week’s victory, this was an altogether different performance and yet exactly the same outcome!
This was a performance reminiscent of last season under Jose Mourinho. Just about acceptable when the team win but anything less than three points and serious questions would be asked.
Wolves played some lovely football and dominated the play. Over the course of the 90 minutes they peppered the Spurs goal. And yet, other than a Dier error, it was Spurs who created the more clear cut chances.
Son, Kane and Bergwijn had great chances to extend Spurs lead and the Wolves keeper did well to keep out a Dier header off a corner.
The game was decided in the opening ten minutes by a penalty won and converted by Dele. Dele perfectly timed an excellent run beyond the Wolves defence and was found by a lovely through ball from Reguilon. Dele skipped around the keeper to be clattered before he could slip the ball into the empty net. As he did for his last Premier League game at Burnley the season before last, Dele calmly stepped up to stroke the penalty into the net to score the game’s only goal.
In the early stages of the season, it is about harvesting points and building confidence. Such a hard fought victory will hopefully give the management and team a breathing space and platform to improve performances as the season unfolds.
Lloris was kept busy and did all that was expected of him. He made numerous saves but for the most part made saves he would be expected to make. The one exception being when Dier lost possession and Traore was slipped through one-on-one. Lloris did well to keep the effort out with his foot.
The back four did well for the most part. Reguilon is though still susceptible to the diagonal crossfield ball. The midfield three were workmanlike but other than Dele’s one forward run, offered very little in the opposition half.
Bergwijn worked hard but still lacks class in front of goal. In contrast to last week’s sparkling performance Moura could hardly put a foot right and was rightfully substituted for Lo Celso.
The transfer window is causing havoc with so many places missing including Aurier, Sissoko, Ndombele and Kane from the starting line up. Having lost the goals of Bale and Vinicius plus the experience of Toby and Lamela, the bench looked weak. Patrici has a busy few days ahead of him if we are to end the window with a squad capable of challenging on all four fronts.
Kane was welcomed back on to the pitch by the travelling fans. Hopefully, the club will repel any potential late City bids and we can move forward as one into the new season with a strong attack.
The opening two fixtures looked tricky but have been negotiated with maximum points and two clean sheets with the fans revelling in being able to sing the old classic again....."We’ve got Alli!"
COYS
· Spurs Odyssey match report
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