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Tottenham 2-1 Maribor
Hello, and welcome to the second liveblog of the night. Here’s how the sides lo0k:
Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton, Lennon, Huddlestone, Carroll, Bale, Defoe, Adebayor. Subs: Cudicini, Dempsey, Gallas, Sigurdsson, Falque, Livermore, Mason.
Maribor: Handanovic, Milec, Rajcevic, Arghus, Mejac, Cvijanovic, Mertelj, Filipovic, Ibraimi, Tavares, Beric. Subs: Pridigar, Vidovic, Mezga, Komazec, Potokar, Viler, Dodlek.
It’s a fairly experimental Tottenham line-up, with Adebayor being handed a rare start and Bale apparently set to play left-back.
It’ll be interesting to to see how the hosts react after their decidedly underwhelming performance against Wigan at the weekend.
The game has begun…
Good, positive start by Tottenham, as Lennon bursts down the right and wins a corner.
Adebayor then heads over from the winger’s subsequent delivery.
“We’re Tottenham Hotspur, we’ll sing what we want,” is the defiant cry from the home crowd.
The chant presumably refers to reports that Tottenham fans are set to be charged for referring to themselves as the ‘Yid Army’.
It’s been all Tottenham so far, with the hosts dominating territorially and in terms of possession.
Meanwhile, Setanta’s David Speedy refers to the watching Jurgen Klinsmann as “the man who invented diving”.
I should add that Newcastle have drawn 2-2 with Club Bruges, while Liverpool lost earlier today.
Half-hearted claims for a penalty, as Adebayor falls under an Arghus challenge, before the defender cynically waves an imaginary card in the referee’s direction.
Meanwhile, Gareth Bale is constantly causing his marker problems, and looks set to be Tottenham’s main attacking threat tonight.
It’s not quite coming off in the final third for Tottenham at the moment.
Carroll overhits an attempt at a through ball, before Lennon’s cross is blocked by the defender.
GOAL FOR TOTTENHAM!
An exquisite cross from Gareth Bale finds Jermain Defoe, who guides it home with a subtle volley (21 mins).
And it’s no more than the hosts deserve, against a Maribor side that have been intent on doing little other than parking the bus thus far.
Maribor are struggling to keep hold of the ball at the moment.
If the game continues in this fashion, Spurs could win by four or five.
Mind you, they’ve only scored three altogether in Europe this year, so perhaps that outcome is unlikely.
Gareth Bale has delivered at least ten crosses into the Maribor area tonight, and represents a persistent threat for the hosts.
Surprisingly though, the goal was his first assist of the season, according to OptaJoe.
GOAL FOR MARIBOR!
It’s an absolute howler from the goalkeeper.
After Naughton plays the ball back to him, Lloris, instead of clearing it, tries to take on the onrushing striker and loses it as a result.
Consequently Beric has an easy tap in (41 mins).
In partial defence of France’s number one, it was a horrible backpass that put him into trouble in the first place.
HALF-TIME: TOTTENHAM 1-1 NK MARIBOR
Half-time and in many ways, the game has been typical of the inconsistent manner in which Tottenham have performed throughout this season.
Having delivered an accomplished display for the first half an hour, wasting numerous chances and looking in complete control, AVB’s men noticeably took their foot off the pedal in the final few minutes of the half.
Maribor, while defending with discipline, have not offered much in attack, and will have been hugely relieved at the gift presented to them by the hosts in the closing stages of the first 45.
The second half is underway…
GOAL FOR TOTTENHAM!
It’s as straightforward a goal as you’ll see.
Carroll plays a clever through ball to Defoe, and the diminutive striker blasts home to restore Tottenham’s advantage (48 mins).
Lloris has just come for a cross and fails to get anywhere near it, but fortunately for the hosts, the Maribor attacker heads over.
The French goalkeeper has been Tottenham’s weak link tonight.
And as I type, a lovely lofted pass from Bale plays in Adebayor, and the big man volleys it just wide.
Though he should have done better there, the ex-Arsenal man has played well, making a definite impact on his return to the Spurs side.
A Defoe appeal for a penalty has been turned down, with replays indicating the striker did go to ground rather easily.
Aside from that one incident, it’s been quiet in recent minutes – in other words, an ominous state of affairs from a Tottenham fan’s perspective.
The Maribor attacker beats Spurs’ offside trap, but Naughton recovers to intercept the ball.
Spurs are beginning to look nervy again. You’d have to question their mental strength (or lack thereof) on the basis of this performance, among others.
Walker plays through Adebayor, but the big striker’s near-post shot is saved by the goalkeeper.
It wasn’t the best of finishes, with the far post seeming the better option in that instance.
GOAL FOR TOTTENHAM!
A characteristic, surging run by Gareth Bale down the left leads to him playing a ball across the penalty area, and Defoe is on hand to finish (75 mins).
Surely that’s the game wrapped up, finally.
Tottenham substitution: Hat-trick hero Jermain Defoe has come off to rapturous applause, with Clint Dempsey coming on in his stead.
With five minutes left, this game has become a damp squib, with Tottenham passing it around casually.
Moreover, somewhat oddly, Jurgen Klinsmann makes an exit, just after the arrival on the field of the one player he manages at international level – Clint Dempsey.
Lennon and Bale have now come off for Ryan Mason and Falque respectively, with Tottenham beginning to look towards their game at the weekend.
We’re into stoppage time now.
FULL-TIME: TOTTENHAM 3-1 MARIBOR
So Tottenham have deservedly prevailed with relative ease in the end.
They were the far classier outfit, with the 3-1 scoreline being undoubtedly a reflection of the gap in class between the two teams.
Nonetheless, they still made life difficult for themselves against a limited Maribor side.
Their defence at times looked shaky and capable of self-imploding – which it did on one occasion, as errors from both Lloris and Naughton allowed Maribor to score a shock first-half equaliser.
Therefore, the victory should give AVB and his men some confidence, but problems clearly continue to exist, and Spurs will face far sterner tests than the one provided by Maribor tonight.
Right, that’s it from me. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Over and out!
