A fan’s eye view: Tottenham 3-0 Hull

Tottenham Hotspur capped off the Barclays Asia Trophy with a fantastic 3 – 0 win against Hull City.

Prior to kick-off, a moment of silence was held for Sir Bobby Robson who sadly passed away today. All the players were wearing black arm bands in his honour. 

The weather in China was extremely humid due to some rain earlier in the day but luckily for the players, the pitch was in good shape.

The first 10 minutes witnessed both teams sizing each other up, with the play tending to be somewhat untidy.  Spurs then managed to control the ball and tactically inch their way towards Hull’s box. As ever, Defoe was looking sharp managing to break through the offside trap on occasion.  Personally, I wasn’t sure about Lennon’s performance. There were many opportunities where he could have easily crossed the ball to an open forward, but instead he chose to cut right and attempt to find an opening without success most of the time.

Luka Modric played on the left wing, masterminding the flow of the ball while cutting through the middle. The little man is a delight to watch and oozes world class skill. He provided a wonderful long ball to Keane who used his chest to bring the ball down to his feet, and then shot at goal instantly scoring our first.

The boys continued to strategically hold the ball until the 2nd half.  Hull managed to have a few good looks at goal but nothing really materialized.  We were confident in the midfield effectively tiring our opponents.  By the time they had any chances at Gomez, their attempts were somewhat disoriented.

At the start of the second half, the Tigers picked up the pace but were no match for Palacios and the Spurs defense. We might have been a little off the mark here and there but overall, Hudd & Corluka did a great job in protecting the box from intruders. Assou-Ekotto and Chimbonda also performed solidly supporting our centre backs and midfield.

In the 69th minute, Huddlestone delivered a long pass to Defoe who brilliantly placed the ball at his feet before being taken down by Warner, Hull’s keeper. The referee called a penalty setting up Keano’s 2nd goal of the match.

Kyle Naughton, who came on earlier for Jenas, would go on to set up Aaron Lennon with a perfectly curved cross for a tap on goal, NUMERO TRES! I am really impressed with this young lad and I hope we will see more of him during the season.

Keane was rightfully declared man of the match as he captained the team to a well deserved victory. Harry was there to present him with the champagne to celebrate. Next stop: Hong Kong! 

Starting XI – Gomes, Chimbonda (Hutton – subbed in 77th), Assou-Ekotto, Corluka, Huddlestone, Lennon, Jenas (Naughton – subbed in 62nd), Palacios (Livermore – subbed in 83rd), Modric, Keane, Defoe.

By Wahab Alghanim

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