Spot of relief: Rafael van der Vaart begins the Spurs
comeback from the spot
They may change the
manager, buy and sell players, but there remains something flaky
about Tottenham. They can beat the best and lose to the lowliest,
throw away winning positions or rescue lost
causes.
On Saturday it was the latter
as they came from behind to overcome a gritty Wolves side who were
no soft touches but neither the hard cases of recent
reviews.
They were watched by
legendary Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and Wolves' celebrity
fan might even have been tempted into a rendition of Celebration
Day had his side clung on to Steven Fletcher's first-half goal to
repeat their win at White Hart Lane of last season as part of a
double over Harry Redknapp's side.
Instead, Spurs manager Harry
Redknapp halted Tottenham's deepening depression with a successful
tactical substitution, adding to an enforced one earlier, which
changed the game.
After first-half substitute
Alan Hutton had set up the opportunity, Rafael van der Vaart
levelled from the penalty spot, the Dutchman capping a fine
individual creative performance. 'I love players who are good with
the ball and can see a pass,' Redknapp purred of the man signed
after Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy rang him at 4pm on transfer
deadline day to say: 'I've got a present for you.'
Deadly finish: Roman Pavluchenko makes no mistake
to give Spurs the lead
In a frantic final
five minutes yesterday, Spurs completed their comeback when Roman
Pavlyuchenko, who had come on for Robbie Keane, stroked home a
second before Hutton was gifted one of his own.
'Wolves made it difficult for
us, they don't give you space to play,' said Redknapp. 'But we
moved the ball around well and stuck at it and eventually took the
chances.'
Redknapp's counterpart, Mick
McCarthy, lamented: 'We have contrived to give that away. But
Tottenham are a Champions League team and we have taken a lead, so
I prefer to look at the glass being half full.'
Spurs could have been several
goals to the good by half-time - or several goals behind. So it is
with them.
Given a rare start, Keane was
clearly desperate to score against the club with whom he shot to
prominence as a 17-year-old and saw Kevin Foley block his drive
before glancing a header wide from Gareth Bale's cross.
Splitting the defence: Wolves' Steven Fletcher gets
between William Gallas and Younes Kaboul to give Wolves the
lead
From another Bale
cross, goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann pushed over Peter Crouch's
header and he also showed his agility in palming away a fierce Van
der Vaart shot.
Then again, Spurs might have
been an early goal down when William Gallas escaped unpunished
after bringing down the pacy Matt Jarvis. Referee Mike Jones might
also have pointed to the spot for the Frenchman tripping
Fletcher.
So it was justice of a sort
when the summer signing from Burnley gave Wolves the lead on the
stroke of half-time. David Jones slipped a neat ball to Foley and
his low cross from the right byline was touched home by Fletcher
from close range.
Tottenham (4-4-2):
Cudicini; Kaboul (Hutton 45min), Gallas, King, Assou-Ekotto; Van
der Vaart (Lennon 86), Jenas, Huddlestone, Bale; Crouch, Keane
(Pavlyuchenko 67). Subs (not used): Pletikosa, Palacios, Bassong,
Kranjcar. Booked: Huddlestone, Van der Vaart, Pavlyuchenko.
Wolves (4-5-1): Hahnemann;
Foley, Craddock, Spearman, Ward; Jarvis (Van Damme 54), Henry,
Mancienne (Bent 90), Jones, Fletcher (Edwards 58); Doyle. Subs (not
used): Hennessey, Elokobi, Ebanks-Blake, Guedioura. Booked: Foley,
Van Damme, Hahnemann.
Referee: M Jones
(Cheshire).
HERO Alan Hutton -
waited a while for such a chance and took it.
VILLAIN Stephen Ward -
diving in turned the game against Wolves.
MAGIC MOMENT Early through
ball from
Jermaine Jenas to Gareth Bale. Classy.
Either side of the
goal, Wolves had no fortune at all, however, quite apart from the
penalty denials. A groin injury that cost them the livewire Jarvis
was particularly damaging early in the second
half.
Spurs turned the screw from
the start of the second period, with Hutton, who had replaced the
hamstrung Younes Kaboul, clipping a shot just wide and Van der
Vaart, cutting in from the right and seeking out space cleverly,
narrowly missing twice, with an acrobatic bicycle kick then a
curling shot.
With minds turning to the
recent home defeat by Wigan, Redknapp threw on Pavlyuchenko, though
it was the earlier replacement who did most to bring Spurs back
into the game.
Hutton drove at Wolves down
the right flank and penetrated into the penalty area, where Stephen
Ward dived in hastily and brought down the Scotsman. Up stepped Van
der Vaart to strike the penalty home.
Now self-doubt crept into
Wolves as Spurs finally found ways through their cloying 4-5-1
line-up. Tom Huddlestone drilled in a shot after Wolves had failed
to clear their lines and it rebounded to Pavlyuchenko, who
sidefooted past Hahnemann.
In added time, Hutton sealed
the win. He again drove forward and Richard Stearman's clearance
hit him and looped over the unfortunate Hahnemann.