The scenes of jubilation this evening were incredible to watch as Tottenham Hotspur’s Roman Pavlyuchenko scored a last minute winner to beat Liverpool 2-1 at White Hart Lane.
In just one week, Harry Redknapp’s reinvigorated Tottenham side have beaten Liverpool and Bolton, and staged an incredible comeback against arch-rivals Arsenal.
In the pouring rain, Tottenham Hotspur never gave up, which is one of the redeeming factors about Harry Redknapp’s side. After going down 1-0 to a sensational Dirk Kuyt goal in the third minute, Liverpool were completely in charge of the game as they hit the bar and crossbar, and had several other chances that were so close.
Liverpool continued to push forward but, against the run of play, Spurs pulled a goal back after a Jamie Carragher own goal which he headed in from a corner. Then in the last minute of the game, David Bentley unleashed a powerful shot that Reina tipped away, but Pavlyuchenko was able to sneak in the winner into the corner of the net.
The scenes at White Hart Lane were so wonderful to watch especially after all of the heartache the fans have suffered all season long after the dark days of Juande Ramos. One negative aspect of the fan’s behavior was how the Spurs fans booed Robbie Keane whenever he touched the ball. When Keane was substituted, the chorus of boos from the Tottenham fans was very noticeable, but thankfully the majority of Spurs fans gave him a standing ovation.
The win was a lucky win for Spurs. But in order to be lucky you have to create luck, and that’s what Spurs did. The win pushes Spurs up to third from bottom. It just goes to show how much of a difference a manager can have on a team.
I had a feeling Gaffer would post something quickly this afternoon.
Even though he's “not a supporter of any club.”
Spurs still go down – and stay down.
Funny how all the “luck” that you stated Liverpool experienced earlier this year was never a result of them creating that luck, but Gerrard hits the post twice, Carragher heads it into his own net, and Spurs created that luck?
If Liverpool had won, I would have written favorably about them, but they didn't.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Jonathan Woodgate was the target for the corner and was pressuring Carragher. If Carra hadn't gotten to the ball, Woodgate would have been there to head it toward goal.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
you mean King, not Woody.
Gaffer, if Spurs had dominated for 70 minutes and Liverpool had won on an own goal and a last second winner, you would have written about how the lucky b******s still aren't winning anything. There wuld have been no mention of “creating your own luck.”
Either call it down the middle or rename the site to something more appropriate, like spurstalk.com or liverpoolblows.tv.
You are the Joey Styles of bloggers.
I remain impartial and don't hate Liverpool or Spurs, or any other club. I call it as I see it. The Spurs fans were unhappy with some of the things I've been saying. And vice-versa for the Liverpool fans. I've written favorably about Liverpool. For example, I compared their recent win against Chelsea to some of Liverpool's best performances from the late 70s and early 80s.
Joey Styles? You've lost me there.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Correct, good catch Sam.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
I too am a Liverpool fan and agree that on a standalone basis this post is not too bad. When compared with previous posts about Liverpool winning in a similar fashion, though, there is no credit given to the squad that “creates” their luck. Wins against Sunderland and Middlesbrough were written away as completely due to luck, no discussion of creating chances or never giving up. In the same column, Gaffer writes that Liverpool were “bound to lose” at Chelsea and would likely “slip up” against Portsmouth. “…Reds will be in their usual fourth or fifth place by the end of October, just wait and see.” At least fess up, it's alright to like one squad and dislike another, but trying to assert yourself as unbiased and objective for some sort of false integrity is foolish. It's unfortunate, because I do enjoy the articles, but yeesh, come on.
Rob Styles. Brain fart.
JC, I've been pleasantly surprised by Liverpool's improvement during the past few weeks. The game against Portsmouth was tight, but they eeked out a win. They impressed against Chelsea. Full credit to them. You are right. I screwed up. I'm sorry.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
It most certainly was a very lucky win, and Harry was the first person to acknowledge that fact in his interviews. 'Pool dominated the game in every aspect of the game until that Carragher OG, but thats what made it such a great game to watch.
Now that they have Uncle Mo on their side, it'll be interesting to see how Spurs' form progresses as the get into an easier part of their schedule.