Tottenham lack magic touch without Gareth Bale but Watford win shows Spurs have resilience to chase silverware
COMMENT The football was fraught with mistakes and the night seemed long but manager Harry Redknapp could still declare at full-time that this might be Tottenham’s year in the FA Cup as they scrambled into the fifth round with a 1-0 win at Vicarage Road on Friday night.
By Jay Jaffa
Rafael van der Vaart’s goal nudged Spurs past a spirited and enormously unfortunate Watford side that surely deserved more than the defeat they were handed.
Manchester City took the wind out of the Lilywhite sails last weekend and Sean Dyche’s Hornets continued to stir trouble within the Tottenham ranks from the outset of this potential FA Cup banana skin. However it is testament to Redknapp’s side that despite the obvious disappointment of last week’s Premier League setback, his team kept their focus and dispelled hopes of an upset. Tottenham named a familiar team but one lacking the pace and width that has helped garner praise for their style of football this campaign. Aaron Lennon was benched alongside regular full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto, whilst Welsh dynamo Gareth Bale was ruled out entirely with a minor muscle injury.
Exasperated | Harry Redknapp was disappointed with his side’s performance at Watford
The converted full-back was caught out of position numerous times in the first half and was fortunate not to see his haphazard decision-making lead to a Watford goal. Rose did gradually steady his performance by adopting a more cautious detail to Tottenham’s attacking approach. Unfortunately for the youngster, watching Kyle Walker maraud up and down the right flank to great effect and timing exposed the holes in his own game. Rose was not alone, though. This was a forgettable Tottenham performance that did everything possible to try to reject the crowd-pleasing accolades that had been bestowed upon them. The fluid passing game fans to which have become so accustomed faded from the first minutes with none other than Luka Modric the most guilty of parties. We were told that the Croatian playmaker had been ill for the previous three days but, such is the importance that Redknapp affords the FA Cup, it was deemed too big a game to be without Tottenham’s talismanic creator.
That left Van der Vaart and Luka Modric to fill the wide positions in a midfield distinctly lacking in speed. The inclusion of Danny Rose at left-back – a position in which he had shown competence last season – raised questions rather than solving problems.
Regardless, his withdrawal at half-time for Lennon gave Spurs the thrust needed to get at a largely-unconcerned Watford back line. The damage had, of course, been done midway through the first half via Van der Vaart’s strike from distance. It was a good thing, too, because, even with Lennon’s introduction, Spurs looked devoid of ideas.
The attacking duo of Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor began brightly enough but soon realised the magnitude of a task that distinctly lacked service and duly faded into the Hertfordshire night.
Adebayor was visibly distressed and had resorted to the torpid demeanour last seen in the colours of Manchester City.
By the time he was replaced by Roman Pavlyuchenko – who will be pleased with the two minutes he received – the look of utter disgust purveyed by the Togolese striker may well prevent Redknapp from ever lumbering him alongside a fringe player again.
There were positive performances, though. Michael Dawson continued his recovery from injury, defending well alongside the ever-impressive Younes Kaboul. Jake Livermore showed once more that he is dependable cover for Scott Parker, Sandro and Modric and Carlo Cudicini proved that there is life still left in the 38-year-old.
In fact, aside from Van der Vaart’s surprisingly energetic 90 minutes, Cudicini was Tottenham’s strongest performer. The fingertip he got to Sean Murray’s close range curler was one for the Italian’s scrapbook.
If that wasn’t enough, the reflex save with his feet from Nyron Nosworthy’s stab at goal kept Tottenham ahead and reinforced Redknapp’s faith in replacing Heurelho Gomes with the old-timers between the sticks.
It was far from a vintage performance from Spurs and Redknapp admitted as much after victory was secured. An FA Cup tie away at any lower-league club will always prove tricky and perhaps doubly so following what can only be described as a devastating loss at City.
Ultimately though, Spurs made it through and, as Redknapp said: “It’s better to be lucky than good”. Progress in a competition that is sacred among the club’s fans was imperative and dreams of a date with Wembley can continue.
And the omens are good: the last time Spurs won 1-0 in a fourth-round tie, they went on to win the 1982 FA Cup.
