Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Chelsea
Jermain Defoe scored from the penalty spot
Saturday, 17, Apr 2010 08:00
By Darren Estwick.
An astonishing Tottenham Hotspur performance at White Hart Lane saw them comprehensively defeat Chelsea 2-1 to increase their chances of finishing fourth in the Premier league and blow the title race wide open.
The margin of victory should have been more for the home side, as goals by Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale gave Spurs the victory, but a succession of chances were missed against a Chelsea team bereft of any fight and down to ten men after John Terry was dismissed for two bookable offences.
Spurs made a blistering start to the game, buoyed by their midweek win over their bitter rivals Arsenal, with their most penetrative play coming from the in-form Bale. The full-back-turned-winger enjoyed a fruitful first half terrorising Paulo Ferrara.
First the Welshman broke into the area before appearing to be felled by Jon Obi Mikel but the referee waved play on. Minutes later John Terry was guilty of pulling back Defoe to prevent a shooting opportunity but once again the home side#s appeals were waved away.
Terry's luck finally ran out in the 15th minute however when a cross into the Chelsea box struck a combination of the former England captain's arm and chest resulting in a penalty.
Defoe, who had missed all his penalties in the league this season, stepped up and smashed the ball into the top right hand corner for a deserved lead.
Spurs continued to pour forward. Roman Pavlyuchenko picked the ball up outside the area before cutting inside and unleashing a shot which forced Petr Cech to tip over for a corner.
Chelsea, who up until this point had rarely threatened, thought they had equalised on the half hour mark only to be denied by the assistant referee. Florent Malouda slipped the ball under the body of Heurelho Gomes when well placed but he was ruled offside.
It was a pivotal moment in the game as soon Spurs established a two-goal lead. Bale decided to resume his terror campaign on the Chelsea defence with a run, drop of the shoulder and a right foot shot inside Cech's near post.
There was still time for a Frank Lampard volley to force a smart save from Gomes just before the interval.
The action continued into the second half. A through ball to Defoe found the England striker clean through on goal, only for the forward to see his shot saved By Cech for a corner.
A foul on Pavlyuchenko by Terry saw the former England captain pick up the first of his two yellow cards, the second came minutes later. Bale darted up the left wing feeding on to a ball by Defoe. Bale reached the ball a split second before Terry who upended the speedster for a crude looking challenge.
Referee Phil Dowd reached for his red card instantly and the Chelsea captain had to walk.
David Bentley tested Cech with a delightful lob before Bale attempted to render the man of the match debate meaningless with a second goal but Cech earned his wage once again.
Bale tried again of course, flicking wide of the goal when clean through, at this point Chelsea were a defeated team.
A goal with five minutes remaining from Lampard meant a game which was all over suddenly became tense. There was still time for Pavlyuchenko to miss an open goal on the counter attack, but Spurs held on for one of the sweetest three day periods in the club's history.