Match Report: Late Newcastle Flurry Upsets the Odds at White Hart Lane
After a 4-1 win over Ligue 1 side Monaco on Thursday, Tottenham welcomed relegation fodder Newcastle to White Hart Lane in a bid to maintain their 14-game premier League unbeaten run. A jagged Spurs though were unable to extend this streak as the away side upset the odds to secure an important 2-1 win.
It took until the 40th minute for the deadlock to be broken as Eric Dier nodded past Rob Elliot from a Christian Eriksen corner. The north London side's 26th league goal of the season was their 9th from set-piece situations, more than any other in the top flight of English football, and they were good value for their lead coming into the interval. While the hosts had been sloppy in possession in the opening 45 minutes, they carved the better chances of the two teams, with Elliot thrice called into action before Rob East blew for half time.
The Newcastle shot stopper was one of the reasons why Newcastle weren't embarrassed at White Hart Lane, with his second half stop to deny Harry Kane from distance the pick of the bunch in an encounter that was more closely contested than the stats perhaps suggests. His saves proved vital as Newcastle substitute Alexsandar Mitrovic levelled matters 15 minutes from the end before Ayoze Perez bagged the winner in second half injury time after Hugo Lloris failed to keep out the Spaniard's tame effort in a closely fought encounter in the capital. What was most telling from the Premier League encounter in London was the lack of control Spurs had in the middle of the park. The home side were rampant in Thursday's 4-1 thumping of Monaco, but were unable to exert themselves upon a Newcastle side fighting for their top-flight safety, with fatigue perhaps owing to that.
The Magpies knew a positive result was a must given Bournemouth's 2-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday evening and on occasion were the more dominant of the two sides, with Spurs struggling to match their intensity, particularly after the restart. Of course, the absense of Mousa Dembele contributed to Spurs' inability to really make the most of home advantage. The Belgian missed out today through injury, with Tom Carroll handed his first Premier League start for the north London side of his career. However, while the 23-year-old impressed on Thursday night, he struggled to exert himself in the middle of the park alongside Dier.
Carroll gained a WhoScored rating of just 6.44, with the game passing him by far too frequently to suggest he deserves to start ahead of Dier, Dembele and the returning Nabil Bentaleb. Bentaleb made his first team return following injury on Thursday night and with the Algerian an option for Mauricio Pochettino, swelling the midfield ranks ahead of the hectic festive period, Carroll is expected to drop further down the pecking order at White Hart Lane. Carroll made no tackles and failed to complete a success dribble prior to his second half withdrawal, two qualities that Dembele excels in, while the composure and experience the latter brings to the side is vital in this youthful Spurs outfit, two commodities that were missing on Sunday.
Nonetheless, Newcastle deserve ample credit for the way they conducted themselves. After a 5-1 thumping away from home two weeks ago, Steve McClaren's side bounced back wth a memorable 2-0 win over Liverpool before taking all three points from Spurs, despite coming into the fixture as underdogs. McClaren's second half subs proved to be the difference as Newcastle made it three wins from their last three league visits to White Hart Lane. Mitrovic and Ayoze have both been relegated to the bench in recent weeks, with the Magpies boss opting for Siem de Jong behind Papiss Demba Cisse in a 4-4-1-1 formation of late.
Newcastle's starting front pairing may have underwhelmed, but Mitrovic and Ayoze's respective introductions injected a sense of urgency, both pressuring the Spurs backline at any given opportunity. The hosts' defence wilted as the game progressed and it was little shock to see McClaren throw both attackers into the fold as the game began to swing in the visitors' favour. Their resulting impact was crucial, with Mitrovic's WhoScored rating bettered only by Rob Elliot (7.75 - enough to secure the man of the match award), while Ayoze (7.08) was the fifth best of all Newcastle players. Their showings from the bench will give McClaren plenty of food for thought in the coming weeks, with the former Derby manager able to call on four attackers - Cisse, De Jong, Mitrovic and Ayoze - who offer contrasting threats on the frontline.
Ultimately, a spirited display from the away team was enough to secure all the spoils at White Hart Lane, in the process ending Spurs' 14-game unbeaten run in the Premier League. Pochettino after the game insisted he has to take responisbility for the defeat, but it's these losses that have the potential to derail the club's top-4 bid. As for Newcastle, victory has lifted them out of the relegation zone, in what will have been a relief to McClaren and his players.
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