Russell Kempton does the maths…Strange though it may sound, Tottenham Hotspur might rue not cashing in further against the paper-thin resistance of Aston Villa at White Hart Lane yesterday. It might also seem churlish, given their five-goal salvo and the smooth way in which they moved into seventh place in the Barclays Premiership, yet fractions count at this stage of the season and almost every opportunity has to be taken.
At 4-1 ahead and the match entering stoppage time, Tottenham sat in eighth position behind Middlesbrough. The sides were level on a plus-six goal difference, with the North East club in front on goals scored. When Stephen Kelly squeezed the ball home to make it 5-1, Tottenham jumped above Middlesbrough and into the Uefa Cup qualifying spot. It is that tight.
Adding to the intrigue, Tottenham play Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday. Manchester City, whom Middlesbrough visit on the final day of the season, are not out of it, either. Nor Villa, despite their meek surrender in the sunshine in North London yesterday.
As the Villa players still railed against the injustice of an early penalty appeal, turned down by referee Mark Clattenburg, after Mark Delaney tangled with Erik Edman, Paul Robinson, the Tottenham goalkeeper, booted his clearance downfield and Frédéric Kanouté brushed aside Liam Ridgewell before depositing the ball past Stefan Postma. Postma had replaced Thomas Sorensen, who was taken ill with a virus, and endured a hectic afternoon.
Robinson also had an eventful match. Though he was not as busy as Postma, he made several fine saves before having to leave the pitch with a thigh injury after an accidental collision with Darius Vassell. "He was very brave," Jol said. "He should be OK for our remaining matches."
Tottenham were rampant. Michael Carrick — so unrated by Santini — orchestrated most of the slick moves, Simon Davies fed on the scraps and Sean Davis offered solid support in the tackle. Ledley King stroked in Tottenham’s second goal, after Andy Reid had struck a post, and Kanouté scooped in the third and his second.
Given a lifeline on the stroke of half-time, when Michael Dawson was adjudged to have handled Juan Pablo Ángel’s shot and Gareth Barry tucked in the spot kick, Villa tried to cut the deficit further.
But from the moment that the Villa defenders backed off Reid and allowed him to hammer home his first goal for the club on his eleventh appearance. Postma barely saw the 20-yard drive that flew over him and into the net via the crossbar. Tottenham could have had more goals but, apart from Kelly’s clever finish, squandered several chances, with Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe the main culprits.