Last laugh to Harry Redknapp? Not quite, but the QPR manager may at least afford himself a satisfied smile after his first encounter with Tottenham Hotspur since being sacked by the club last summer ended in a goalless draw that lifts QPR off the bottom of the table, at least temporarily, and dents André Villas-Boas's hopes of emulating Redknapp's top four finish of last season.
Redknapp maintains that he was a victim of internal politics at Tottenham and although points are the most important thing on his agenda now, the opportunity to gain them while avenging his dismissal from White Hart Lane was one he was eager to seize. Redknapp and the man who replaced him at Spurs made sure they appeared statesmanlike, shaking hands warmly before the game and even adding a hug to banish any talk of a cold war. Redknapp made sure, however, that his players came out with fire in their bellies. Tottenham were going to have to fight for the victory that André Villas-Boas had said was essential if they were to strengthen their Champions League push.
Rangers successfully pestered the visitors early on to prevent them finding any fluency, with Stéphane Mbia proving especially meddlesome, much to the annoyance of Mousa Dembélé, whose every touch was tracked by the Cameroonian. Tottenham's challenge was to find the wit to rise above the determined heckling of the relegation-threatened side and in the fifth minute they delivered a tantalising assertion of their superiority. Jermain Defoe skittered across the pitch, exchanging deft passes, before unleashing a fierce drive from 20 yards. Júlio César excelled to tip the shot on to the post and then produced an even better save to foil Emmanuel Adebayor on the rebound.
Tottenham failed to build on that promising start throughout the rest of the first half, as the diligence of QPR's five-man midfield made the visitors look ponderous and unimaginative. Tottenham's wingers seemed unable to get into the game and got little help from their central midfielders and full-backs. Emmanuel Adebayor's impact after his early miss was such that one wondered whether he had already left for the Africa Cup of Nations.
The most piercing pass of the first period came from Adel Taarabt, who dissected the visiting defence with a wonderful ball to Shaun Wright-Phillips in the 11th minute. The winger took his time getting a shot off and when he eventually did so, Michael Dawson deflected it behind for a corner.
Villas-Boas had to use the break to come with a plan to circumvent the wall erected by Redknapp. He might have thrown in a good old-fashioned rollicking too, as his team had not only been unable to out-think their opponents but were also being outfought.
The resumption brought signs of change. Bale forced an awkward save from César with one of his wobbly free-kicks and moments later, as the seemingly invigorated visitors applied sustained pressure, Kyle Walker fired another free-kick inches wide. But soon Spurs shrivelled up again.
It was left to Taarabt to show another flicker of class, as in the 77th minute he again put Wright-Phillips through with a perceptive pass. Hugo Lloris hurtled out of his box to eradicate the threat.
After that the match, much like Tottenham's last season under Redknapp, fizzled out. But this time Redknapp at least got a measure of satisfaction out of it.
It will probably take more than keen bluster to get QPR out of trouble, of course, but Villas-Boas will be concerned that that was pretty much all it took for Spurs' Champions League campaign to stall here.
No comments:
Post a Comment