Tottenham 2 - 0 Newcastle
Newcastle lost Michael Owen to injury as they surrendered meekly to a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
The England striker failed to reappear for the second half as Spurs recovered from their surprising midweek defeat at West Brom to consolidate fourth place, ahead of both Arsenal, whose draw at Villa Park left them four points adrift with a game in hand, and Wigan.
Teemu Tainio struck his first goal for Spurs two minutes before the break to bring a drab encounter to life, before Mido hit a bouncing volley over Shay Given to make certain of victory with 24 minutes left.
Newcastle, meanwhile, were simply dreadful - a poor imitation of a side that has spent so much on new signings.
It is in defence that their real problems lie. Until manager Graeme Souness addresses those failings, they will continue to struggle, with Titus Bramble at fault for Spurs' first goal and Celestine Babayaro caught out for their second.
• Celtic warned off Keane
Souness' side should have benefited from an unexpected midweek break due to the late postponement of their game against Charlton. Not that it showed in a lame first-half display.
Spurs took their time to take advantage, with only Michael Carrick's excellent range of passing rising above the general mediocrity for the instantly forgettable opening 43 minutes.
Robbie Keane, the stand-in captain in the absence of Ledley King, twice had the ball in the net but was flagged offside, while Jermaine Jenas, who was booed by fans of his former club, flicked a header wide from the Irishman's cross.
Finally, with two minutes of the first half remaining, the breakthrough came. Unsurprisingly, it was Tottenham who scored, with Mido flicking on a long pass and, with Bramble slipping at the vital moment, Tainio was left with the space in which to pick his spot inside the far post.
That finally brought the game to life and Owen looked to burst through in the final seconds of the first half, only for keeper Paul Robinson to race out and smother the ball at his feet.
That was Owen's last involvement in the game, with the England striker limping off and being replaced at the interval by Albert Luque, while Babayaro came on for Peter Ramage.
Luque came onto the left wing, with Shola Ameobi moving up front to partner Alan Shearer, who remains one goal short of Jackie Milburn's club scoring record.
Luque was immediately involved as his 20-yard effort was deflected wide for a corner, which Ameobi headed wide, while Scott Parker thrashed a shot just off target.
But Newcastle were still vulnerable at the back, with Keane putting Jenas through only for the midfielder to strike the side-netting with his shot.
After that brief spell of pressure from Newcastle, Spurs nevertheless resumed their domination of possession, buoyed by two outstanding pieces of control, firstly by Jenas and then by Keane.
Mido initially spoiled Keane's moment by heading his ensuing cross straight into the air, but the centre-forward made amends shortly afterwards with his side's second goal on 66 minutes.
Although Amady Faye, who had been non-existent up to that point, made an important block on Edgar Davids, Celestine Babayaro failed to clear the ball and Keane swung a dangerous cross to the far post, where Mido was lurking unmarked.
The Egypt international enjoyed a certain amount of good fortune, with his volley bouncing into the ground and over keeper Given, but the visitors only had themselves to blame for another costly defensive lapse.
Keane was finally taken off with 10 minutes left to a rapturous ovation from the crowd and a bear-hug from boss Jol as he was left in no doubt that the club wish to keep him during the transfer window.
Although Jermain Defoe replaced Keane, it was Davids who continued to threaten, this time with a 20-yard drive which flashed just inches wide, while Mido's effort was ruled out for offside.
Newcastle's misery was nevertheless complete when Ameobi somehow contrived to lift a shot over the bar from just eight yards out after Paul Robinson could only parry an effort from substitute Charles N'Zogbia.
• Celtic warned off Keane
Tottenham boss Martin Jol warned Celtic off a January transfer window move for Robbie Keane after the striker inspired Spurs to victory against Newcastle.
Jol joked that Keane would be 'too expensive for any Scottish club' after the Republic of Ireland international captained the side in the absence of the injured Ledley King to a 2-0 success through goals by Teemu Tainio and Mido.
'People in London realise that Robbie Keane would be too expensive for a Scottish club! Jokes aside, he is just as important for us as Mido and Jermain Defoe. They are all important to us,' declared Jol.
Keane, Spurs' vice-captain, has previously also been linked with interest from Everton but Tottenham have a two-year option to extend his contract, which expires next summer, and look set to take it up.
Jol offered the striker a bear-hug when he was substituted with 10 minutes left, accompanied by a rousing reception from the White Hart Lane crowd. The message was clear and no wonder.
Graeme Souness, who bemoaned the 'absolute disaster' of Owen's injury, admitted: 'They were both poor goals to concede. Mido didn't mean to shoot in that manner, but we had opportunities to clear the ball.
'We conceded two goals due to individuals not doing their jobs properly. It's something we can talk about and work on, but you've got to be confident out there to take the responsibility when it comes your way. We didn't deal with that very well.
'It doesn't take its toll on me. I've been in the game a long time. There's a lot worse things that happen out there off the pitch. But obviously it's a dark day for us though, given what's happened to Michael.'
Jol concluded: 'It was a good way to recover from our defeat at West Brom. We were a bit worried as they hadn't played on the Wednesday, and we were playing our third match in a week.
'But we looked fine. We worked hard and played as a team.'
The England striker failed to reappear for the second half as Spurs recovered from their surprising midweek defeat at West Brom to consolidate fourth place, ahead of both Arsenal, whose draw at Villa Park left them four points adrift with a game in hand, and Wigan.
Teemu Tainio struck his first goal for Spurs two minutes before the break to bring a drab encounter to life, before Mido hit a bouncing volley over Shay Given to make certain of victory with 24 minutes left.
Newcastle, meanwhile, were simply dreadful - a poor imitation of a side that has spent so much on new signings.
It is in defence that their real problems lie. Until manager Graeme Souness addresses those failings, they will continue to struggle, with Titus Bramble at fault for Spurs' first goal and Celestine Babayaro caught out for their second.
• Celtic warned off Keane
Souness' side should have benefited from an unexpected midweek break due to the late postponement of their game against Charlton. Not that it showed in a lame first-half display.
Spurs took their time to take advantage, with only Michael Carrick's excellent range of passing rising above the general mediocrity for the instantly forgettable opening 43 minutes.
Robbie Keane, the stand-in captain in the absence of Ledley King, twice had the ball in the net but was flagged offside, while Jermaine Jenas, who was booed by fans of his former club, flicked a header wide from the Irishman's cross.
Finally, with two minutes of the first half remaining, the breakthrough came. Unsurprisingly, it was Tottenham who scored, with Mido flicking on a long pass and, with Bramble slipping at the vital moment, Tainio was left with the space in which to pick his spot inside the far post.
That finally brought the game to life and Owen looked to burst through in the final seconds of the first half, only for keeper Paul Robinson to race out and smother the ball at his feet.
That was Owen's last involvement in the game, with the England striker limping off and being replaced at the interval by Albert Luque, while Babayaro came on for Peter Ramage.
Luque came onto the left wing, with Shola Ameobi moving up front to partner Alan Shearer, who remains one goal short of Jackie Milburn's club scoring record.
Luque was immediately involved as his 20-yard effort was deflected wide for a corner, which Ameobi headed wide, while Scott Parker thrashed a shot just off target.
But Newcastle were still vulnerable at the back, with Keane putting Jenas through only for the midfielder to strike the side-netting with his shot.
After that brief spell of pressure from Newcastle, Spurs nevertheless resumed their domination of possession, buoyed by two outstanding pieces of control, firstly by Jenas and then by Keane.
Mido initially spoiled Keane's moment by heading his ensuing cross straight into the air, but the centre-forward made amends shortly afterwards with his side's second goal on 66 minutes.
Although Amady Faye, who had been non-existent up to that point, made an important block on Edgar Davids, Celestine Babayaro failed to clear the ball and Keane swung a dangerous cross to the far post, where Mido was lurking unmarked.
The Egypt international enjoyed a certain amount of good fortune, with his volley bouncing into the ground and over keeper Given, but the visitors only had themselves to blame for another costly defensive lapse.
Keane was finally taken off with 10 minutes left to a rapturous ovation from the crowd and a bear-hug from boss Jol as he was left in no doubt that the club wish to keep him during the transfer window.
Although Jermain Defoe replaced Keane, it was Davids who continued to threaten, this time with a 20-yard drive which flashed just inches wide, while Mido's effort was ruled out for offside.
Newcastle's misery was nevertheless complete when Ameobi somehow contrived to lift a shot over the bar from just eight yards out after Paul Robinson could only parry an effort from substitute Charles N'Zogbia.
• Celtic warned off Keane
Tottenham boss Martin Jol warned Celtic off a January transfer window move for Robbie Keane after the striker inspired Spurs to victory against Newcastle.
Jol joked that Keane would be 'too expensive for any Scottish club' after the Republic of Ireland international captained the side in the absence of the injured Ledley King to a 2-0 success through goals by Teemu Tainio and Mido.
'People in London realise that Robbie Keane would be too expensive for a Scottish club! Jokes aside, he is just as important for us as Mido and Jermain Defoe. They are all important to us,' declared Jol.
Keane, Spurs' vice-captain, has previously also been linked with interest from Everton but Tottenham have a two-year option to extend his contract, which expires next summer, and look set to take it up.
Jol offered the striker a bear-hug when he was substituted with 10 minutes left, accompanied by a rousing reception from the White Hart Lane crowd. The message was clear and no wonder.
Graeme Souness, who bemoaned the 'absolute disaster' of Owen's injury, admitted: 'They were both poor goals to concede. Mido didn't mean to shoot in that manner, but we had opportunities to clear the ball.
'We conceded two goals due to individuals not doing their jobs properly. It's something we can talk about and work on, but you've got to be confident out there to take the responsibility when it comes your way. We didn't deal with that very well.
'It doesn't take its toll on me. I've been in the game a long time. There's a lot worse things that happen out there off the pitch. But obviously it's a dark day for us though, given what's happened to Michael.'
Jol concluded: 'It was a good way to recover from our defeat at West Brom. We were a bit worried as they hadn't played on the Wednesday, and we were playing our third match in a week.
'But we looked fine. We worked hard and played as a team.'
posted by dgarden at 9:35 pm
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