SPURS' ROBOFLOP
FOOTBALL games often have their heroes and villains.
So if Arsenal's Brazilian striker Julio Baptista was the hero this morning in the Carling Cup first-leg semi-final tie, then Tottenham's goalkeeper Paul Robinson was the villain.
When his team looked to him for stability, 'Roboflop' single-handedly caved in to nerves.
That despite seeing his side enjoy a 2-0 lead right up till the 65th minute.
With Dimitar Berbatov heading home from a Jermain Defoe cross in the 12th minute, it seemed Spurs had started off on the right foot against Arsenal.
After all, they were hoping to repeat their road to the 1999 League Cup win, their last piece of silverware.
In the 21st minute, Spurs went one step closer.
A free-kick from Spurs' Tom Huddlestone saw team-mate Michael Dawson jumping over it for a dummy.
The ball then deflected off an unsuspecting Baptista and into goal.
By then, it seemed as if Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's decision to field a reserve team of mainly youngsters, with an average age of 21, had backfired, as Spurs controlled the midfield and all-round possession.
But Robinson gave the first clue of what was to prove fatal eventually.
In the 24th minute, he completely failed to make a catch or a clearance of the ball at a corner-kick, but was saved by team-mate Didier Zokora heading it away to safety.
Perhaps Wenger saw something fans didn't.
Arsenal needed more crosses whipped in to test Robinson.
In the second half, he made two tactical changes to do more of that, and Arsenal's ability to hold onto the ball long enough, for more incisive attacks.
On came Aleksandr Hleb and Emmanuel Eboue in the 56th and 60th minutes respectively (for Vassiriki Diaby and Jeremie Aliadiere).
They not only provided width but more composure on the ball.
In the 61st minute, a Cesc Fabregas free-kick saw Robinson clearly beaten to the ball first by Philippe Senderos in the box.
He glanced the ball over and it was headed for the far corner of the goal net, before Dawson rushed back in time to head it off the goal-line.
Robinson's second notable failure to be commanding at set-pieces seemed to cause more nerves in the Spurs defence.
Four minutes later, the added danger from the flanks, saw the ball sent into Tottenham's penalty box as Baptista managed the scramble the ball free from Dawson.
His shot left Robinson rooted.
And then, in the 77th minute, came the moment when Robinson made a suicidal dash from his goal-line, only to end up looking like the buffoon he had been all night.
Justin Hoyte beat the offside trap on the right flank and raced towards the penalty box.
Even with two defenders in front of him to anticipate the cross, Robinson rushed out too early.
Caught in no-man's land, Hoyte's low cross beat him, and fell straight to Baptista, who slotted home easily into an empty goal.
Just what was Robinson thinking?
Already, Spurs fans know that Robinson has a tendency to react late to long shots from outside the box.
Now, this?
No doubt, he was the villain who caused the cracks in the Spurs side this morning, which partly led to Arsenal's dramatic comeback.
Spurs wasted a glorious chance against a team of Arsenal youngsters, no thanks to Robinson.
And now, the smart money will be on Arsenal to add one or two more big names in next Thursday morning's second leg, to simply kill off Spurs' hopes of repeating their 1999 League Cup triumph.
So if Arsenal's Brazilian striker Julio Baptista was the hero this morning in the Carling Cup first-leg semi-final tie, then Tottenham's goalkeeper Paul Robinson was the villain.
When his team looked to him for stability, 'Roboflop' single-handedly caved in to nerves.
That despite seeing his side enjoy a 2-0 lead right up till the 65th minute.
With Dimitar Berbatov heading home from a Jermain Defoe cross in the 12th minute, it seemed Spurs had started off on the right foot against Arsenal.
After all, they were hoping to repeat their road to the 1999 League Cup win, their last piece of silverware.
In the 21st minute, Spurs went one step closer.
A free-kick from Spurs' Tom Huddlestone saw team-mate Michael Dawson jumping over it for a dummy.
The ball then deflected off an unsuspecting Baptista and into goal.
By then, it seemed as if Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's decision to field a reserve team of mainly youngsters, with an average age of 21, had backfired, as Spurs controlled the midfield and all-round possession.
But Robinson gave the first clue of what was to prove fatal eventually.
In the 24th minute, he completely failed to make a catch or a clearance of the ball at a corner-kick, but was saved by team-mate Didier Zokora heading it away to safety.
Perhaps Wenger saw something fans didn't.
Arsenal needed more crosses whipped in to test Robinson.
In the second half, he made two tactical changes to do more of that, and Arsenal's ability to hold onto the ball long enough, for more incisive attacks.
On came Aleksandr Hleb and Emmanuel Eboue in the 56th and 60th minutes respectively (for Vassiriki Diaby and Jeremie Aliadiere).
They not only provided width but more composure on the ball.
In the 61st minute, a Cesc Fabregas free-kick saw Robinson clearly beaten to the ball first by Philippe Senderos in the box.
He glanced the ball over and it was headed for the far corner of the goal net, before Dawson rushed back in time to head it off the goal-line.
Robinson's second notable failure to be commanding at set-pieces seemed to cause more nerves in the Spurs defence.
Four minutes later, the added danger from the flanks, saw the ball sent into Tottenham's penalty box as Baptista managed the scramble the ball free from Dawson.
His shot left Robinson rooted.
And then, in the 77th minute, came the moment when Robinson made a suicidal dash from his goal-line, only to end up looking like the buffoon he had been all night.
Justin Hoyte beat the offside trap on the right flank and raced towards the penalty box.
Even with two defenders in front of him to anticipate the cross, Robinson rushed out too early.
Caught in no-man's land, Hoyte's low cross beat him, and fell straight to Baptista, who slotted home easily into an empty goal.
Just what was Robinson thinking?
Already, Spurs fans know that Robinson has a tendency to react late to long shots from outside the box.
Now, this?
No doubt, he was the villain who caused the cracks in the Spurs side this morning, which partly led to Arsenal's dramatic comeback.
Spurs wasted a glorious chance against a team of Arsenal youngsters, no thanks to Robinson.
And now, the smart money will be on Arsenal to add one or two more big names in next Thursday morning's second leg, to simply kill off Spurs' hopes of repeating their 1999 League Cup triumph.
posted by dgarden at 11:14 am
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