Tottenham 2 Portsmouth 0
Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos continued with his knack of inspired substitutions as Darren Bent and Jamie O'Hara came off the bench to defeat Portsmouth 2-0.
Ramos made changes to turn the Carling Cup final around last month and he did the same in this Premier League clash at White Hart Lane.
With snow and sleet making chances difficult to come by, the game was fizzling out towards a goalless draw until Ramos made his move. Bent headed in the first goal 10 minutes from full-time, the 100th goal at Spurs' ground this season, before setting up O'Hara for the second.
Much of the focus prior to the game was on Jermain Defoe's absence from the Pompey line-up due to transfer rules and, with six goals in the six games since leaving Spurs, the visitors missed his lively presence.
Defoe left Spurs as he could not break Dimitar Berbatov's partnership with Robbie Keane - and although they were not the matchwinners, predictably it was Ramos' favoured pair that offered an early threat.
A flick from Berbatov almost sent through his strike partner, then after Pompey had to scramble clear an Aaron Lennon cross, Spurs' strikers combined again and David James was forced into a low save from Keane.
James saved from Tom Huddlestone's 25-yard free-kick before almost being embarrassed by Keane. The England goalkeeper threatened to make a mess of a throw out, then Keane tried to rob him of the ball when he returned to the pitch on the blindside of the goalkeeper.
Pompey survived and almost opened the scoring with their next move. Sean Davis, a former Spurs player, spotted Paul Robinson off his line but the goalkeeper was back to tip over the lob.
At the other end, Pascal Chimbonda flashed a volley just wide and Berbatov had the ball in the net in the 28th minute after Keane had slipped him through - but play was called back for offside.
Michael Dawson then thumped a volley onto the crossbar after chesting down Huddlestone's corner, while Berbatov curled over the bar when he found a yard of room on the edge of the area.
Just before the break, Huddlestone had another effort and drilled over the crossbar when the ball broke to him 20 yards out.
Pompey's first half suggested they were more focused on Wembley in a fortnight when they meet West Brom in the FA Cup semi-final - and in the early part of the second half there was more Spurs pressure.
Huddlestone tried his luck again and Lennon was also just off target - but there was a lack of clear chances, not helped by the conditions.
John Utaka picked up a booking for an aerial challenge on Chimbonda, and the Pompey winger also drilled in a dangerous cross when the visitors broke.
When the weather calmed down, much of the play was in the midfield - and it looked like a mistake or a moment of brilliance would determine the match.
Ramos responded by taking off Lennon and Dawson for Bent and O'Hara with 20 minutes left.
Robinson was almost caught out by Richard Hughes' quick free-kick, then he hesitated when he came to claim Glen Johnson's cross. Kanu stole the ball but Didier Zokora was back to clear.
Spurs made the most of the reprieve and Bent headed in 11 minutes from the end when Steed Malbranque's shot was blocked and Berbatov's scuffed effort fell into the path of the substitute.
Bent set up the second two minutes later, raiding down the left before crossing for O'Hara to tap into an empty net.
Tottenham Hotspur match-winner Darren Bent insisted he was happy to fight for his place at White Hart Lane after scoring one and setting up another in the 2-0 Premier League win over Portsmouth.
The teams had cancelled each other out until Bent took advantage of some scrappy defending in the 80th minute to hit the 100th goal at White Hart Lane this season.
He then produced a devastating run down the left to set up Jamie O'Hara for the second moments later.
But with strike duo Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov seemingly unmovable as the first-choice pairing, Bent is content to take his chances from the bench.
'I made a few substitute appearances this season and it's nice to go and do something and change the game,' he told Sky Sports.
'There's no point in sulking and coming on to the pitch and not doing anything.
'You've got to keep trying and see what happens. It was the same last season so I knew what it was all about.'
Spurs assistant boss Gus Poyet, was pleased with Bent's efforts.
'Bent opened up the whole situation, I always say substitutes don't always know how important they are. It's difficult, you know how many Robbie and Berba have scored in partnership, but if he keeps coming on and scoring goals he's going to get the chance.'
Pompey boss Harry Redknapp struggled after being forced into making half a dozen forced changes to his first-choice XI.
'With 10 minutes to go I was thinking 'we've got a good point'. But we defended poorly and got punished. We've had to make six changes and that's an awful lot of players.'
Ramos made changes to turn the Carling Cup final around last month and he did the same in this Premier League clash at White Hart Lane.
With snow and sleet making chances difficult to come by, the game was fizzling out towards a goalless draw until Ramos made his move. Bent headed in the first goal 10 minutes from full-time, the 100th goal at Spurs' ground this season, before setting up O'Hara for the second.
Much of the focus prior to the game was on Jermain Defoe's absence from the Pompey line-up due to transfer rules and, with six goals in the six games since leaving Spurs, the visitors missed his lively presence.
Defoe left Spurs as he could not break Dimitar Berbatov's partnership with Robbie Keane - and although they were not the matchwinners, predictably it was Ramos' favoured pair that offered an early threat.
A flick from Berbatov almost sent through his strike partner, then after Pompey had to scramble clear an Aaron Lennon cross, Spurs' strikers combined again and David James was forced into a low save from Keane.
James saved from Tom Huddlestone's 25-yard free-kick before almost being embarrassed by Keane. The England goalkeeper threatened to make a mess of a throw out, then Keane tried to rob him of the ball when he returned to the pitch on the blindside of the goalkeeper.
Pompey survived and almost opened the scoring with their next move. Sean Davis, a former Spurs player, spotted Paul Robinson off his line but the goalkeeper was back to tip over the lob.
At the other end, Pascal Chimbonda flashed a volley just wide and Berbatov had the ball in the net in the 28th minute after Keane had slipped him through - but play was called back for offside.
Michael Dawson then thumped a volley onto the crossbar after chesting down Huddlestone's corner, while Berbatov curled over the bar when he found a yard of room on the edge of the area.
Just before the break, Huddlestone had another effort and drilled over the crossbar when the ball broke to him 20 yards out.
Pompey's first half suggested they were more focused on Wembley in a fortnight when they meet West Brom in the FA Cup semi-final - and in the early part of the second half there was more Spurs pressure.
Huddlestone tried his luck again and Lennon was also just off target - but there was a lack of clear chances, not helped by the conditions.
John Utaka picked up a booking for an aerial challenge on Chimbonda, and the Pompey winger also drilled in a dangerous cross when the visitors broke.
When the weather calmed down, much of the play was in the midfield - and it looked like a mistake or a moment of brilliance would determine the match.
Ramos responded by taking off Lennon and Dawson for Bent and O'Hara with 20 minutes left.
Robinson was almost caught out by Richard Hughes' quick free-kick, then he hesitated when he came to claim Glen Johnson's cross. Kanu stole the ball but Didier Zokora was back to clear.
Spurs made the most of the reprieve and Bent headed in 11 minutes from the end when Steed Malbranque's shot was blocked and Berbatov's scuffed effort fell into the path of the substitute.
Bent set up the second two minutes later, raiding down the left before crossing for O'Hara to tap into an empty net.
Tottenham Hotspur match-winner Darren Bent insisted he was happy to fight for his place at White Hart Lane after scoring one and setting up another in the 2-0 Premier League win over Portsmouth.
The teams had cancelled each other out until Bent took advantage of some scrappy defending in the 80th minute to hit the 100th goal at White Hart Lane this season.
He then produced a devastating run down the left to set up Jamie O'Hara for the second moments later.
But with strike duo Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov seemingly unmovable as the first-choice pairing, Bent is content to take his chances from the bench.
'I made a few substitute appearances this season and it's nice to go and do something and change the game,' he told Sky Sports.
'There's no point in sulking and coming on to the pitch and not doing anything.
'You've got to keep trying and see what happens. It was the same last season so I knew what it was all about.'
Spurs assistant boss Gus Poyet, was pleased with Bent's efforts.
'Bent opened up the whole situation, I always say substitutes don't always know how important they are. It's difficult, you know how many Robbie and Berba have scored in partnership, but if he keeps coming on and scoring goals he's going to get the chance.'
Pompey boss Harry Redknapp struggled after being forced into making half a dozen forced changes to his first-choice XI.
'With 10 minutes to go I was thinking 'we've got a good point'. But we defended poorly and got punished. We've had to make six changes and that's an awful lot of players.'
posted by dgarden at 1:25 pm
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