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Defoe goal sinks West Brom

Comment: 0 January 4th, 2012 by: admin

A JERMAIN Defoe second-half goal made all the difference Tuesday night as it handed the Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win against West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane.

The attacker, sporting a new blonde ‘do, converted the goal that eventually added 3 points to the squad’s table points, putting them a mere 3 points behind second-placers Manchester United.

The goal, which came at the 63^rd minute, was a brilliant exclamation point for Defoe’s first start since early December.

It also came as a striking highlight after a frustrating first half for the hosts, who despite maintaining greater possession were unable to score for the first 45 minutes.

‘We were struggling to get the breakthrough,’ recalled Spurs manager Harry Redknapp.  ‘It was tough going.  Albion were difficult to break down.’

They also faced an injury-riddled West Brom, who fought without Jonas Olsson, Chris Burnt and Shane Long.  The visitors were also deprived of Jerome Thomas, who came down injured before the 30-minute mark.

Trouble threatened the hosts as, already without Scott Parker, they saw Sandro get forced off the field a few minutes after Thomas was replaced due to a possible hamstring problem.

The Spurs’ aggressiveness almost came into fruition at some moments including a near-shot by Emmanuel Adebayor that was quickly swiped off by Billy Jones as the striker prepared to shoot.

Defoe’s goal came in the second half after receiving a Gareth Bale pass and rocketing the ball straight into the bottom-left corner and past Billy Foster.

The game went on with 2 more injuries from the home side, with William Gallas hurting his calf muscle and Jake Livermore accidentally smashing heads with team-mate Younes Kaboul.

West Brom desperately sought to equalise in the final minutes to no avail, allowing the Spurs to tally a 5^th unbeaten match in the Premier League, 6^th across the board.

Although happy with the win, Redknapp fretted over the number of sustained injuries.

‘Sandro has torn a calf, so that will be a long one, and William Gallas looks like he has done the same.

‘They’ll have scans in the morning…Jake Livermore split all his lip inside and needs stitches.’

‘That leaves us short.  I’m not sure how long Scott will be out for.’

Despite the casualties, however, Redknapp admitted that the win was incredibly crucial in their hopes of becoming serious contenders for the Premier League title.

‘It was very important to keep up there and it was a hard night.’

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