Just got home. Quite early on, we put several balls into the Spurs box and caused them a few problems. But as the half progressed, we seemed to settle into a predictable dull period where we showed them too respect and didn't shut them down or come away with the ball from 50/50 challenges. Had we pressed them, not allowed them time and space, we could have rattled them, but we played that first half in a manner reminiscent of us against Wigan.
Not a lot we could have done about the Bale goal really, but their second goal was a disgraceful bit of misjudgment by Boruc, who should have come for the ball earlier and more purposefully. I feel certain that either of Kelvin or Gazzaniga would have been more decisive and we would have come away from the match with a point. Having heard on the radio going home of the incident with the Chapel fans, then as far as I'm concerned he can pack his bags and disappear back under whatever stone we found him under.
I don't know what Adkins said to them at half time, but the team played very much better in every respect. When the first substitution were made, although Puncheon hadn't been bad, Mayuka was excellent and the momentum changed in our favour almost right away. With Rodrigues goal coming reasonably early on, there was enough time to at least get a point through the pressure we exerted on them, but despite peppering their goal, it wasn't to be.
As stated already, that second half performance was the one that would ensure we ended the season mid table, whereas the first half performance would see us relegated.
There are several pluses to take away from the game, or at least the second half of it:-
Mayuka should start, as his pace and guile are a problem for defences.
It must be remembered that Spurs were 4th last season and yet we had them under the cosh in the second half.
Were we to have had the additional options of Ramirez, Cork and Lee available, we might well have beaten them.
We saw in the second half that the best form of defence is attack.
Adkins is learning in the Premiership and got the substitutions right today.
Rodrigues will have had a confidence boost, having scored his first Premiership goal.
Otherwise...
Boruc, well I wouldn't shed any tears not to see him play in a Saints shirt again.
A good result against Leeds on Tuesday will give us a confidence boost, but we can take enough away from this game to start turning the corner.
Regarding the crowd and atmosphere, we need to give Spurs fans a massive thank you for being idiotic enough as to chant our song. It developed into a competitition as to who could sing it loudest. They could never out-sing us so that the crucial word "Spurs" would be heard above "Saints" and so the appearance was given that the whole stadium was behind the team. It gave our players a massive lift and they stepped up the tempo accordingly.
