Tottenham vs Hearts: Match report

Tottenham’s first game of the season saw them travel to Hearts, for the first leg of their Europa league qualifier. Spurs are one of the favourites to win the competition due to their success in the champions league last season, where they achieved a place in the quarter finals after impressive victories against Inter and Ac Milan.

Despite a relatively large amount of injuries in the squad, Redknapp has still managed to field a strong side. The only significantly weaker area of the squad was central midfield, with Spurs having to field bench-warmer Niko Kranjcar and youth prospect Jake Livermore. Another unexpected player in the staring eleven was goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. After the signing of ex Aston Villa ‘keeper Brad Friedel on a free transfer, experienced Friedel was widely expected to be given the nod over the inconsistent Gomes.

Hearts on the other hand managed to field a very strong side by their standards, after having strengthened well in the transfer market. New signing John Sutton started up front, and judging by his  strong performances last season for Motherwell, was expected to be the main goal threat for Hearts.

Tottenham started brightly from the outset with almost total possession, and just four minutes in Jermain Defoe made a surging run into the area. After an attempted tackle, the ball was knocked into the path of Van der Vaart, who cooly slotted the ball in to the back of the net.

And just nine minutes later, Van Der Vaart knocked a terrific through ball into the path of Jermain Defoe. After his brilliant run the England international was through on goal, and only the simplest of finishes was required to get him on the scoresheet. Just 13 minutes gone, and spurs were two nil up.

Spurs were in complete control of the game, with hearts not able to string to gather more that two or three passes before being dispossessed. Despite this being just his second game for Tottenham, Jake Livermore seemed comfortable in midfield for Spurs, tackling well and playing impressive passes. And just before the half hour mark, his efforts were rewarded. After a great Van Der Vaart pass in to the area, Defoe deftly tapped the ball to Livermore, who struck it low and hard into the net.

Just two minutes later, speedy winger Aaron Lennon drilled a ball into the area for Defoe, who struck the crossbar. On a different day, that easily could have been the striker’s second goal.

At this point, Tottenham were completely dominating, with Hearts unable to produce any kind of threatening attack. With near total possession, spurs were allowed to experiment a bit, with players such as Kranjcar and Defoe not afraid to try cheeky backheels. The whistle blew for half time, and a thoroughly outplayed Hearts team trudged towards the tunnel.

The second half began, with Spurs knowing that it would take something pretty extraordinary from Hearts to deny them victory. There were no half time changes from either side, even though Hearts looked like they needed a substitute to inject some energy and pace in the team.

After some good early pressure from Hearts, resulting in a few corners and frantic clearances, Hearts began to to get the better of Spurs. Following some improved play by Hearts, Tottenham began to find it more difficult to retain possession against their Scottish opponents. To remedy this, Tottenham manager Redknapp substituted Van Der Vaart for Tom Huddlestone. Huddlestone anchored the midfield well for Tottenham, and his strong tackling and well timed runs helped Tottenham to retake control of the game. After this substitution Spurs began to show the dominance that they had exhibited earlier in the match.

 In the 63rd minute Spurs put the game beyond doubt, when Gareth Bale caught the goalkeeper of his line and scored Tottenham’s 4th. The welsh winger cut inside from the left, and gently passed the ball into the net.

 Andros Townsend was brought on for the brilliant Gareth Bale, and he seemed to take great pleasure in running at the weary Hearts fullbacks. Defoe also looked sharper than he did last season, and after tonights performance I would expect him to be aiming for around 15-20 goals this season.

With ten minutes to go, and Hearts fans leaving the ground, Spurs scored their fifth goal. Andros Townsend played a defence splitting through ball out wide to Defoe, who controlled it well. The England forward then knocked an early cross into Aaron Lennon, who simply tapped it beyond Hearts keeper Balogh. This really did put the game beyond doubt.

So, unless Hearts beat Tottenham by a 6 goal margin at White Heart Lane, it looks likes Spurs have qualified for the Europa league. Thanks for reading, and join me next week for report on the second leg.