Tottenham 0, Aston Villa 0: Mat Kendrick's big match verdict
Feb 8 2010 By Mat Kendrick
BORING, boring Villa? Maybe Martin O’Neill’s latest North London critics should open their eyes.
Because far from being sent to sleep by Villa, the Tottenham fans are finally waking up to what the rest of the Premier League already knows – the claret and blues remain a very real threat to the top four.
It is a shame the Spurs supporters resorted to mocking their opponents rather than roaring on their own team during a cracking contest at White Hart Lane.
But, after being dismissed by Tottenham’s arch enemy Arsene Wenger as long-ball merchants, Villa should take the latest insult as a backhanded compliment.
O’Neill’s men have got their rivals rattled. And while Spurs’ playing style relies on offense, their terrace jibes won’t have caused Villa any offence. It is easy to irritate the irrational, but why apologise for standing up strong in the face of all-out attack and doing their jobs to the best of their ability?
The only negativity associated with Villa on Saturday was the criticism of O’Neill’s tactics – not the tactics themselves.
Harry Redknapp predicted a battle of Tottenham’s attacking tormentors versus Villa’s rearguard rocks and, fascinatingly, that’s exactly what ensued.
But for vintage goalkeeping from veteran Brad Friedel and another master-class from Richard Dunne and his back-four colleagues, Spurs might have racked up a Wigan-style 9-1 scoreline.
Boring? If you say so. But Villa would rather have their challengers snoring than scoring as the race for the top four intensifies. On a day when strikers Emile Heskey, Gabby Agbonlahor, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch were supposedly auditioning for the right to partner Wayne Rooney in South Africa, instead it was both defences who were world class.
In the face of non-stop pressure, Dunne, James Collins, Luke Young and Carlos Cuellar showcased the bravery that has now yielded four successive top-flight clean sheets.
Although the Spurs backline of Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Gareth Bale and Vedran Corluka were less stretched, they were equally impressive, particularly going forward. And on the occasions when the defences were breached, Friedel, and, to a lesser extent, opposite number Heurelho Gomes were unbeatable.
