Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Hard working Wolves see off sorry Spurs

McCarthy's men complete double over Redknapp's boys...

10 Feb 2010 21:48:00

By David Kifford

More On :  Tottenham, Wolves, Matthew Jarvis, David Jones, Wolves vs Tottenham
EPL: David Bentley - Matt Jarvis, Wolverhampton - Tottenham (Getty Images)

Wolverhampton Wanderers pulled themselves out of the bottom three in the Premier League after a hardworking display saw them edge out Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux.
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Wolves took the lead half way through the first half when David Jones rounded off a flowing passing move as the home side dominated the first 45 minutes.

A poor Tottenham performance saw both David Bentley and Tom Huddlestone struggle with their delivery in the final third and a poor second half saw Spurs fail to create chances from their possession of the ball.

Wolves survived a late charge from Tottenham as the north Londoners attempted to steal a point but Wolves held on to a deserved three points.

A vibrant first half started at a thrashing pace with David Bentley stealing possession and forcing a save out of Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann within the first minute, only for play to be called back by referee Mark Clattenburg.

Wolves mounted an early attack of their own in the third minute when Matthew Jarvis’ cross eventually came to Kevin Doyle in the penalty area only for his shot to be bravely blocked by Spurs skipper Michael Dawson.

It was Tottenham who fashioned the best opportunity to take the lead when Eidur Gudjohnsen casually plucked Younes Kaboul’s long ball out of the air before turning and laying the ball inside for Jermain Defoe. The England striker flicked the ball on to Niko Kranjcar who forced Hahnemann into a smart save.

Midfielder David Jones eventually broke the deadlock in the 27th minute, rounding off a glorious passing move by the home side. A combination of more than 20 passes saw the ball eventually worked to the left, finding Jarvis, who delivered the ball perfectly for the onrushing Jones to volley into the corner of Heurelho Gomes' goal.

The Molineux crowd were roaring for a penalty moments later when Jarvis beat Dawson into the area and appeared to have his heels clipped by the centre-back. Referee Mark Clattenburg waved the protests away but may have changed his mind if he could’ve had a second look at the tackle.

The non-stop first half continued when Jarvis once again troubled the Spurs defence leaving Jermaine Jenas in his wake as he jinked and jerked into the penalty area, but was unable to find a team-mate with his pull back and Tottenham cleared their lines.

Spurs always looked capable of creating chances at Molineux but Wolves' high work-rate meant they were always the side more likely in the first 45 minutes and they deservedly took a lead into half-time.

Harry Redknapp noted his side’s first half frailties in the midfield area by bringing on Wilson Palacios in place of Jermaine Jenas at the start of the second period with the intention of beefing up Spurs in the middle of the park.

Kevin Doyle shot another warning to the Spurs defence when he got in behind Dawson and Sebastian Bassong in the 48th minute. The Frenchman recovered well to prevent Doyle from getting an effort on target, however, but the Spurs centre-backs struggled to deal with the Irishman all night.

Spurs slowed the pace of the game as they gradually forced their way into the second half and continued to control possession in the early stages. However, the Londoners had little to show for their efforts with the lack of quality delivery to Gudjohnsen and Defoe.

The lack of impact from the strikers saw Gudjohnsen suffer the axe on the hour mark with England striker Peter Crouch replacing the Icelandic international who had a quiet debut.

Spurs immediately looked to utilise the lanky striker, hitting a free-kick long up the pitch but Wolves dealt with it well before setting Jarvis away down the left once again.

Tom Huddlestone’s poor night continued as he pulled his shot wide of the goal when he should’ve worked the ‘keeper after latching onto a loose ball outside of the Wolves penalty box.

Surprisingly it was Welsh left-back Gareth Bale who provided the most dangerous attacking threat for Spurs in the second half as he regularly ghosted down the left flank. Bale fought his way into the Wolves box before delivering a ball across the face of the goal, but no Spurs player gambled and the ball was eventually cleared.

A second half in stark contrast to the first didn't see a single clear cut chance carved out for either side with Tottenham severely lacking a quality final ball and Wolves struggling to keep up after the pace at which they played the first half.

David Bentley finally got the ball in the net for Spurs late on but the right midfielder had strayed lazily offside as he latched onto Wilson Palacios' through ball and the goal was chalked off.

Palacios himself had a chance deep into injury time after a scramble in the box popped the ball out to the Honduran who tamely shot when he perhaps could've set up substitute Luka Modric.

It wasn't to be for Spurs, however, as Mick McCarthy's men held on for a hard earned and vital three points in their battle to avoid the drop.

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