Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Aston Villa - Match Report

Harry Redknapp’s return to the dugout was a happy one as his side ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over a poor Aston Villa side and moved up to third in the table.

Harry Redknapp€™s return to the dugout was a happy one as his side ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over a poor Aston Villa side and moved up to third in the table. Two first- half goals from Emmanuel Adebayor were enough for the North London club in a match they dominated from start to finish. Alex McLeish looked to have set up his side to contain Tottenham, naming five defenders in his starting eleven. Alan Hutton began on the right of midfield, presumably in an attempt to suppress Gareth Bale, but as Tottenham€™s attacking players began to come to the fore Villa started to slip into a 5-4-1 formation with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey both playing much deeper roles than they are used to. Redknapp named the same side for his third match in a row and on this performance you can see why. Villa actually started the match brightly and Darren Bent had a chance within the first minute but he sent the ball way over the bar. Tottenham soon came into the game and Rafael Van der Vaart was unlucky after a brilliant turn on the edge of the area to misplace his through ball to Adebayor. A fantastically agile run from Aaron Lennon down the right followed by an inch perfect cross into the centre should have been converted by Adebayor who instead headed down and wide of the goal. Younes Kaboul almost scored with a left foot volley from the edge of the area which was deflected behind for a corner. From the resulting set piece Bale€™s miss-hit shot bounced up into the box and Adebayor (14) made no mistake this time, finishing his overhead kick into the bottom corner. It was his first goal in seven games for Spurs. Van der Vaart hit a stinging shot into the side netting after 22 minutes from the corner of the 18 yard box, although it never really looked to be troubling Shay Given. Scott Parker then made a crucial last ditch tackle to nick the ball away from Bent just as the Villa man looked to have broken free of the Spurs defence. Superb control and a quick through ball from Adebayor found Van der Vaart running through, but the Dutchman€™s attempted chip went comfortably over the bar. A burst through the centre of the pitch by Agbonlahor had Spurs on the back foot and led to arguably Villa€™s best chance off the match. Agbonlahor€™s pass found Heskey but his cross-shot went wide of the post, with Bent failing to get on the end of it. At the other end, Bale€™s whipped low cross from the left, caused all sorts of problems for the Villa defence, with James Collins and Given both going for it and as the ball came off the defender Adebayor (40) was there to poke it home. Tottenham€™s first half dominance was clear from the half-time statistics as they had seen 69% of possession. Half Time Villa had a decent chance just after the break when a cross from Chris Herd found the head of Bent but the England man€™s effort went straight at Brad Friedel. Adebayor then missed a guilt-edged chance for his hat-trick after a through ball from Luka Modric found him one on one with Given but he placed his shot wide of the Irishman€™s post. Kyle Walker was next to try his luck with a dipping strike on the right hand edge of the Villa box went just wide of the mark. A superb run from Bale then had Villa€™s defence spinning and when he was dispossessed the ball fell to Adebayor who€™s couldn€™t quite bend his shot into the far post. Adebayor then had the ball in the net once again but the whistle had already gone as Lennon was offside. The game quietened down after the hour with a single Bale shot the only real effort of note but that was saved comfortably by Given. Agbonlahor fizzed a low cross into a dangerous area but Friedel got there before Bent in what was a rare venture into the Tottenham half for McLeish€™s side. Tottenham were soon back on the offensive though and Given was brave in denying Adebayor his hat-trick with a couple of saves at the feet of the Togolese after an excellent low cross from Modric. The Tottenham strike-force were then queuing up in the middle but Benoit Assou-Ekotto€™s cross was blocked when the left-back perhaps should have done better. A couple of wild efforts from the ever impressive Parker and substitute Jermaine Defoe failed to trouble Given but Tottenham and Redknapp will be delighted with the performance on a night when Aston Villa quite simply failed to turn up. Referee: Mark HalseyTottenham (4-4-1-1): Friedel, Walker, King, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Parker, Modric (Sandro, 90), Bale, Van der Vaart (Defoe, 69), Adebayor Aston Villa (4-4-2): Given, Cuellar (Bannan, 63), Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Hutton, Herd (Delph, 87), Petrov, Agbonlahor, Bent, Heskey

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