Here is Bazza’s VFTS for the Spurs game.
A great week in which we had beaten our fiercest rivals to land a semi-final spot in a major cup competition was to end facing one of the most attacking, attractive and expansive sides in the Premiership. The concern was obviously that after such an emotional game on Wednesday that the players might be flat and subdued; something they could ill afford against such a good side as Spurs. Jonny and I travelled up to Baginton to meet up with Will and Chris. Will had gone up to the Midlands ahead of us with wife and two little ones in tow as he had family commitments over the weekend but not so pressing that it meant missing the game!
Jonny was as usual tardy in his movements getting out of bed despite my entreaties for him to get a move on but despite this we made good time and arrived much earlier than expected to enjoy a quick pint before going on to The George where I ordered fours baps with half a pig in each. Another sherbet whilst we watched the end of the Ipswich – Swansea game passed the time before kick off.
Whilst Blues weren’t exactly sluggish, Spurs were very slick and quick with lots of clever interplay and intricate passing in the first half. Blues set up with the much maligned 4-5-1 system for this one which frankly I thought was prudent and sensible for this fixture even though we were at home. On their flanks the pace of Lennon and Bale was simply terrifying and we needed the extra width to combat them. Ferguson, Bowyer and Gardner formed the central trio with Fahey and Beausejour out wide supporting Jerome as the lone striker. The back four was as usual in front of Foster. Spurs played with Crouch and Defoe up front, the latter adding yet more pace to their attack.
We were largely outplayed at times and it was no surprise when the opening goal went to the visitors on 19 minutes. A pacy viciously inswinging free kick from the left foot of Bale 25 yards out dropped invitingly for Bassong from Foster’s attempted punch which sadly the England man made a bit of a mess of. Bassong made no mistake in punishing the error lashing the ball into the back of the net from eight yards giving the highly vociferous Spurs support something to crow about. Blues did enjoy some possession however and were not out of the game by any stretch although our attacking potential was somewhat blunted by the fact that the boys were chasing shadows for the most part.
There was a very unpleasant spat between Gardner and Palacios as the two went for a 50-50 ball just before the break. This incident happened right in front of me and I saw it clearly. Palacios took exception to Gardner’s sliding challenge as the Blues player caught the Spurs man in the back with his studs. I am sure this must have smarted but I am convinced it was an accident with no malintent. Palacios gets to his feet and shoves Gardner in the throat with his forearm. Now the referee has a good view and if he sees it, the decision has to be a red card; if he doesn’t he takes no action. The result of course was a yellow card; yet more inconsistency which inflames fans and rekindles memories of Nasri and Eboue at Arsenal earlier in the season.
The second period was better from Blues’ perspective and still finding themselves well in a game that Spurs could and should have put to bed by half time. They found themselves exerting more pressure with Bowyer and Ferguson supporting the energetic Gardner in pushing forward. Beausejour was making inroads down the left sending over dangerous crosses. Gomes was certainly the busier of the two keepers as the half wore on and on the hour Zigic replaced Fahey followed ten minutes later by Larsson for Bowyer. Despite Spurs’ assurances that they were used to being up against a tall striker in training as they have Crouch after all, Zigic was giving their central pairing of Bassong and Gallas problems with Jerome buzzing round them adding pace and movement making for him one of his better games for Blues.
You could sense a goal was coming as Gardner headed straight at Gomes and saw another strike go narrowly wide. A glorious opportunity fell to Ridgewell just before we did score when he sneaked into the area only for his close range shot to be blocked by the keeper. Finally on 82 minutes a cross from Murphy to Zigic was headed powerfully back across the area for the incoming Gardner to plant his downward header into the bottom corner for a deserved share of the spoils. In the last few minutes that remained Blues looked the more likely to snatch the points but a draw was a fair result here although no doubt Spurs fans will feel that this was two points dropped for them. On their first half showing yes; on the second, no; they are without doubt a very good side indeed, the best Spurs side I have seen in years and attractive on the eye. Unfortunately, they are not title contenders just yet.
The Good: Excellent performance from Blues in the second half and a gritty resilient one in the first. Well worked goal from Gardner with good performances from Ferguson and Jerome. The defence was as solid as ever. Modric for Spurs was a joy to watch.
The Bad: Some of the officiating. Kevin Friend was adequate for the most part but bottled the really important decision regarding Palacios. Hutton was also lucky to escape sanction deep in the second half.
The Ugly: Palacios’ forearm into Gardner’s throat.
Birmingham City (4-4-1-1) Goal: Gardner 82
Foster 6 Carr 7 Johnson 7 Dann 7 Ridgewell 7 Fahey 7 (Zigic 60, 7) Bowyer 7 (Larsson 71, 6) Gardner 8 Ferguson 9 Beausejour 6 (Murphy 80, N/A) Jerome 8
Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2) Goal: Bassong 19
Gomes 7 Hutton 6 Gallas 7 Bassong 8 Assou-Ekotto 7 Lennon 6 Palacios 6 Modric 9 Bale 7 Crouch 6 Defoe 6 (Pavlyuchenko 78, N/A)
Referee: Mr Kevin Friend 5.
Watched it on TV, even before the replay it was clear that Gardner deliberately kicked Palacios in the back, long after the ball had gone, he could have pulled out if he wanted to, but didn’t Palacios reacted badly, should have been a red card for both. Another bad tackle from a Brum player, what a surprise.
It depends which angle you look at it from to be fair.
One of the angles Gardner’s tackle looks bad, but from another you can see his momentum took him over and he lost a bit of balance causing him to hit Palacios.
I personally thought the ref got it right, the game was played in a good spirit and although you shouldn’t use your arm like Wilson did – I thought yellow was just about right.
I was surprised with Palacios’ reaction tbh, I don’t remember him being like that when he was with us – but I can understand him wanting to impress a manager who in effect didn’t think he was good enough. (Most Blues fans would have prefered Wilson to stay).
So who did cross the ball to Zigic that led to the goal? I’ve read umpteen match reports and have seen it credited to Johnson, Dann and now Murphy.
“Hutton was also lucky to escape sanction deep in the second half” is probably a fair claim but as with the Gardner/Palacios incident, the Blues player involved (Murphy) was also lucky to escape punishment for a rather late arrival.
With regards to the Palacios incident from where I was his body was in the way of me seeing Gardner’s contact as clearly as Palacios’ part in it. If the contact by Gardner was deliberate then I would be the last to condone it and would agree a double red would have been in order. However, I was unconvinced that Gardner’s clash with the Spurs player was anything but accidental but that is a personal opinion and I am happy to accept the views of others even though I may not agree. Gardner’s bit in it is clearly open to question given the differing opinions on it but Wilson’s most certainly isn’t; it was clear as day and how many times have we seen players dismissed when the perpetrator isn’t purely because the referee only sees one part of the incident? I maintain whatever the rights and wrongs of Gardner’s part in all this Wilson Palacios is a lucky lad.
Can nobody get this right? It was definitely Johnson. Unless we suddenly have a different number 5. It’s hardly a serious mistake but the BBC’s journalists should be able to fact-check better than I can. I picked up on it on Match of the Day, for god’s sake.