After a well deserved 3-0 win over Hull to win the Barclays Asia Trophy, Harry Redknapp’s men returned to their hotel at midnight and left bright and early for Hong Kong on Saturday. A tired Spurs squad landed at the Hong Kong airport and were welcomed by a nice turnout of fans. Their first day in Hong Kong was full of press conferences, signing sessions, training, and a bit of light training for the starting squad against Hull.
Sunday afternoon, Harry made changes to his previous lineup to come up against an energetic South China side. In the start, South China’s goal keeper made some excellent saves as Spurs tried their luck. It wasn’t until the 51st minute that the scoring was opened, only, not by Spurs, but South China through Chan Siu Ki. Spurs tried for an equalizer but failed in finding the net. South China found another bit of luck near the end, as Chao Peng Fei simply ran into Jake Livermore in the box and took a spill. A penalty was awarded against Tottenham and Li Haiqiang provided a brace for his side from the spot kick.
South China came away with a 2-0 victory against the North Londoners and Harry Redknapp praised South China’s flair. He said, “It was a good game and full credit to South China, they fought well, worked hard, and you can see they’ve been very well coached. They turned in a great performance. It was a good experience for some of our younger players. It was a first start for a few of them on this trip and this was ideal for them in front of a big crowd and playing against good opposition. We had some decent opportunities, but you have to score when you get those opportunities and we didn’t do that on this occasion. It wasn’t easy for the lads, the weather is completely different to what we’re used to, but as I said, full credit to the opposition.”
After a long eventful week in Beijing and Hong Kong, the lads have landed home in England and will meet up with their new teammate, Peter Crouch. Spurs’ last pre-season friendly is Tuesday, in which they will host Olympiakos at the Lane.
Jill Guthrie
