Spurs played to another draw at St. Andrews over the weekend. With neither side able to beat the keeper, in the 68th minute Tottenham finally broke the ice through Jermain Defoe. As they set into a defensive mode in the closing stages, feeling they had sealed the game, Birmingham bounced back as Ridgewell tapped home the equalizer in the last 5 minutes of extra time.
A disappointed Redknapp reported after the match, “We deserved to win. They never really threatened us and we were in control. It was a game for us to lose, or draw in this case. They weren’t in the game, but when we scored we invited them onto us a bit; that was a problem. It was a poor goal to concede though, we defended poorly on it.”
Putting the weekend disappointment behind them, Spurs were set to re-play the FA Cup 4th round tie with Leeds. A great pass from David Bentley allowed Defoe to open the scoring in the 37th minute. It wasn’t long, however, until Leeds equalized before half-time through Luciano Becchio. Spurs had a burst of energy in the second half and created some brilliant chances. Their persistence led to a second goal and Defoe’s hat-trick sealed the win and put Spurs through to the next round where they will battle it out with Bolton Wanderers.
“I thought we played ever so well; I was delighted with everyone,” Redknapp concluded. “We were under pressure with people coming here expecting to see an upset, TV hoping to see an upset, but it didn’t happen. We were strong, we were solid, we competed. They are a good side but we played well. It was a good all-round performance.”…
“We did what we had to do but full credit to Leeds, they have made it two fantastic cup ties,” he finished.
Hopefully Spurs will take the positive energy from their midweek win and carry it over to their Premier League fixture with Aston Villa this weekend, who are also top 4 hopefuls. As it is super tight in the race to finish fourth with Spurs, City, Liverpool, and Villa all within points of each other, every point is crucial. At the moment, Spurs have the upper hand as they are in 4th on the table and have everyone by a bit on goal difference. Hopefully the weekend results will go their way.
Jill Guthrie
