As the two teams lined the tunnel, awaiting the start of the game, there was only one anticipated winner – Spurs. Tottenham Hotspur had used the last few games to create a clear road to next year’s European football. They had been trouncing lower-level clubs while also being gifted by the fact that West Ham and Man Utd just can’t seem to get into the swing of things this year.
It should have been a simple affair that would see Spurs demolishing Southampton. However, it just wasn’t quite to be as Spurs made, what can only be described as, a complete hash of things. For people in Nigeria watching Premier League matches, this one summed up what it is all about. You can never just expect the expected. This is what makes betting on the outcome of these matches such a challenge, as well as being seriously exciting.
It was almost so different
If you had placed a bet on Spurs to win this clash, there were certainly some happy times as the match progressed. Spurs took the lead, not once but twice. It should all have been over while Southampton were left to walk away licking their wounds.
So what happened that led to the unexpected? What did Southampton have that saw them walk away, not licking their wounds but, with three points in the bag? While last-minute winners are just part of the game, there was more going on here. It seemed almost inconceivable that a team like Spurs could just throw it all away.
The team that just gets on with it
To be fair to Southampton, they had pretty much dominated the entire first half. If they could have sorted their finishes then the game may not have been quite so tense. It could’ve almost been a done deal within the first 45 minutes. However, sometimes football is cruel and things just aren’t meant to be. There were plenty of things in the match that didn’t go Southampton’s way. A prime example being the free-kick that never was.
With Armando Broja lying on the pitch with Emerson Royal jumping all over him, there was a clear foul. Not as far as the officials were concerned though. Southampton had been treated badly and it would have been all too easy to play the woe is me card. Instead, this was a team that just got on with it.
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Sheer grit and determination
It takes something special to come back twice in a game. The first half saw Southampton playing some of its very finest football. The team was playing well together and there were certainly plenty of chances being created. Southhampton owned the first half, but the second was a different story.
The second half was tough for Southampton and that could be seen as the team lost some of its finesse. What replaced this was resilience and it is this reliance that ultimately led to the win.
Some woeful defending
The Southampton victory wasn’t all about the performance of its players. Much of the outcome of this match can be accredited to some woeful defending on Spur’s behalf. It was this poor defending that saw the winner hitting the back of the net and the road to Europe seeming a little foggier for Spurs.
At this level of football, there is little excusing the defending that was witnessed. The Spurs defence was simply static and let Southampton roam around the box freely. In the end, the result was fair but it could have been oh so different.
