Monday, March 2, 2009

Spurs Player Ratings for Carling Cup Final

Well the lads put forth a good effort yesterday, our penalty-taking leaves a little to be desired though. It's gutting to go down like that, especially with the way that we played in the second half, it almost seems unfair, but fair play to United, they took the penalties well and earned the trophy. I had high hopes of holding onto the trophy, but it wasn't too be. But we shouldn't be too discouraged by the performance of the club, and they shouldn't either. They hopefully will use this as motivation to play well for the rest of the year.

Player Ratings:

Gomes 7 A good game for Gomes, I'm not going to fault anyone on penalties, and he he guessed right a couple of times but was unlucky. Was pretty solid throughout the match, saved a couple of good shots. Had one "Gomes" moment of flinging for a cross that was well above his head, but it caused no danger. Maybe his confidence is coming around.

Corluka 7 Just as I've talked about Vedran not looking comfortable getting forward in attack, he goes and has this type of game to prove me wrong. He and Lennon are starting to have some type of connection, and he had a couple of well-placed crosses. Strong in defense as ever.

Dawson 7 A warrior effort from him, complete with going down with cramps and trooping back onto the field. Looked comfortable in the middle and for me, didn't really put a foot wrong all night.

King 6.5 It was good to see Ledley fit for the game, and he played very well, sometimes it amazes me how effortless he makes it all look, if only he was fit more often. The only knock against him was the lunging tackle (very un-Ledley like) on Ronaldo in the second half that easily could have been called a penalty.

Assou-Ekotto 5.5 Back to being my goat, like the commentators said, seemed to lose his concentration several times. The cross field pass straight to Nani early on was a perfect example of this. Is just too inconsistent for me.

Lennon 8 Man of the match for me, and probably a lot of others. Made Evra look pedestrian at times down that right flank. Had a great shot that was well-saved by Foster, and was a terror all night. Let's hope he isn't badly injured, we need him for the run in to the season.

Zokora 7 Did his job well, tackled, helped control the center of the pitch. Had a couple of Zokora moments, namely the cross in the first half that found no one but the first row, but was very solid in the middle of the field for us.

Jenas 7.5 Was really great for me in the midfield today. I saw him really caring about the game and getting stuck in, there were plenty of times where he was making the crucial tackle. He was also sharp in his passing, unlike lately. He didn't try to do too much, and in a 5-man midfield is a great link between holding midfielder and maestro. Created some, but mainly "carried the water" for Modric, which was perfectly fine today.

Modric 7 Was a terror throughout the second half, he can be such a creative force for us, United didn't have an answer for him when we put him just behind Bent. I also saw him tackle a few times too, always a good thing.

Bent 6 Was unlucky not to score in extra time, but otherwise was pretty much invisible. Unfortunately this can be typical for Bent, a mistimed jump on a cross, not showing for the ball as we'd hope, but almost nicked it for us.

Pavyulchenko 5 Not Roman's day, and let's all agree on this now, he doesn't take anymore free kicks for us. Never looked comfortable, tried to get involved, but just never got going.

Substitutes:

O'Hara 6 Probably was overjoyed to get on the field after last year's Cup Final disappointment. Did well to block Ronaldo's free kick, he'll feel it tomorrow in training. Took an ill-advised shot in extra time, maybe slotting it to Modric would have done more, but I don't fault a guy for trying. Played hard, but not spectacular.

Bale 6 Didn't have too much of a chance to get involved, but played decently. Made a couple of runs, and a good tackle, but otherwise couldn't get too involved.

Bentley 5 It probably says a lot about Harry's thinking right now when O'Hara is put on, and then Bale down the left flank before Bentley is considered, and then only because Lennon was injured. Poor free kick at the end of extra-time and a bad miss on a penalty, not going to help his confidence any.

A good effort, it was clear we had a chance, but that's the way the game can be at times. Hopefully we will use this as motivation for the rest of the season and not let it effect morale at the club, because we still need to get results. But I am proud of the lads, though I'm disappointed, like I'm sure they are.

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