Spurs Squeeze Past Watford to Steal all Three Points

Saturday 1st January 2022

Match Report

Watford 0 – 1 Tottenham Hotspur

Venue: Vicarage Road Stadium, Watford

Competition: English Premier League

"Pre-Match Thoughts – We were unlucky against Southampton. I think we have what it takes to beat Watford. It'll be interesting to see the team he picks. I trust in Conte though, Spurs win, 3-1."

Two changes to the side that drew with Southampton, as Skipp and Moura returned in place of Winks and Dele.

A measured start to the match as neither side sprang into action, though Spurs did assert their authority in terms of possession and pressing, as the majority of the opening fifteen minutes was spent with us passing it around in the Watford half, probing for an opening,

16' The first chance fell to Højbjerg just inside the penalty area; he laced a half-volley at goal but it was always rising and flew harmlessly over the bar.

19' Kane then stung the palms of the keeper after bringing the ball down on the right side of the box and swivelling to shoot. His shot had the power, but was too central.

26' Højbjerg laid it off to Reguilón on the edge, who found the gap for a shot and struck it, the keeper dived to save and kept it out.

31' Kane really should have punished them, as Skipp pounced on a loose touch and knocked it to Kane with his sliding tackle. Kane set himself before unleashing a shot for the bottom right corner, but he put it just wide.

"Thoughts at Half-Time – A drab first half, with Watford happy to sit back and defend, and Spurs not forthright enough in pushing for an opening goal, settling instead for patient possession play, waiting for an opening to present itself. Hopefully Conte gets them going at half-time and we emerge hungrier in the second half."

46' Bright start, as Son hounded around in the penalty area searching for a shot, he eventually tapped it to Reguilón, who drilled into the side netting.

52' Son played into the feet of Kane on the edge of the box. He showed good strength to hold off the defender, then spin to the right of him and shoot at goal with power, but again it was too central, and the keeper saved above his head.

54' Josh King let fly from distance with a dangerous effort that Lloris had to spring to his left and make an excellent diving save to keep out.

61' Great chance for Højbjerg in the six-yard box, who just couldn't sort his feet out in time, and the low cross bounced off his leg and came to nothing, rather than being stroked into the net from close range.

70' Winks came on for the cautioned Skipp.

72' So close for Son! A ball clipped in by Moura, Son watched it over his shoulder before helping it on with a delicate volley right in front of the goalkeeper, who reacted instinctively to get a hand to it and push it away for a corner.

81' Risky from Lloris as he raced out to beat João Pedro to a through ball that would have seen him in on goal one-on-one. Lloris claimed he got a glove to it before catching the Watford man and bringing him down. Thankfully the referee and VAR agreed.

83' An attacking change as Lo Celso came on for Reguilón.

84' Kane flashed the ball across goal, and the keeper just managed to keep it out as a deflection almost helped it creep over the line.

86' The game was halted as it'd been bought to the referee's attention that someone had been taken ill in the stands. Medical staff rushed to resolve the situation.

90'+6' GOAL! Son did well to win a free-kick on the left side of the area that he viciously whipped in at goal, and Sánchez got his head to it to deflect past the keeper into the net. 1-0.

"Thoughts at Full-Time – Immense relief to be coming out of that one with 3 points! Far from an exhilarating encounter, but we kept fighting until the end, and were eventually rewarded with the breakthrough that earned us an important win. We'll need to be much better at Chelsea in the Semi-final on Wednesday."

Tottenham Player Ratings

• 1. Hugo Lloris – 7 – Didn't have much to do but pulled off an excellent outstretched save on one occasion where he was tested. May have been fortunate not to concede a penalty when rushing out to stop a one-on-one.

• 6. Davinson Sánchez – 9 – Fantastic from Sánchez. Solid at the back, cutting out danger from crosses, and muting attacking threats by using his pace. Up the other end to nod home a crucial winner in stoppage time.

• 15. Eric Dier – 7 – Generally kept it tight at the back again. His long ball distribution didn't have as much of an impact as we'd like to see.

• 33. Ben Davies – 6.5 – Steady. Did his duties, and looked to pass it forward and get up on the overlap when possible.

• 12. Emerson Royal – 5 – Needs to improve his delivery. We say it every week now. He's good at creating the opportunities, but doesn't seem to pick out a man on many crosses.

• 29. Oliver Skipp – 7.5 – Our best player in the first half as he nicked in and won back possession countless times. Shame that he picked up a yellow as it led to him being subbed off as caution after seventy.

• 5. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg – 6 – Muscled his way about the pitch in another workhorse style performance. Could have benefitted from him being more incisive going forward.

• 3. Sergio Reguilón – 6 – Similar to Royal on the right, he was wasteful with this final ball. Got a couple of decent shots away.

• 27. Lucas Moura – 5 – Very Quiet. Struggled to find space in and amongst a compact Watford defence.

• 7. Son Heung-min – 8 – Nice skill in flashes. Won and delivered the stoppage time free-kick that ended up winning us the match.

• 10. Harry Kane – 6.5 – Expected him to score with one that Skipp gave to him in the first half. Did a good few dogged dribbles winning free-kicks. Used his strength well against the backline but didn't get enough threatening shots away.

Substitutions:

• 29. Oliver Skipp ⬅ 70' ➡ 8. Harry Winks – 6 – Not much of note. Made a good sliding tackle.

• 3. Sergio Reguilón ⬅ 83' ➡ 18. Giovani Lo Celso – N/A – Didn't really get involved.

• 27. Lucas Moura ⬅ 90'+1' ➡ 11. Bryan Gil – N/A – Looked lively in the short stint he had on the pitch.

Man of the Match – 6. Davinson Sánchez