Tottenham Hotspur move into fourth round of FA Cup
Charlton Athletic visited White Hart Lane to play in the third round of FA Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jermain-Defoe-c18359 added two more goals to make it 3-0 in the end. Charlton had more of the possession in the game but they were unable to make good use of it. They had only
4 shots on target as compared to Spurs’ 16 on the night.
Recently, the loan deal of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Beckham-c10432 did not materialise as was being hoped by Harry Redknapp. Therefore, as a possible replacement for that position, Redknapp started Townsend in the midfield. Many first team players were rested for the match because
of the upcoming Champions League fixtures. There were only six players left as substitutes while http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gareth-Bale-c14422 was not even present on the benches.
Apart from him, Rafael Van der Vaart, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wilson-Palacios-c36948, Townsend and
Sandro. This was a strong side against the second division Charlton Athletic and an easy victory was expected for the hosts.
The addition of Townsend proved vital for the win as the midfielder looked threatening from the start of the match. After just a couple of minutes, Townsend made his way past two of the defenders and placed a low cross towards the centre of the field. In
the 14th minute, he won a free-kick which was shot wide of the target by Kranjcar. Pavlyuchenko and Defoe also had their chances in the opening half but they were unable to take the lead for their team.
Overall, it was a lacklustre performance by the Spurs in the opening half. As some of the main players like Van der Vaart, Modric and Bale were missing, Spurs found it hard to retain possession in the midfield. The possession was wasted on a number of occasions
but Charlton could not take advantage of the situation. Despite looking threatening at times, the goal did not come because of poor finishing.
Palacios had a poor show in the opening half and he was replaced with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Luka-Modric-c22857 at the beginning of the second period. Fortunes did turn for Spurs immediately but Pavlyuchenko wasted the chance. However, after four minutes, Townsend did not miss his opportunity
as he fired a shot home from 20 yards. Goalkeeper could have stopped the ball but it took a deflection and went to his other side.
The second goal came around the hour mark and Defoe was the scorer. The English striker found a pass from Kranjcar and made no mistake as he found the back of the net. The third goal came after just two minutes and Defoe was the scorer once again. His first
shot was blocked but the keeper had no chance in denying him his second goal of the match on the rebound.
Townsend was causing many problems for the visitors but he could not get his second goal of the match. Also, with Modric into the team, the midfield looked in better shape and the Croatian also had a few chances to increase the lead. However, he was denied
on a couple of occasions and the match ended with a 3-0 victory for the hosts.
Spurs now move into the fourth round and things are looking quite positive for Redknapp’s side. The important Champions League second round fixtures are coming up and the manager has achieved a great result despite resting some of his key players.
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