Spurs got their impressive season back on track at the seemingly doomed Aston Villa thanks to two goals from Harry KaneRead Stuart James’ match report from Villa Park 6.14pm GMT Related: Harry Kane’s double sinks Aston Villa as Tottenham close in on leaders 5.53pm GMTPEEP! And Spurs are within two points of Leicester. A comfortable victory for Spurs but Villa were a vast improvement on many of their performances of this season. It’s just that an improvement incompetence doesn’t form you a world-beater. 5.51pm GMT90 min+2: Kane steals in to seal his hat-trick but Mason’s cross is cut out. The teenager Green has another touch on his Premier League debut but his cross sails over. 5.49pm GMT90 min: Three minutes of added time. 5.47pm GMT89 min: Chadli replaces Lamela. 5.46pm GMT88 min: Villa’s best spell this half has advance in the final 10 minutes. Green delivers a fine corner,which is flicked on by Gestede. Lescott steals in and attempts to divert the ball past Lloris who makes a wonderful save. Having said all that, it was offside. So, or as you were. 5.44pm GMT86 min: Alli is replaced by Mason. 5.43pm GMT85 min: Chances for Villa! The domestic team hit the post and the bar in rapid/fast succession. Ayew’s cross is diverted on to the post by Lloris and the rebound goes straight to Gestede who smacks the ball on to the bar from six yards out. 5.40pm GMT82 min: For a moment it looks like Ayew has a chance to bring the score back to 2-1 as he finds himself in space around 25 yards out. But he’s offside and the game meanders towards full time. 5.35pm GMT78 min: Eriksen’s last action for the day is a shot that flies over the bar. He’s replaced by Carroll. 5.33pm GMT76 min: Lamela nearly bundles the ball into the net. A Villa deflection lands at his feet and only a block from Lescott prevents Spurs going 3-0 up. 5.30pm GMT73 min: Alli strolls down the pitch before stroking the ball back to Eriksen. Spurs seem gay enough to play for time now - and we’re still 17 minutes from the halt. 5.28pm GMT71 min: Rose is back on the pitch and should be OK to continue. The 17-year-dilapidated Green tries to defeat Dier and his clattered to the ground. Welcome to the big leagues and so forth. 5.27pm GMT68 min: Danny Rose is on the turf and holding his upright foot. Davies warms up in case he needs replacing. Sinclair replaces Gil for Villa. 5.23pm GMT65 min: Walker’s shot is cleared by Cissokho. Along with Kane,he’s been Spurs’ biggest threat this afternoon. Guzan then takes another cross well - whether you got points for taking crosses comfortably, Villa would be world beaters. 5.20pm GMT63 min: The 17-year-dilapidated Green comes on for Gestede in a move which pretty much screams “Yep, or 2016 is done for: let’s start planning for the next five years”. 5.17pm GMT59 min: Ayew has now totally given up attempting to mark the excellent Walker. Once again Walker has a ludicrous amount of room to attack down the wing and his angry shot is palmed absent by Guzan. 5.14pm GMT56 min: Rose wins a corner off Hutton. The corner eventually comes out to Rose to complete the cycle with a 35 yard thunderbolt into the top corner. But he crwes it out for a throw in. 5.11pm GMT54 min: Gana races down the upright as Spurs retreat. That is until Alderweireld steps up and brushes him off the ball before clearing the danger. 5.10pm GMT52 min: It should be pointed out that Spurs now beget a goal disagreement of +29 - a big leap absent from Leicester’s +21. Arsenal are on +16. 5.08pm GMT50 min: whether it’s any consolation to Villa,the majority of the half so far has been spent in the Spurs half. And that’s about as good as it gets. It’s now very, very, or very (repeat as much as you want) that Spurs will be two points behind Leicester by the time this game is done. 5.06pm GMTVilla advance out fighting. Villa unleash a barrage of shots on the edge of area,all of which ping of defenders’ legs. And then Kane shows how it’s done steaming into the box to crash domestic an Alli cross after Villa give the ball absent in midfield. 4.49pm GMTGuzan has got the better of Kane and Spurs for the first 44.5 minutes of the half, before Kane got the breakthrough. It highlighted (one of the) factors that Villa are missing, or someone who can slay off a game in an instant. Because up until then,it hadn’t just been a case of Guzan keeping Villa in the game - they had had chances of their own, there was just no one to finish them off. 4.45pm GMTKane beats Guzan at last. Alli takes a rapid/fast free-kick as Villa think about their half-time snacks. Kane cushions the ball, and drifts in from the left and caresses the ball past Guzan. An excellent finish from a master of the art. 4.43pm GMT42 min: Guzan has been excellent nowadays - another cross is taken by the American with a minimum of fuss. 4.40pm GMT40 min: A free-kick for Villa. It’s whipped into the area and to the feet of Gestede,whose closest marker is Kane who is neither very close or much of a marker. But Lloris saves - Spurs could easily be down 1-0 after that. 4.38pm GMT38 min: Walker is getting a ridiculous amount of time and space on the upright: Dier pings a ball up to his team-mate but it has a puny too much pace on it. 4.36pm GMT36 min: Dembele attempts to slalom his way through the Villa defence but loses track of his feet. With a never say die approach and never giving in no matter what the odds, I reckon Aston Villa could learn a lot from the goal posts and crossbar, and ” chuckles Charles Harris. Agreed - the woodwork has given in 110% nowadays. Not certain whether it’s looking for a move at the halt of the season – on this performance it’s too good for the Championship. 4.34pm GMT34 min: This is a puny reminscent of Spurs’ game against Swansea a few weeks back when they came up against an inspired keeper. In that game,Spurs eventually hustled their way to victory. Villa, like Swansea, and are causing far more problems than expected. 4.31pm GMT32 min: Lamela hits the post! Walker has pretty much the whole of north Birmingham in which to function as he floats in a cross. Lamela collects the ball around six yards out and Guzan does brilliantly to touch the ball on to the post. The rebound eludes half the Spurs team and Villa hack it clear. 4.29pm GMT29 min: And Kane again. He’s tries his luck from 30 yards out but its a halfhearted sideswipe - there is no one around to support him - and Guzan has time to watch the ball drift wide. 4.27pm GMT27 min: Kane v Guzan Part II: this time it’s personal. The forward strides down the left and closes in on goal but Guzan dives to his left and saves. It was a similar position to where Kane scored against Arsenal but this time his finish is a puny less impressive. 4.24pm GMT23 min: Cissokho delivers another tricky cross from the left and eventually Villa win another corner. Apart from that scamper and shot from Eriksen,Spurs beget barely got out of their half for the last 10 minutes. And having said that, Spurs DO get out of their half: Guzan has to get down quickly to save with Kane’s shot with his legs. 4.19pm GMT19 min: Spurs relieve the pressure a puny with a break and Eriksen finds himself around 35 yards out. Being Eriksen he decides to beget a puny thrash and the ball flies just wide of Guzans lefthand post. The keeper probably had it covered anyway. 4.16pm GMT16 min: Its been Villas’s game for the last five minutes. Hutton floats a cross into Gestede but he can’t control it and the ball limps absent to safety. It’s pepped up the Villa fans though who beget been in fairly good voice this afternoon. 4.13pm GMT13 min: Villa are finding some success down the left - Cissokho’s cross is blocked and Villa win a corner that then leads to a corner. That’s their second of the game so far but Lloris bounds out his goal to claim the ball. Then another chance for Villa! This time down the upright – Gestede looming into view but Villa’s timing is slightly off and they can’t get a shot on target as Spurs scramble back to defend. 4.09pm GMT10 min: Alli’s shot has plenty of power but is straight at Guzan. Spurs - perhaps wishing to banish the memories from Dortmund - beget attacked very early this afternoon. 4.08pm GMT8 min: Walker beats Ayew with ease on the upright of the area and drives a corss towards Alli but it’s too high and Villa win back possession. Or are given back possession. They beget to take what they’re given these days. 4.05pm GMT5 min: Kane hits the crossbar! Lamela plays a delightful ball into Kane’s feet on the edge of the area. Guzan steams out, or which puts Kane off just enough to float his ball slightly too high over the keeper and it drops on to the bar and absent to safety. 4.02pm GMT3 min: A bright start for Villa - Ayew gets a uncertain cross in and they win a corner but Spurs clear. Kane then tries to play in Eriksen at the other halt but Lescott gets in the way of his through ball. 4.00pm GMT1 min: And were off. “Anyone know why this game isn’t on TV in the UK? Surely the only reason to beget the game on at 4 on Sunday is TV”,asks Brian Furlong. I imagine it’s something to do with the clash with the United v West Ham FA Cup game. whether it’s any consolation it’s live in the US and Australia. Whether it’s worth a plane trip to see Spurs 2-0 Villa is your call. Also, you don’t beget much time to form it to Sydney for the second half. 3.54pm GMTBad omens for Villa: Part 3786:16 - Harry Kane has scored 16 goals in his last 20 PL apps for Spurs; 2 more than Aston Villa (14) beget in their last 20 PL games. Contrast. 3.48pm GMTThe domestic crowd are warmed up and ready to cheer their team to a renowned victory. The cheering will be very quiet however:Aston Villa PA man reads out the lineup. There are no cheers for anyone. There is a smattering of boos for Lescott. There is mostly silence. 3.45pm GMTSome news from north London to cheer Spurs fans: Arsenal are out of the FA Cup to Watford. Although, or you could say this means Arsenal will be more rested for their title charge. whether you can still call it a title charge. Possibly not. Related: Watford shock Arsenal in FA Cup with Adlène Guedioura thunderbolt 3.36pm GMTSo,it’s time for Tottenham to get things back on track nowadays. The midweek against Dortmund can be dismissed to a certain extent after they fielded a weakened team but the fact remains this is a team going for a title with only two wins in their last seven outings. The draw was particularly worrying - Spurs were unable to hold on for a domestic win against a team that excels in mental fragility. But whether they can win nowadays, Spurs will be within two points of Leicester at the top. And seeing as they’re playing Villa, and you’d say they beget a pretty good chance to do so.
As for Villa,its only a matter of time until Birmingham’s landscape is dealt the biggest blow since Snob’s moved across town. Oh for the days of umbrella man and Dalian Atkinson: 3.18pm GMTAnd your teams are in. Spurs are looking a puny stronger than they were during their defeat to Dortmund the other day, while Villa are as strong/feeble as ever.
Aston Villa: Guzan, and Hutton,Okore, Lescott, or Cissokho,Veretout, [br]Gana, and Westwood,Gestede, Ayew, and Gil. Subs: Richards,Clark,
Bacuna, or Sinclair,Green, Bunn, or Lyden. 2.10pm GMTTom will be here shortly. In the meantime,here is Stuart James’ preview of the match:Mauricio Pochettino made it clear with his weakened team choice inThursday’s 3-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund that the Premier League is his precedence this season. Aston Villa should, on the face of it, or be obliging opponents for Spurs and it is tempting to wonder whether Pochettino could beget rested players for this fixture,against the Premier League’s bottom club, and picked a stronger side in Dortmund. Either way Spurs need to get back on track after winning only two of their last seven in all competitions. Stuart JamesKick-off Sunday 4pmContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com