Despite dominating play for two-thirds of the match, Spurs left the door open and West Brom stepped through it in stoppage to earn a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane. Benoit Assou-Ekotto appeared to have given Spurs the full three points with his goal in the 74th minute, but James Morrison equalized in the stoppage time.
Tottenham Hotspur Vs. West Bromwich Albion: Baggies Earn Late 1-1 Draw
The first half at White Hart Lane was easily the most Spurs half ever. Tottenham dominated the match just about as much as you can, controlling possession by nearly 2 to 1 and out shooting the Baggies 10-1 (4-0 on target shots). Yet, it was scoreless at halftime. All the chances in the world don't matter if you can't finish them and no one knows that more than Rafael Van der Vaart who missed the half's best chance. Kyle Walker sent a perfectly waited pass to Aaron Lennon who ran right around the WBA defender in to the box and found Van der Vaart in space, but the Dutchmen skied his shot.
Depsite getting even more of the possession at the start of the second half, Spurs still couldn't break through. In fact, the Baggies looked the more dangerous team at times in the second 45. Romelu Lukaku, who replaced Shane Long in the 63rd minute, was outstanding for West Brom and gave the Spurs defense fits.
It looked or a moment like Jermaine Defoe broke the scoreless deadlock in the 66th minute, but he was correctly ruled offside just before putting the ball past West Brom keeper Ben Foster. Spurs keeper Brad Friedel was massive, coming up with two fantastic saves, one on Lukaku and the other against Marc-Antoine Fortune that kept the Baggies off the scoreboard.
Thos saves proved key as Spurs finally broke through in the 74th minute. Benoit Assou-Ekotto pounced on a failed clearance and beat Foster with a great strike from distance. The shot was through heavy traffic and might have taken a deflection along the way as well.
West Brom didn't let the goal stop them, continuing to crank up the pressure and putting Spurs entirely on their back heel in to stoppage time. In the 91st minute, Assou-Ekotto cleared a ball off the line as West Brom players claimed it had crossed the line, but Spurs couldn't clear it from danger. The ball bounced out before being sent back in to the box and ending up on the foot of James Morrison who blasted a shot past Friedel.
A well deserved draw for West Brom and another disappointing result for Spurs.
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