The first half of the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Blackpool at White Hart Lane was an entertaining but ultimately goalless affair, with chances aplenty but no finishing touch. Neutrals watching the match would have been hoping, at half time, that the second half could match the pace and excitement of the first with perhaps a little more in the way of goals.
Tottenham Hotspur Vs. Blackpool, Final Score: 1-1 After Thrilling Encounter At White Hart Lane
They weren't disappointed. In a surreal and massively entertaining forty five minutes of football, both sides emerged with a goal apiece - the result neither really wanted. But the manner in which those goals were scored, particularly Charlie Adam's opener, was remarkable. Awarded a penalty after Michael Dawson slapped away a corner for no reason at all, Adam's first effort was well saved by Heurelho Gomes and sent away for another corner, from which Gomes then went ahead and fouled Gary Taylor-Fletcher.
Not a minute had passed between the spot kicks, and this time Gomes guessed wrong, seeing Adam's shot go to his right after diving left, and Blackpool had the lead. They immediately dropped into a defensive shell and tried to hold out for the remaining fifteen minutes, but that work was undone by a peach of a strike from Jermain Defoe in the 88th minute, the England international sending a screaming long-range shot well out of Matthew Gilks' reach and leveling the score late.
Six minutes of injury time meant that the game wasn’t anything like done there, and each side came within feet of seizing the lead in a phenomenal climax to the match. Ultimately, the luck wasn’t there for either of them, and each had to settle for a point. It’s good enough for Blackpool to go to 17th on goal difference, but all hopes of Tottenham catching Manchester City for fourth appear lost.
The match wasn’t all fun and games, though. PFA Footballer of the Year Gareth Bale was forced out with a bad ankle injury midway in the second half after a scissor tackle for which Charlie Adam really ought to have seen red. While initial tests seem to have ruled out a break, it sounds as though this could still be serious enough to rule Bale out for the season.
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