Christian Eriksen gave Spurs the lead late in the first half with a superb free kick, but his foul less than two minutes later allowed West Brom to equalize as the two sides finished in a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham vs. West Bromwich Albion: Final score 1-1, Two set piece goals leave things even on Boxing Day
Two set piece goals, two minutes apart in the first half, were all that Spurs and West Brom could muster as they finished even on Boxing Day.
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Spurs started the match strong and pinned West Brom back, but it was the Baggies who got the game's first best chance. In the 14th minute, Matej Vydra beat Michael Dawson with a quick one-two on the edge of the area and looked to be in free against Hugo Lloris. Dawson made a surprisingly quick recovery and his well-timed tackle helped disrupt Vydra's shot, allowing Lloris to block it away.
Lloris was called on again in the 18th minute after Vydra again got behind Dawson and broke free on goal. Lloris was already well off his line and closed quickly, making a strong tackle that denied the West Brom striker before he could get his shot off.
In the end, it was Spurs who broke through first in the 36th minute after Kyle Walker earned a free kick 25-yards from goal. Christian Eriksen took the shot and lifted the ball up and over the wall and off he bottom side of the crossbar, beating Ben Foster to put the home side ahead 1-0.
The lead lasted all of two minutes.
West Brom got a set piece of their own in the edge of the Spurs area -- it was ironically conceded by Eriksen -- and while it wasn't a lovely free kick like Eriksen's goal, it was equally effective. Craig Dawson's free kick ended up loose in the middle of the Spurs box after defender Vlad Chiriches inexplicably stepped forward and left a massive pocked of space for Jonas Olsson to step in to. The defender got on the loose ball and fired it past Lloris to even the score at 1-1.
The first 25 minutes of the second half was basically as wide open as the first half. West Brom looked the more dangerous side and came close several times to taking the lead. For Tottenham, their offense looked void of ideas in the final third...which isn’t a good way to win games but is so Spurs.
Spurs came ever so close in the 83rd minute when a headed on corner kick at the near post just missed dropping into the path of Roberto Soldado. The striker had gotten free at the far post but the ball was too high for him to play.
Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Chiriches, Dawson, Rose, Chadli (Lamela 75’), Eriksen, Holtby (Bentaleb 62’), Sigurdsson, Adebayor, Soldado
Goals: Eriksen (36’)
West Brom: Foster, Lugano, Olsson, Dawson, Reid, Ridgewell, Amalfitano (Mulumbu 71’), Yacob, Morrison, Gera (Sessegnon 76’), Vydra (Berahino 84’)
Goals: Olsson (38’)
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