Tim Sherwood earned his first home victory since taking over for Andre Villas-Boas as Tottenham thumped Stoke City 3-0 at White Hart Lane. Goals from Roberto Soldado, Mousa Dembélé and Aaron Lennon did the damage as Spurs out shot the Potters 20-1.
Tottenham vs. Stoke City: Final score 3-0, Spurs overwhelm the Potters
It was all Spurs at White Hart Lane as Tottenham dominated Stoke City on the pitch and on the scoreboard, giving Tim Sherwood his first home win.
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In what has become typical Spurs fashion recently, Sherwood's side generated a pile of great chances but couldn't find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. Emmanuel Adebayor had a great chance in the 15th minute but his shot was poor and caromed off Thomas Sorensen's leg. A minute later, Paulinho caught Stoke's defense out with a sublime back heel pass to Roberto Soldado but the striker dragged his shot wide of the post.
The domination continued but it took until the 36th minute for the next notable moment...which just happened to be a deserved goal.
Adebayor went up for a rather acrobatic attempt from close range and while he didn't make great contact, it was blocked by Ryan Shawcross with his arm, giving Spurs a penalty. It was a fairly blatant move by the Stoke defender and a bit of surprise that he didn't see red. Soldado calmly strolled up the ball and sent Sorensen diving right as he tucked the ball in to the left, putting the home side ahead 1-0.
Steven N'Zonzi was also lucky to still be on the pitch after throwing a punch at Adebayor five minutes before halftime. He missed completely, but that doesn't matter, of course. Fortunately for the Potters, none of the officials saw the outburst.
Soldado should have scored his second goal of the match in the 58th minute when Aaron Lennon's cut back pass found him all alone in the center of the Stoke box. The striker botched his shot though, sending the ball weakly into the arms of Sorenson rather than somewhere the keeper wasn't.
A second Spurs goal deservedly arrived in the 65th minute thanks to a superb individual effort from Dembélé. The midfielder picked up the ball to the right, outside of the Stoke area and dribbled his away parallel to the goal, eluding a couple defenders with some excellent moves. Finally he had the space he needed and fired a low show against his momentum, freezing Sorenson and doubling the Spurs’ advantage.
Aaron Lennon added a third goal for Spurs in the 69th minute, collecting a loose ball that had been knocked down by Adeybayor on the right side of the box. Rather than try to get around a defender, Lennon unloaded a looping volley that eluded Sorensen into the far top corner.
Tottenham: Lloris, Chiriches, Naughton, Dawson, Fryers, Lennon (Lamela 75’), Paulinho (Capoue 62’), Dembélé, Eriksen, Soldado, Adebayor (Chadli 80’)
Goals: (Soldado 37’), Dembélé (65’), Lennon (69’)
Stoke City: Sorensen, Pieters, Shawcross, Cameron, Wilkinson (Muniesa 81'), Palacios (Pennant 68'), N'Zonzi, Walters, Assaidi, Crouch, Ireland (Adam 50')
Goals: None
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