Spurs 1, City 0–Minute by Minute Report

By: Thad | May 5th, 2010

Congratulations to Tottenham who have booked their place in the Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City, via a late Peter Crouch goal. Minute by minute report below…..

City have made one change, with Barry coming in for Vieira. Peter Crouch gets a start for Spurs, partnered by DeFoe. Lennon gets a start out side. 4-4-2 both ways.

Kickoff is upon us! Let’s get right to the action..

1st minute. Steve Bennett is the referee. City kick it off and manage to get the ball into the Spurs box, where Gomes comes out to grab it at feet.

2nd minute. The crowd is really into this already, and nothing has happened yet! Crouch there wins a midfield battle with Barry, his pass went awry. City win a free kick.

3rd minute. Another foul against Spurs is given, this time inside Spurs half. Bellamy comes in on the left and found Barry in the box. for what could have been a good chance, but he seemed to slip as he tried to one-time it, and the ball went well behind for a goal kick.

4th minute. Now some Spurs pressure but Bridge has a nice tackle on Lennon. The pace has been everything we might have expected so far.

5th minute. Bellamy is fouled by Kaboul and will stay on the deck in some pain for a bit here.

6th minute. Play restarts with the Welshman still getting treatment on his calf. Johnson tries a cross in Bellamy’s direction after he came back on but it was cut out. City get ball back and try again.

7th minute. Great play by Tevez almost makes a goal! Adebayor had a great touch to flick it on to him in the center circle, Tevez then had to try to beat two defenders for pace and just about managed it, before his shot from 8 yards was blocked by Gomes.

9th minute. A stoppage for treatment and play restarts. Johnson with a cross from the right which is cleared, and Tevez again beats two Spurs defenders! but this shot from the touchline is deflected behind for a corner.

10th minute. Corner is cleared but City now have a throw on the left. De Jong gives it to Bellamy who’s now in the middle of the pitch. The cross comes in from the left from Bridge but Adebayor is called for a push.

11th minute. Good start for City but it’s essential to turn this early pressure into a goal.

12th minute. Tevez to Adebayor to Johnson, who finds Zabaleta cutting in. Zab’s cross is blocked, throw-in to City. Johnson had it in the corner but is whistle dubiously for a foul.

13th minute. That Fabio guy is in the crowd again. One man he might be looking at, Adam Johnson, concedes a corner off that Spurs throw in.

14th minute. Modric takes this in-swinging. It took a while to clear that satisfactorily but now City have it down the right side through Zab. Good fluid play from City as they keep it for a while but the move ends with Tevez and Zab getting their signals crossed. Goal kick.

15th minute. Johnson tried to find Adebayor on a through ball but it’s a very, very marginal offside given against the Togo man, costing City what would have been a corner kick.

16th minute. The atmosphere feels reminiscent of City’s UEFA Cup quarterfinal v. Hamburg last year on another spring weeknight. Hopefully the result will be happier for City tonight.

17th minute. Free kick way out on the left for Spurs, Bale takes and Bridge misses a chance to clear, instead he commits a foul in the right side channel.

18th minute. Bale takes again and Spurs hit the post! I think that was Crouch. Bale gets another shot off but this one is blocked in the box. Fulop finally comes to get the ball. Crouch had beaten Kompany to that ball.

20th minute. City survived a scare there. City try to get things restarted but Lennon has it on the right and wins a corner kick off of Bridge.

21st minute. King puts it in the net but he climbed on Barry’s back and Bennett gives the foul. Probably a good call there but another let off for City.

22nd minute. Adebayor leaps in the box to get on that cross, he claims a foul but none is given. Replay shows that King put his left arm visibly on Barry before leaping and that must be what the ref saw to disallow that goal.

23rd minute. City can’t get hold of the ball the last couple of minutes. Assou-Ekotto with another throw on the left. Bellamy now has it and Johnson knocks it on the ground into the box, but Spurs deal with it.

24th minute. Bridge’s cross from the left is too low, but City keep it a bit more. Johnson ended up getting in a high floating cross from the right that Gomes claimed ahead of DeJong’s challenge.

25th minute. Bale took it around Zabaleta but lost it over the touchline. But apparently a foul was given. Fulop rises to take that cross.

26th minute. Tevez has a rip from distance–30 yards or more–and King deflects it for a corner kick.

27th minute. Johnson with a tremendous strike from 30 yards and Gomes makes a diving stop! Great shot and save there. Bellamy takes the corner and Adebayor heads it over. That was quite a strike from Johnson a moment earlier but Gomes had just enough time to react to it.

28th minute. Kompany wins this aerial battle with Crouch, but can only get it behind for a corner. Bale goes to take again…

29th minute. Dawson got a head to it from about 15 yards out but Barry nods his effort away with ease.

30th minute. Some decent play there wins a throw for City. Bellamy is fouled and there is going to be a yellow card for Kaboul. City will have a free kick about 40 yards out on the left.

31st minute. Bellamy takes but it doesn’t amount to anything. Now Bennett gives a foul against Zab on what looked like a 50-50 situation in City’s half. Spurs have looked FAR more dangerous from these set pieces so far, and here is another…

32nd minute. Kompany heads that away, the second ball comes in off Bale’s head and Fulop comes to fetch it with ease.

34th minute. Bellamy plays a cross in that is cleared. Tevez gets it to Johnson who crosses over everyone but City keep it. A good save by Gomes to stop what looked like an own goal off Bale, then City get a corner on Zab’s deflected chance.

35th minute. Toure with a free header there but he knocks it over. That was a great chance, should have done better…

37th minute. Crouch had a header that Toure cleared. Zab with a cross in on the right that is blocked. Another throw-in!

38th minute. Tevez tries to cut in, but his pass is blocked. Spurs counter but DeFoe, who has had essentially no involvement so far, is called for a foul on Toure.

39th minute. Great play by Spurs but they don’t score! Lennon with a cross to Crouch who heads it down to set up Bale, whose powerful left foot strike whizzes a yard wide of the post.

41st minute. Fulop just avoids what could have been a massive gaffe, his kick was blocked by Crouch but fortunately the ball went straight up and Fulop was able to catch that rebound cleanly.

42nd minute. Johnson runs at Spurs right side and wins a corner. Bellamy takes and Toure gets his effort on target this time, but Gomes takes fairly comfortably. That needed a bit more power.

43rd minute. Tevez holds the ball up, City lose it and Zab fouls Bale, which will probably earn him a mild warning from the ref.

44th minute. Crouch gets a head in but it finds no one. Now Barry has it down the middle, he plays it to Tevez who tried to take it wide and ended up shooting well wide from a difficult angle. Might have been better served shooting earlier when the angle was more favorable.

45th minute. Three added minutes to be played after that latest stoppage to accommodate Crouch.

46th minute. Bellamy gets it Adebayor who sets up Bridge for a cross, which finds no one.

47th minute. A goal either direction in injury time here would be massive. Adebayor runs infield and it comes to Tevez who declines a shot, instead setting up Johnson whose cross is blocked. Neat back heel from Adebayor finds Toure roaming in the box, who wins a corner.

48th minute. Johnson takes this one but this time City are whistled for a foul. Halftime will soon be upon us and it looks like it will be all square.

Bennett blows the whistle and after a good first half all-around, it’s still nil-nil. City can’t settle for this, the home team did carry most of the play but in some respects are lucky to be still level.

First half stats show City had 62% of the ball–but that won’t matter unless the Blues can get 100%, or at least 67%, of the goals this half.

46th minute. Spurs kick off; no changes either side. City win it and now have an attacking throw on the left.

47th minute. There will have to be a goal in this game, City won’t be eliminated by a draw, but would have to rely on Burnley getting a result Sunday–not a good idea. City get a corner off that attack through Adebayor. Bellamy’s head finds Dawson unfortunately and now Spurs try to break. Great sliding challenge there by De Jong to win it back.

48th minute. Johnson nods it on to Tevez but he is called for a foul, it hit his hand.

49th minute. “Come on City” is the cry. City get another throw on the left after Dawson hoofs that one out of bounds. Bellamy chipped it over the top nicely for Tevez but he’s millimeters offside–that would likely have been either a goal or a penalty because King was beaten.

50th minute. Best chance yet for City but it doesn’t go in! Barry got a sweet connection on that volley from about 5 yards out on the endline, he knocked it across goal hoping to find a City foot or head, or for that matter a Spurs foot or back. But instead it whizzed across goal at pace without a touch.

51st minute. Assou-Ekotto with a crack from distance that Fulop elects to let roll wide for a goal kick.

52nd minute. Crouch fouls and here comes Toure with a mad dash forward, but he’s tackled. On the counter Lennon shoots from distance but Kompany blocks it. He’s down and will need a bit of treatment.

53rd minute. Excuse me, it’s Barry who needed treatment–he was down for about a minute and in fact will have to come off. Vieira prepares to come on.

55th minute. City’s French midfielder was excellent against Aston Villa–can he make a similar impact tonight? Maybe he will be the one to play the killer ball that gets City a goal.

56th minute. Fulop with a crucial save! Jermain DeFoe got free in the box and hit it with the outside of his foot but it was deflected just wide. On the follow up after the corner, Modric gets to shoot from distance but it’s wide. Replay shows what a fine save Fulop made there.

58th minute. A flurry of tough tackles just outside City’s D as City tried to get that away. Bennett is having a word with Huddlestone that will conclude with a yellow card being produced–replay shows he stomped DeJong and that REALLY should have been a red card.

60th minute. City win a corner through Johnson, Bellamy had crossed from the left side. Adebayor gets high in the air to get his head on that corner but it’s over the bar.

61st minute. Toure called for a cheap foul about 35 yards from goal. Another set piece for Spurs.

62nd minute. They take it short but DeFoe was offside. City have about half an hour now to win this game.

63rd minute. Adebayor took it into the box but lost it. City have it back and Tevez does well to get a cross in, but it easily falls into Gomes’s lap on one bounce.

64th minute. City now have a throw on the left. Bridge tried to cross it but it is blocked off of him for a goal kick.

66th minute. Spurs have had it for a bit but now lose it and it looks like a yellow for Assou-Ekotto, a bit harsh. He was called for handball but the ball first hit him in the face!

67th minute. Good defensive work there keeps Modric from getting a shot off. A dangerous looking cross aimed at Crouch comes in but Toure gets well up to head it behind.

68th minute. Toure with another clearance after Crouch headed it across goal. Eventually it goes behind for a goal kick, I believe off Dawson’s head. Another corner conceded by Toure, this time marking DeFoe.

69th minute. Kaboul looked like he had a chance to reach that corner but he missed it and City now have a goal kick. As in the first half, City are having to endure a spell of confident Tottenham play.

70th minute. DeJong blocks that cross from DeFoe and Bellamy nearly took it off Gomes’s foot on the other end, who had come out of the box to reach a backpass.

71st minute. Another let off for City! A terrific ball across the face of goal from the left but DeFoe and Crouch can’t quite reach it for a tap-in. DeFoe may have been offside but the flag didn’t come.

72nd minute. Changes on both sides–SWP comes on for Johnson, Bentley for Lennon. SWP has a chance to win this for City and maybe win himself a World Cup slot.

73rd minute. Kaboul with a throw and Toure had to do well to nod that cross away. Gomes misses that back pass for a moment but recovers in time!

74th minute. Huddlestone pushes Tevez right in front of the ref and City get the free kick. Vieira picks out Zab, to Tevez, he crosses but it’s cleared away. City get another throw after Huddlestone misplaces a pass.

75th minute. SWP’s first cross is cleared, but he’ll get another chance and this one is much better–low and hard. King cuts it out near post for a corner kick.

76th minute. Bellamy’s corner wasn’t great and neither was the succeeding cross from Toure. Spurs come the other way and the play ends with Modric’s audacious effort going well over.

77th minute. The crowd try to pick things up again–15 minutes to define a season we are looking at.

78th minute. Mancini really doesn’t have any more obvious cards to play…great save by Fulop on Crouch’s header from 6 yards! That chance for Crouch came off a splendid cross from Bale on the left.

80th minute. Tevez has a goalward shot that hits King’s head! That might have been going in, or at least on target. Gomes comes and gets the next ball in the box.

81st minute. DeFoe is fouled there and Spurs prepare a sub. Another cross aimed at Crouch but it goes over. DeFoe is off and Pavyluchencko (hereafter Pavy) is on.

82nd minute. Mancini is going to give RSC a chance here–who will come off? Got to be either Adebayor, DeJong, or a defender….and now Crouch has scored!

83rd minute. The game had gotten too open and Kaboul beat Bellamy, he hit hard at Fulop and it rebounded off him onto Crouch’s head for an easy goal.

84th minute. Well, that was always the danger. Now City need somehow to get a goal or the dream is over for another year. RSC is on and Bellamy is off–that’s a surprise.

85th minute. SWP tries a difficult ball for Zab but Spurs cut that out. Now Toure comes dashing forward. Bale comes down the left and Kompany has to knock it miles out of bounds.

86th minute. Vieira comes forward, RSC so nearly got there but couldn’t.

87th minute. Replay shows Crouch probably didn’t know a whole lot about that goal but he didn’t mess it up either.

88th minute. Tevez takes it to the sideline but he’s closed off and ends up kicking it over.

89th minute. Palacios to come on for Modric. City need a goal but no one knows how it will come at this point.

90th minute. Spurs keep it well here to the frustration of the home side. 4 added minutes to come.

91st minute. All of City’s brass are wearing the Mancini-style City scarves, to no avail. Adebayor is whistled offside there. Spurs fans are starting the party a little early.

92nd minute. Pavy with the foul deep in City’s half. City have it but there’s just no fluidity to play any more–strictly hit and hope stuff.

93rd minute. Fulop with another good save this time from Pavy. The on-loan emergency keeper has done his part today. Spurs are playing keep-ball in the corner. City have less than a minute to get it out of there–finally Bennett gives a foul v. Spurs.

94th minute. Gomes collects that one and punts it away. Fifteen seconds to go and Spurs are going to win this.

Game over–congratulations to Tottenham Hotspur. Their players storm the field as if they’ve won a cup final, which, well, they have. Mancini manages the wannest of smiles for Harry Redknapp, Bellamy a more sincere one.

Mancini meanwhile is glumly shaking City players’ hands.

City played well for most of the night but could not convert pressure into clear chances and goals, and Spurs were certainly the better team the last 20 minutes or so, which probably not coincidentally was about the time Barry had to go off. Tottenham have played admirable football this campaign and no one can begrudge them their place among Europe’s finest next year.

As for City…well one more match with not a lot at stake on Sunday, then a long off-season and no doubt a lot of ins and outs.