Roberto Soldado Penalty Earns Tottenham Win Over Swansea

For the second consecutive weekend Tottenham took the three points thanks to a second half penalty by Roberto Soldado. Having been denied a clear penalty in the first half when Andros Townsend was brought down, Spurs were awarded one in the second half for a foul on their winger. Soldado converted coolly as Swansea lost for the second time this season.

Andros Townsend won the penalty for Spurs [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]

Tottenham Hotspur 1  Swansea City 0

Scorer: Soldado (pen)

Team: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose; Capoue, Dembele (Sigurdsson), Paulinho; Townsend (Sandro), Soldado (Defoe), Chadli  Subs: (unused) Friedel, Kaboul, Naughton, Carroll

Andre Villas-Boas made two changes from the team which started against Palace a week ago. Etienne Capoue and Andros Townsend replace Gylfi Sigurdsson and the injured Aaron Lennon. After his performance against Tbilisi on Thursday evening Townsend deserved the opportunity to start his first Premier League match for Spurs. For Capoue who was outstanding coming on for the last 30 minutes at Selhurst Park and in the Europa League match it was also his first Premier League start as confirmed by @SpursOfficial. Younes Kaboul and Sandro are both on the bench as they return to fitness after long-term injuries.

Tottenham dominated the first half with the Swansea goalkeeper being called on the make a number of crucial saves and Spurs were also denied a late penalty when Townsend was brought down inside the area but was only awarded a free-kick on edge of the box. Swansea when they got forward showed they could threaten but Hugo Lloris dealt comfortably with their shots from distance.

Spurs started the better and had two corners in the opening minute. They pressed Swansea constantly forcing them into mistakes or dispossessing them with swift, powerful challenges in midfield. The first strike on goal came from Paulinho after 7 minutes when he won the ball in midfield and powered forward before shooting low from 20 yards but Vorm saved comfortably. Swansea responded and Lloris blocked a shot from the edge but it fell to Michu who put it wide but was off-side. Two minutes later, Capoue showed his power and strength after winning the ball on half-way, he shot from 40 yards for the goalkeeper to save low.

Danny Rose and Kyle Walker were providing the width but Townsend showed his ability with a run which troubled Swansea before they recovered to crowd him out. As Spurs increased the pressure a poor clearance fell to Townsend who was fouled but from the free-kick Nacer Chadli put it over the bar.

Tottenham had a couple of opportunities to score as they increased the tempo of the game, keeping Swansea back in their own half. On 20 minutes, good play on the right between Townsend, Walker and Paulinho enabled the Brazilian to play Walker behind the defence. He got to the bye-line and crossed towards goal. Williams headed the ball against his own post – it rebounded to Paulinho who powered in a shot which Williams managed to block on the line before Vorm gathered it in.

Another clear chance fell to them after 34 minutes when Michael Dawson carried the ball forward to play in Walker. The cross from the bye-line was played back to Mousa Dembele but his curled shot was tipped over by Vorm. Another chance late in the half fell to Paulinho when Chaldi crossed from the bye-line but he shot down and it bounced over the bar. Further frustration to end the half for Spurs with the non-award of the penalty.

Tottenham started the second half as the first with a number of early corners as they continued to press Swansea back in their own half. By the 50th minute Spurs had had 13 attempts on goal to Swansea’s 4. A good run by Townsend cutting in from the right ended with a shot over the bar after 53 minutes. Spurs were much quicker to the loose ball and constantly pressured the visitors into making mistakes. Dawson put in a good tackle on Michu when he got behind the Spurs defence and then after 58 minutes Spurs broke the deadlock.

In controversial circumstances, Townsend went down in the area after a forceful run. Challenged by Shelby who had committed the foul in the first half, Townsend went down under minimal contact, although when running at pace it doesn’t require much contact for someone to knock a player off balance. Soldado stepped up coolly, waited for Vorm to dive to his right where he had placed his last two penalties and put the ball into the left hand corner of the net.

The goal brightened Swansea up and they were more threatening with Spurs having to defend in numbers.Lloris saved low and then watched as a shot curled wide before getting his hands to another powerful effort. With Spurs under some pressure for the first time, Soldado showed his quality by holding up the ball and earning a free-kick at the other end to give the defence a rest. Lloris was alert when a Dawson clearance bounced off a Swansea player and headed towards goal. The goalkeeper collecting at the second attempt.

Having controlled the match, Spurs were now holding on but in added time broke 3 0n two with Chaldi playing Paulinho in on goal. His first effort was blocked by Vorm with the second going high and wide. Sandro came on for the last few minutes.

Spurs held out for a deserved win but will want to be more ruthless in front of goal to avoid a nervous finish. Two wins to start the season as they maintained their record of never losing to Swansea at home in the League – we couldn’t have asked for anything more. Next up in the League a north London derby at the Emirates.