Scoreless For Tottenham and Everton As Hugo Lloris Plays On Bravely

Hugo Lloris showed courage to play on after taking a blow to the head as Tottenham and Everton played out a scoreless draw. Both teams knowing that a win would have taken them into second place in the Premier League and it was Spurs who had much the better of the first half. Everton came back strongly after the interval as both teams were denied a penalty. Spurs move back to 4th place, level with Chelsea and Liverpool.

Hugo Lloris [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]

Everton 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0

Team: Lloris; Walker, Chiriches, Dawson, Vertonghen; Paulinho, Sandro (Dembele); Lennon (Sigurdsson), Holtby (Eriksen), Townsend; Soldado  Subs: (unused) Subs: Friedel, Kaboul, Lamela, Defoe.

For the game against Everton Andre Villas-Boas selected an unchanged team from the one which defeated Hull last weekend. Andros Townsend and Aaron Lennon started the game.

Before the match there were many comments on the team selection in both defence and midfield but as one supporter tweeted:

Tottenham totally dominated the first half but the match reached half-time without any goals. Spurs started the better with Jan Vertonghem causing problems getting forward on the left as Spurs enjoyed 58% possession. Sandro had an early shot saved low by Tim Howard. In all Spurs had 9 goal attempts to Everton’s two with the home side’s first effort not coming until the 28th minute, a shot by Osman which went over the bar from 25 yards. Spurs had 4 efforts on target while Everton failed to get a direct shot on goal.

A free-kick by Kyle Walker after 20 minutes was hit with power but was straight at the goalkeeper who punched it clear. Two minutes later Vertonghen continued to cause problems as he cut in towards the area. He was denied a clear penalty when he tussled with Coleman for a loose ball in the area, having gone past the full-back.

Spurs controlled the tempo of the game and prevented Everton from getting the ball forward to their main threat, Lukaku. Sandro was competitive in central midfield with Lewis Holtby looking to get involved at every opportunity. The only problem with Spurs’ play throughout was their inability to find a way to create any opportunities for Soldado.

Everton responded after half-time and Spurs had to do a lot more defending. The greater threat and pressure was coming from the home side but without troubling Hugo Lloris. An early break by Everton saw them three-on-two but Vlad Chiriches put in a tackle in the area to clear the danger.

After 56 minutes Vertonghen carried the ball forward and played it in to Paulinho in the area. The Brazilian turned but as he shot Distin got a foot in to block. Everton made two changes on the hour which livened up their play and Spurs had little possession as Everton controlled play, pushing Spurs back but again the goalkeeper had little to do. Coleman had claims for a penalty denied as he went down under a challenge from Vertonghen. Their best chance was after 71 minutes when Lukaku got a touch to a cross but the ball went past the far post.

Sigurdsson replaced Lennon and he had a shot saved by Howard as Spurs re-exerted themselves. A minute later Everton broke with a through ball to Lukaku but Lloris came out to claim the ball at his feet but was caught by the striker’s knee. The blow to the head caused a long delay while the keeper received attention and then with Brad Friedel ready to come on, to decide if Lloris could continue. Dawson appeared to be leading the case for Lloris to remain on the pitch. After much discussion Lloris played on.

The break helped Spurs and they pushed forward more. Lloris showed he had recovered punching out from a corner and making his first save when Deulofeu got behind the defence to shoot. With 9 minutes of added time Spurs looked to win the game with Eriksen replacing Holtby. He played a free-kick across the area but Vertonghen was unable to get a touch at the back post. Spurs finished strongly and were queuing up to have a shot with Eriksen claiming it but his effort was blocked. Sigurdsson made space on the left to shoot but pulled the ball wide. Townsend had a shot as he cut in from the right but it was well held by Howard.

A draw was a fair result in a competitive game and spurs can be pleased with another clean sheet away from home – their 13th in all competitions this season.