Paulinho Equaliser Salvages A Point For Tottenham At Hull
By Logan Holmes
A second half equaliser for Tottenham by Paulinho cancelled out Hull’s opening goal scored early in the first period. The draw leaves Spurs a point behind Everton who moved up a place after their home win over Aston Villa.
Paulinho [Photo: Alan Hiull]
Hull City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Scorers: Long Paulinho
Team: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose; Lennon, Bentaleb, Paulinho, Eriksen; Adebayor (Kane), Soldado Subs: (unused) Friedel, Kaboul, Naughton, Capoue, Chadli, Sigurdsson
With three changes from the team which lost to Manchester City, Tim Sherwood brought Jan Vertinghen, Paulinho and Roberto Soldado into the side but there was little fluid football from the Spurs side in the first half. It was Hull who started better and gave Spurs a warning in the third minute when they worked their way in behind the defence but Vertonghen had to clear the danger for a corner. Giving Spurs little time to settle, Hull worked hard to deny Spurs time and space on the ball.
On 10 minutes, Spurs finally got their passing together and in good link up play from Paulinho to Christian Erikson to Soldado who played a ball across the edge of the area to Emmanuel Adebayor whose shot looked set for the top corner until Steve Harper pulled off and outstanding save. Spurs continued to press and Aaron Lennon played the ball to Soldado but his attempted shot was blocked and when the rebound fell to Paulinho, he blasted it high and wide.
From the goal kick, Jelavic hooked the high ball on for Long to get between Michael Dawson and Kyle Walker to get in on goal and beat the advancing Hugo Lloris after 12 minutes. It was Hull’s first league goal of 2014 and Long’s first for Hull on his home debut.
Spurs struggled to get back into the game as Hull continued to press and while Spurs dominated possession with 66%, it was Hull who looked more dangerous going forward, troubling the central defenders with their pace and strength. Spurs passing was letting them down when the moved the ball forward. In the 25th minute, Lennon carried the ball into the area but delayed his shot and was crowded out. A cross from Danny Rose was punched out by Harper and then another one was out for a corner.
In the 38th minute a long ball from defence again troubled Spurs and when Dawson was adjudged to have fouled Long, Jelavic curled the free-kick round the post with Lloris stranded.
Spurs had a brief period of pressure when Paulinho played in Soldado but he again delayed his sj=hot and his cross was cleared for a corner. From the short corner Lennon’s cross to the back post was too high for adebayor. Hull again pressed Spurs back in the final minutes of the half but on the break Eriksen carried the ball from his own half but the shot from the edge of the area curled past the post.
Hull, again, showed greater desire than Spurs after the interval forcing the Tottenham defenders to play the ball long. A poor clearance by Lloris almost played Hull in but Jelavic was offside and then the striker pressured Walker into conceding a corner which Spurs struggled to clear.
Harper punched out a free-kick by Eriksen after 51 minutes and when the ball came back to him, the Dane shot wide from 30 yards. Nabil Bentaleb played the ball forward to Adebayor on the edge of the penalty box. The ball was played across to Lennon who found Paulinho but his shot was blocked. It fell to Soldado who from a tight angle shot but it was saved by the goalkeeper.
Spurs were starting to increase the pressure and Hull defended in depth. On 61 minutes, a free-kick was awarded for a foul on Bentaleb. With everyone up, Eriksen played the ball across field to Rose who appeared to shoot from 40 yards. The ball went through to Paulinho in the area. The Brazilian controlled it and turned to fire home the equaliser.
Hull responded immediately to this set back and put Spurs under pressure as the game became more open, going from end to end. Lloris saved from Jelavic and then in a Hull break Rose cleared the danger. On 68 minutes Adebayor threatened on the right but his cross was cleared and then a Paulinho cross with Adebayor and Soldado waiting was cleared by the central defender.
Spurs had a let off when Jelavic beat the advancing Lloris to the ball outside the area but his goal-bound shot was cleared by Michael Dawson after 70 minutes. A shot by Eriksen was deflected into the goalkeeper’s hands and from a corner which Hull struggled to clear, Bentaleb’s shot went just past the post. A dangerous cross into the area by Adebayor who worked hard to create something for the team was wasted as no one made a challenge for it.
In the final minutes both sides threatened without getting a clear goalscoring chance but the best one fell to Hull from a late free-kick which Tom Huddlestone drilled across goal. Fortunately, no-one got a touch to the ball.
Hull fought throughout the game and deserved the point. Spurs didn’t deserve to win but the dropped points leave them 2 points behind 4th placed Liverpool who play tomorrow, a point behind Everton in 5th but with a 4 point advantage over Manchester United.