Tottenham win 2-0, take full advantage of Shelvey’s moment of madness

A moment of madness by Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey handed Tottenham the impetus and Spurs took full advantage by scoring two decisive second half goals in the season opener.

There wasn’t a lot to choose between the two sides up until Shelvey decided to deliberately stamp on Alli’s ankle in the 48th minute. The resulting red card cost Newcastle the match as Spurs were afforded more time to find an incisive pass against a shorthanded, vulnerable Newcastle defence.

The terrific triumvirate of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli combined beautifully on both Spurs goals. Kane and Eriksen relayed the ball back and forth before the Danish midfield maestro made a telling aerial through ball for Alli to run on to for Spurs’ first.

Alli, last season’s top-scoring midfielder with 18 goals, directed his first-time effort home from close range. It was a quintessentially Alli goal, whose deep, rangy runs from midfield cause fits for defenders.

Moussa Sissoko made way for Son Heung-Min in the 58th minute, and while the South Korean wasn’t directly involved in Spurs’ opener, his introduction visibly lifted the team. The terrifying threesome were at in again less than 10 minutes later.

Alli’s deft first-time flick found Kane who relayed it instantly on to Eriksen. The Dane’s touch took the ball inadvertently into Davies’ path, who made no mistake with a decisive right-footed finish.

Kane almost got in on the act late in the match, but saw his drive rebound flush off the post. Son put Kane through on goal with a perfectly weighted pass, the sort of distribution we’ve come to expect from the smooth South Korean.

Son’s return from injury is a massive boost for a Tottenham team in need of a bit of good news. Shelvey will be chastised in Newcastle for his inexcusable actions, and rightly so as he handed a gift to a team who rarely requires one.

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Mauricio Pochettino will be happy with the business-like, professional performance, particularly in the second half. Tottenham improved markedly in the second stanza and will take a lot of confidence going into their first home match of the new campaign against Chelsea next week.