Tottenham top Reading in second preseason friendly
By Aaron Coe
In a performance sharper and frankly more physical than the first preseason friendly over Ipswich, Tottenham Hotspur rolled over Reading 4-1.
Like the Ipswich match, Tottenham Hotspur got off on the front foot with a goal within the first 10 minutes, and two before 20.
This match was never in doubt from a scoreline perspective.
More importantly for Spurs was the opportunity to continue to knock off some rust, while integrating some new players and concepts for the side.
Tottenham goals
The first goal was easy enough, it took just one long ball from Ben Davies – who started at left fullback – out to Heung-Min Son. Son managed to bring the ball down exquisitely with his foot at the top of the box, allowing him to face up the defender.
Rather than run at the defender, Son tried a quick snapshot that deflected a couple times and into the net for the 1-0 Spurs lead. Lucas Moura may have tried to argue for the final touch, but officially it was an own goal. Nothing impressive but shows that Spurs can go down Route 1 effectively.
The second goal was more of what we all want to see from Tottenham. The goal started with good defensive pressure in the attacking third, with Dele Alli hunting the ball. Dele was able to beat Reading to the ball and win a header which popped the ball into the air where Lucas Moura came running on.
Moura took a single, soft, touch with the inside of his boot to lob the ball back to Dele who was breaking toward the end line. In classic Dele goalscoring fashion, Alli took only one touch to chip the lob over the keeper and into the net for the 2-0 Spurs lead.
It took about 20 more minutes for Spurs to again find the back of the net, but there was another first-half goal in the side and this time Son made sure he got the credit for a goal. The play started with Hugo Lloris sending a long clearance up to midfield.
Moura battling for the header and a quick touch by Dele gained possession for Spurs and Moura, who deftly stroked a long left-footed pass wide to Steven Bergwijn. Bergwijn drove toward the goal, pulling the defense and he calmly passed to Son who was basically standing on the penalty spot. One-touch to control the ball and a nice side-footed shot later it was 3-0 Spurs and Son was officially on the goal sheet.
The final goal of the match came rather early in the second half and should be one that was positive for Spurs. Son was fouled just outside the penalty box earning Tottenham a freekick. With Christian Eriksen and Kieran Trippier gone, who exactly will take free kicks is an unknown for Spurs. Based on tonight, maybe Erik Lamela will get a chance.
It was more of a change of pace shot, but the freekick from Lamela clearly caught the keeper wrong-footed and placed the shot into the corner. It was not the most incredible shot ever witnessed, but it got up and down quickly and found the back of the net. If Spurs are going to win some silverware occasionally, you must convert opportunities like the one Lamela had today.
More Spurs Youth
Like the first preseason friendly against Ipswich, there was a lot of youth on display for Tottenham Hotspur. While many regulars played, including Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko in the second half, there were a lot of youth players on the pitch.
Harvey White got the start for Spurs, taking over as the second holding midfielder as Harry Winks was presumably saved for Saturday’s preseason match. White looked better than last week and extremely comfortable on the ball for a young player. Add in the fact that he brings an additional left-footed player into the side and White may be angling for some minutes with the fixture congestion and Oliver Skipp out on loan.
Besides White, we saw a run out of young players in the second half, as Cameron Carter-Vickers and Ryan Sessegnon were part of a group that entered at half-time along with Lamela, Aurier, Sissoko, and Joe Hart.
As the game progressed, we again saw another glimpse of Jack Clarke, who was not as effective as last week, but still clearly has some skills as a winger. Dennis Cirkin, Jamie Bowden, Dane Scarlett, and Alfie Devine also made appearances as Jose Mourinho cleared his bench like an NBA coach in the fourth quarter of a blowout.
While the minutes are not big on the season, those minutes are critical in the development of the youth that at some point Tottenham is going to need during the season as the squad gets stretched.
The one negative was the penalty conceded late on to give Reading a goal. After an initial save by Paulo Gazzaniga, the follow-up shot was adjudged to have hit CCV’s arm, leading to the penalty. Gazza was close on it, but ultimately it went in and the clean sheet was gone.
Spurs next host Birmingham City in the second of back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday to end the month.