Marine AFC Had a Moment Against Tottenham Hotspur in FA Cup

Tottenham Hotspurs were in control for most of the game but there was a moment for Marine FC at 0-0, where they had real belief and what seemed like a chance.

Tottenham Hotspur took a while to get started, but ultimately had the outcome of their third round FA Cup tie with 8th tier Marine FC wrapped up before halftime. Spurs used a flurry of goals over a 15-minute period to bury the Mariners, then cruised 0-5. However, before that barrage of goals Marine had a moment where they were all dreaming about maybe.

Tottenham Start Slow

Anyone that has ever played football knows the pitch makes a big difference in the match. This is not like a basketball gym where things are always standard. As a kid growing up in Virginia I had a lot of experience playing in both pastures and on beautiful manicured Bermuda grass. The transition to a less than ideal turf is particularly difficult when you are used to playing on a surface akin to a golf course everyday as Tottenham players are.

All that is said because we should not be too surprised Spurs started slow, as they did not want to get caught out and wanted to adapt to the conditions. Gedson Fernandes was popping up early, Lucas Moura was attacking on the dribble, and Carlos Vinicius set up Dele Alli for an effort on frame. Despite those early little movements, nothing was clicking quite yet.

Despite the lack of surprise with the slow start, we also knew a slow start could lead to some belief for Marine. While the belief was short lasting, it did arrive and it almost hit Tottenham square in the face, instead it hit square on the bar.

Marine Make Some Magic

However, at about 19 minutes, Marine found themselves on the ball and attacking in the Tottenham half. Lucas Moura lost the ball in the attacking third and Marine looked to counter quickly. The ball was kicked ahead to Neil Kengni who picked up the ball inside his own half of the pitch.

Kengni was on the stride and was attacking toward the middle of the pitch from right to left. Harvey White was running back to defend after the turnover and had just caught up with Kengni when he unleashed from about 30 yards out a left footed rocket toward Joe Hart and goal.

Joe Hart was watching the ball and jumped, then at the last minute instead of parrying the ball he alligator armed it and let the ball pass. Presumably, he thought it was going over, but the ball decided to then dip and struck squarely off the cross bar. Hart was surprised by the sound and turned and managed to dunk the rebound over the bar for a corner.

Literally out of nothing, one pass and then a few dribbles and off the crossbar. If ever David felt they could trample Goliath, that was the moment. While the move was from nothing, the moment came from a little spell between about 10 and 20 minutes where Marine where working hard to get on the ball and push back.

Reality Bites

Unfortunately for Marine the post was as close as they came, and the dream soon became reality. Less than five minutes after Marine had dinged the post, Dele Alli and Gedson Fernandes were combining on the edge of the box to produce a lovely ball across the mouth of the goal. So good was the ball, that even though Vinicius initially missed with his shot, the ball stuck to him and he dribbled into the net.

From there Spurs scored three more before 40 minutes. Carlos Vinicius netted himself a first half hattrick and Lucas Moura knocked in a sweet free kick before his fellow Brazilian’s third. With those four goals, combined with one really excellent defensive play by Joe Rodon, Tottenham had the game in hand.

What for nearly 20 minutes seemed like a dream come true, took only 20 more minutes to become an event for Marine, more than a competitive match for Spurs. Ultimately, it was what everyone expected, but for that one moment Marine seemed to have their chance, even if only for a moment.