sunday papers spurs away

Independent:
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Chelsea 2
Del Horno punishes Mido's indiscretion
By Steve Tongue at White Hart Lane
Four games into the season and the rest already appear to be playing for second place. Tottenham, starting yesterday's derby as the best of the rest, forsook that position with their habitual defeat by Chelsea, this one hastened by the sending off of their Egyptian striker Mido with only 25 minutes played. The contest was spoiled by that decision - deemed a reckless challenge with the arm - but even given their encouraging start to the season, Spurs would have been hard pressed to end a wretched run now stretching to 31 League games without a victory against their London rivals.
The champions, meanwhile, have yet to concede a goal, and in reviewing their campaign thus far, Jose Mourinho was counting the number of chances offered by his miserly defence on the fingers of one hand - thumb not required. Unquestionably, they are stronger than last season, when the single Premiership defeat came against Manchester City, 34 matches and almost 12 months ago. Asier del Horno, the victim of Mido's challenge, is a more accomplished left-back than Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips showed his value in running at a tired defence and Hernan Crespo is much more confident than in his previous spell at the club. Then there is Michael Essien, the most expensive of them all, already knitting snugly into a tight midfield triangle with Frank Lampard and the peerless Claude Makelele.
In the circumstances it was not the day to judge the home side, though even Martin Jol, their manager, snorted at the suggestion that Spurs might be worried Chelsea were running away with the title again. "It's not my concern, it's maybe Arsenal's concern," he said.
At Blackburn in midweek, with Jermain Defoe, Edgar Davids and Michael Carrick all rested, Jol's team had been the Tottenham no-shot Spurs, fortunate to escape with a scoreless draw. Not surprisingly, that trio were restored, but to far less effect than in the previous home game against Middlesbrough.
As both managers agreed, Spurs started brightly, while causing no greater anxiety than Defoe's fierce strike from 20 yards and Michael Dawson's header past a post. Then two important decisions by Rob Styles went against them midway through the first half, both of which he appeared to have got right. First Teemu Tainio sent Davids haring towards goal, only to have his heels clipped by Essien on the edge of the penalty area. The verdict was a yellow card, as there was a covering defender, and a free-kick teed up for Andy Reid but charged down by Damien Duff.
Within five minutes Mido, for the second time in the game, led with his forearm in going for a high ball with Del Horno and left the defender on the floor holding his head. There was a long hiatus as the volatile striker declined to leave the pitch, Spurs' players protested and Chelsea's recorded their displeasure, John Terry collecting one of the game's six yellow cards for his vehemence.
After that, not even Defoe could prosper on his own in attack against Terry and William Gallas, and seven minutes before half-time Chelsea supporters were chanting "It's so easy at the Lane" after their side took the lead. Lampard, making an astonishing 150th successive Premiership appearance, swung over a corner from the right, and Del Horno - showing no ill-effects now - headed powerfully down inside a post. Gallas, fortunately for Chelsea, failed to make contact as the ball went past him, since he might well have been given offside. The other question, as so often, was why no defender was stationed on the post.
At half-time Tainio, again something of a square peg in the round hole out on the right of midfield, made way for Aaron Lennon, the youngster signed from Leeds in the close-season, whose first contribution was to slash a shot high into the crowd as Terry headed out Carrick's free-kick to him. His dart into the penalty area on the hour offered greater possibilities but Terry, injured when Dawson fell heavily on his leg, pulled off a crisp tackle. The howls for a penalty underlined the home crowd's frustration.
Spirit kept Spurs coming forward, but the visitors, passing smoothly, remained unflappable. Bringing Crespo and Wright-Phillips off the substitutes' heated seats for Didier Drogba and a quiet Joe Cole emphasised once again the resources available to them, and the Argentinian striker might have scored with his first touch. He met Paulo Ferreira's fine low cross at the near post, Paul Robinson saving with his leg, then blocking the follow-up from his England colleague Wright-Phillips.
Another couple of minutes and Chelsea had a second goal in any case. The troublesome Wright-Phillips hit the ball square and Duff defeated the goalkeeper by hitting a volley awkwardly down into the ground and up into the net. There would have been a similar third goal 10 minutes from time but for Robinson's instinctive parry as Crespo met another dangerous cross by Wright-Phillips, who will have impressed the watching Sven Goran Eriksson more than Cole. The greater concern for Eriksson ahead of Saturday's international in Wales will be whether Terry makes a full recovery from the bang on his knee.
"We had the feeling we could do something today," said Jol, who felt a yellow card would have sufficed for Mido. "Sometimes 11 men against 10 doesn't mean the 11 win," Mourinho countered. It does when the 11 are in Chelsea blue.
Four games into the season and the rest already appear to be playing for second place. Tottenham, starting yesterday's derby as the best of the rest, forsook that position with their habitual defeat by Chelsea, this one hastened by the sending off of their Egyptian striker Mido with only 25 minutes played. The contest was spoiled by that decision - deemed a reckless challenge with the arm - but even given their encouraging start to the season, Spurs would have been hard pressed to end a wretched run now stretching to 31 League games without a victory against their London rivals.
The champions, meanwhile, have yet to concede a goal, and in reviewing their campaign thus far, Jose Mourinho was counting the number of chances offered by his miserly defence on the fingers of one hand - thumb not required. Unquestionably, they are stronger than last season, when the single Premiership defeat came against Manchester City, 34 matches and almost 12 months ago. Asier del Horno, the victim of Mido's challenge, is a more accomplished left-back than Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips showed his value in running at a tired defence and Hernan Crespo is much more confident than in his previous spell at the club. Then there is Michael Essien, the most expensive of them all, already knitting snugly into a tight midfield triangle with Frank Lampard and the peerless Claude Makelele.
In the circumstances it was not the day to judge the home side, though even Martin Jol, their manager, snorted at the suggestion that Spurs might be worried Chelsea were running away with the title again. "It's not my concern, it's maybe Arsenal's concern," he said.
At Blackburn in midweek, with Jermain Defoe, Edgar Davids and Michael Carrick all rested, Jol's team had been the Tottenham no-shot Spurs, fortunate to escape with a scoreless draw. Not surprisingly, that trio were restored, but to far less effect than in the previous home game against Middlesbrough.
As both managers agreed, Spurs started brightly, while causing no greater anxiety than Defoe's fierce strike from 20 yards and Michael Dawson's header past a post. Then two important decisions by Rob Styles went against them midway through the first half, both of which he appeared to have got right. First Teemu Tainio sent Davids haring towards goal, only to have his heels clipped by Essien on the edge of the penalty area. The verdict was a yellow card, as there was a covering defender, and a free-kick teed up for Andy Reid but charged down by Damien Duff.
Within five minutes Mido, for the second time in the game, led with his forearm in going for a high ball with Del Horno and left the defender on the floor holding his head. There was a long hiatus as the volatile striker declined to leave the pitch, Spurs' players protested and Chelsea's recorded their displeasure, John Terry collecting one of the game's six yellow cards for his vehemence.After that, not even Defoe could prosper on his own in attack against Terry and William Gallas, and seven minutes before half-time Chelsea supporters were chanting "It's so easy at the Lane" after their side took the lead. Lampard, making an astonishing 150th successive Premiership appearance, swung over a corner from the right, and Del Horno - showing no ill-effects now - headed powerfully down inside a post. Gallas, fortunately for Chelsea, failed to make contact as the ball went past him, since he might well have been given offside. The other question, as so often, was why no defender was stationed on the post.
At half-time Tainio, again something of a square peg in the round hole out on the right of midfield, made way for Aaron Lennon, the youngster signed from Leeds in the close-season, whose first contribution was to slash a shot high into the crowd as Terry headed out Carrick's free-kick to him. His dart into the penalty area on the hour offered greater possibilities but Terry, injured when Dawson fell heavily on his leg, pulled off a crisp tackle. The howls for a penalty underlined the home crowd's frustration.
Spirit kept Spurs coming forward, but the visitors, passing smoothly, remained unflappable. Bringing Crespo and Wright-Phillips off the substitutes' heated seats for Didier Drogba and a quiet Joe Cole emphasised once again the resources available to them, and the Argentinian striker might have scored with his first touch. He met Paulo Ferreira's fine low cross at the near post, Paul Robinson saving with his leg, then blocking the follow-up from his England colleague Wright-Phillips.
Another couple of minutes and Chelsea had a second goal in any case. The troublesome Wright-Phillips hit the ball square and Duff defeated the goalkeeper by hitting a volley awkwardly down into the ground and up into the net. There would have been a similar third goal 10 minutes from time but for Robinson's instinctive parry as Crespo met another dangerous cross by Wright-Phillips, who will have impressed the watching Sven Goran Eriksson more than Cole. The greater concern for Eriksson ahead of Saturday's international in Wales will be whether Terry makes a full recovery from the bang on his knee.
"We had the feeling we could do something today," said Jol, who felt a yellow card would have sufficed for Mido. "Sometimes 11 men against 10 doesn't mean the 11 win," Mourinho countered. It does when the 11 are in Chelsea blue.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sunday Times;
Tottenham 0 Chelsea 2: Del Horno earns his spursJoe Lovejoy at White Hart Lane TOTTENHAM have not beaten their west London rivals in the League since most of the present team were in short trousers, and the run will go into its 16th year after a Chelsea win that was not quite as routine as the scoreline might suggest. First versus second at kick-off, the summit meeting had all the makings, and play was spikily competitive until Spurs were reduced to 10 men by Mido’s dismissal after 25 minutes. The striker had to walk, just like an Egyptian, after flattening Asier del Horno with his forearm while challenging for the ball in the air. Some referees would have settled for a yellow card, but Rob Styles, opted for red. Mido was furious. Eleven versus 11 was a good contest, 11 v 10 was not and, nothing if not efficient, Chelsea soon profited from their numerical advantage.
Del Horno, fully recovered from Mido’s attentions, put them ahead after 39 minutes when he headed in a corner from Frank Lampard, who will have enjoyed his 150th consecutive appearance, and Damien Duff added the second, a tad fortuitously, after a textbook delivery from Shaun Wright-Phillips, whose cameo as substitute can only have impressed Sven-Göran Eriksson, who was at the game. Ditto Paul Robinson, whose athleticism in goal spared Spurs more of a beating.
Brimming with confidence after their bright start to the season, Spurs fashioned the first two goal attempts, which saw Michael Dawson threaten with a good header and Jermain Defoe strike a 20-yarder with impressive power, but straight at Petr Cech. Didier Drogba responded with a free kick of similar velocity, but his direction was found wanting, too, and Tottenham quickly resumed the initiative, creating an opportunity which triggered the first controversial incident.
Teemu Tainio played Edgar Davids through to the 18-yard line, where he was deliberately tripped by Michael Essien. The instinctive reaction was that Davids had been denied a scoring opportunity and that a red card was appropriate, but fortunately for Chelsea and their record signing the referee spotted that the last man was not Essien but Del Horno, on the cover, and settled for a booking.
To Spurs’ chagrin the free kick, taken by Mido, was charged down. Controversy reared its contentious head again after 25 minutes, when Mido challenged for the ball in the air recklessly, with his forearm raised, and made painful contact with Del Horno’s head. It must have been a borderline decision, but this time Mr Styles opted for a straight red, when yellow would probably have sufficed. Mido, clearly shocked by the verdict, took an eternity to leave the field, and appeared to be in tears.
Spurs were still nursing a sense of grievance when Chelsea made their extra man count, Del Horno heading in Lampard’s corner from 12 yards. No team can afford to take on the defending champions and League leaders with 10 men, but Spurs possess grit as well as style these days, and they made a decent fist of it until the second goal, after 72 minutes, put even a point beyond them. Just before that they needed an improvised save by Robinson, using a boot, to deny Hernan Crespo, whose side-footed shot at close range was his first kick after replacing Drogba midway through the second half. Chelsea had also sent on Wright-Phillips, and after accelerating to the byline on the right, the England winger cut the ball back nicely for Duff to score with a scuffed, bouncing volley. Spurs were out of it now, and it took a second outstanding save by Robinson to prevent Crespo from making it 3-0, from another Wright-Phillips cross, with 10 minutes of normal time remaining.
And so to international matters. Eriksson will be relieved that a sizeable England contingent emerged unscathed here. These two teams could provide half his starting line-up against Wales next Saturday.
STAR MAN: Michael Carrick (Tottenham)
Player ratings. Tottenham: Robinson 7, Stalteri 6, Dawson 6, Gardner 6, Kelly 6, Tainio 5 (Lennon h-t, 7), Carrick 8, Davids 6, Reid 6, Mido 4, Defoe 6.
Chelsea: Cech 7, Ferreira 6, Gallas 6, Terry 6, Del Horno 7, Lampard 6, Makelele 6, Essien 6, Duff 7 (Huth 89min, 5), Drogba 6 (Crespo 68min, 6), Cole 6 (Wright-Phillips 63min, 7)
Scorers: Chelsea: Del Horno 39, Duff 71
Referee: R Styles
Attendance: 36,077 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Observer:
Mido's moment of madness lets Del Horno take full advantage
Tottenham 0 - 2 Chelsea
Amy Lawrence at White Hart LaneSunday August 28, 2005The Observer
'It's so easy at the Lane,' crowed the Blues fans. It was, although it might well not have been if Tottenham had not seen their best-laid plans ripped into a thousand pieces midway through the first half. All their promise fizzled out the moment their maverick attacker, Mido, was sent off for raising an arm dangerously.Until that point, Chelsea hadn't been having a particularly enthralling day at the office. As soon as Jose Mourinho's team perked up sufficiently to breach Tottenham's defence for the first time this season, there was never any danger of the points going anywhere except back to Stamford Bridge. It was a kick in the teeth for Spurs, who had been looking forward to the rare pleasure of taking part in a top-of-the-table dispute. Unusual circumstances, same old outcome.
Having rested Edgar Davids and Jermain Defoe for their midweek trip to Blackburn, it was no surprise Tottenham were back to their strongest possible line-up for the visit of a team who have heaped such unmitigated misery on them in the past 15 years.
It was a sign of Spurs' improving status that Chelsea, too, were at full power. And they needed to be, as Martin Jol's men began with a plan to do a good deal more damage than park a bus in front of their own goal - as Mourinho famously claimed they had done a year ago during Jacques Santini's short and not particularly sweet spell in charge, when they secured a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
Now Spurs forced the early running, with Mido, Michael Dawson and Defoe having chances. Chelsea, conversely, were out of sync. Passes went astray and rhythm was askew, with Michael Carrick catching the eye as he set about disrupting the champions.
Tottenham sensed something historic was on and Davids quickened the pulse with a run that was rudely interrupted by Michael Essien inside the D. The Ghana midfielder was cautioned, despite the Spurs fans noisily baying for red. From the free-kick Andy Reid's effort was blocked. But Spurs were encouraged.
Their mood darkened shortly after, however. In the 25th minute, Mido was dismissed for catching Asier Del Horno with his forearm. It was a foolish gesture from the Egyptian as he leapt for a high ball together with the Spain left-back. Referee Rob Styles was well placed and was left with no choice. An ill-tempered mêlée was predictable, but didn't alter the outcome.
This was a serious blot on Jol's masterplan. Creating chances against Chelsea is hard enough with a full complement of players. Losing a creative outlet doubled the size of the task. Defoe alone against Chelsea's thick blue line didn't have the look of a particularly fair contest.
But, it must be said, Chelsea were hardly troubling Paul Robinson. Typically of their fortuitous season so far, they went ahead with their first decent effort on goal. Frank Lampard's header was met by a stooping header from none other than Del Horno, whose angled effort went in off the far post.
So, to their palpable frustration, ended Tottenham's sequence of clean sheets. Could they somehow respond by upsetting Chelsea's defensive record? Carrick had a go in first-half stoppage time, curling in a tantalising free-kick, but Petr Cech was equal to it.
It was difficult to avoid the nagging feeling that Chelsea would be content to pass the ball among themselves for the entire second half. That was all they needed to do and they were more than capable of doing it.
Mourinho's men were not a great deal livelier after the break, but predictably dominated possession. Tottenham needed a flash of inspiration. Defoe broke and teed up young substitute Aaron Lennon, who skipped into the penalty box before tripping at the last. Cries for a penalty cascaded down from the masses, but Styles was unmoved.
Of course just what Tottenham didn't need was a couple of fresh and motivated Chelsea subs. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Hernan Crespo took no time in finding their range. Crespo's flick provoked a particularly sharp save from Robinson, before Wright-Phillips jinked into the box and squared the ball for Damien Duff to bundle in. Thank you and goodnight.
Wright-Phillips teed up Crespo for a chance goal that would have put a gloss on the result, only for Robinson to beat the ball away.
How typical of Tottenham for their renaissance to be scuppered against their bogey team. At some point next season these two teams will meet here and it will be 19 years since Spurs last beat Chelsea in the league at home.
Man of the match
Shaun Wright-Phillips: This game was another example of Chelsea playing well below their best. Their offensive play was lacking sharpness and invention. Wright-Phillips may have been only a substitute, but he offered the most enlivening moments. His energy, driving runs and tempting crosses ensured that Chelsea wrapped up the points.
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Telegraph:
Chelsea feeling their way By Roy Collins
Tottenham (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 2
Former striker Les Ferdinand was back on the White Hart Lane pitch before the match to relive all our yesterdays, a favourite preoccupation among Spurs supporters, citing the club's Worthington Cup triumph of 1999 as the greatest moment of his time with the Lily Whites.
That served to highlight how ambitions have risen at Tottenham since Martin Jol took over as manager after a few months of last season. Supporters and players alike are now daring to talk about Champions League football and, more than a tad fancifully, even a Premiership title bid, while a queue at the megastore longer than the one at the bagel stand was a healthy sign of renewed belief.
There have, of course, been more new dawns at Spurs than most people care to remember, though, despite defeat here, there is still a feeling that this one will last beyond lunchtime. It is hard to gauge, since they are still missing key players and this game was as good as over by the 24th minute, when referee Rob Styles sent off Spurs' Egyptian striker Mido for throwing an elbow in an aerial challenge with Asier Del Horno.
A few minutes earlier, the Spurs bench had been screaming for Chelsea's Michael Essien to be shown red after he had crudely interrupted a passing movement between Edgar Davids and Teemu Tainio by upending Davids on the edge of the box. But, once again, the gods, or maybe the devil, smiled on Chelsea, Essien escaping with a yellow card while Mido, who insisted that he was going for the ball, looked harshly treated as his elbow connected with Del Horno's back.
Tottenham were carrying enough emotional baggage into this game, having not beaten Chelsea here since 1987, to survive such a handicap so early into a contest in which they had made a promising start. And even if Mido's dismissal turns out to be another early season red card that lasts only as long as it takes the Football Association to look at the video over their cornflakes on Tuesday morning, it will be no consolation to Spurs.
Chelsea are formidable enough opponents against 11 men, so, when he waved his red, Styles might as well have awarded them all three points. Not that the rest of the first-half play reflected their numerical superiority and to add to Tottenham's sense of injustice Del Horno headed the opener in off a post.
"It's so easy at the Lane", chanted Chelsea supporters. But, although their team maintained a measure of control, they still gave the impression of an outfit feeling their way into the season. Seeing as they have taken maximum points from their opening four games, that is a worrying sign for those aiming to seize their championship crown.
The sheer depth and quality in their squad is what makes it so unlikely that they will suffer the mythical blip that their rivals have been waiting for since the start of last season. When Joe Cole was shown only a yellow card for a challenge that seething Spurs fans thought should have been red, manager Jose Mourinho yanked him off and sent on another £23 million replacement in Shaun Wright-Phillips. Almost as an afterthought, he sent on Hernan Crespo in place of Didier Drogba.
We had been hoping to see Chelsea at least tested by the pace, skill and shooting ability of Jermain Defoe, who will start for England against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday. And, with Robbie Keane itching to be summoned from the bench, there seemed every prospect of Chelsea having one of their more uncomfortable afternoons here.
The dismissal of Mido, however, inevitably blunted Tottenham's ambitions, particularly those of Davids, though Defoe did release substitute Aaron Lennon, 19, for a thrilling run that unfortunately ended with him losing control of the ball and his feet just inside the area. Another promising moment for Tottenham.
Chelsea, though, who never like to go to gung-ho, are great at controlling games when they are in front and a second goal from Damien Duff ended any thoughts of a comeback, again a slightly fortunate strike as he tumbled over while striking the ball and it squirmed past England goalkeeper Paul Robinson. If anyone feared that he might be turning into David James, he quickly made a fine close stop from Crespo.
As players of both sides now head off to international duty, the clubs can reflect on their respective starts to the season. Although Chelsea will clearly be the happier, there is no reason for Spurs to pack away their latest dreams just yet.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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