Spurs receive a difficult lesson in hard grafting

Last updated : 20 February 2006 By Editor

Line-up: Danny Murphy starts (full debut), as Jenas is ill. Mido starts (first time since African Cup of Nations), so Keane drops to the bench.

Spurs started brightly enough, but were caught out in the 10th minute by a seemingly routine, route one break. Mido wasted a simple chance to put Spurs in front when he headed Aaron Lennon's cross wide. The visitors maintained their attacking policy and Wigan's spell of pressure eventually resulted in Johansson's second goal of the afternoon. The lead lasted just seconds, though, as a de Zeeuw error let Defoe in. After that the home side piled forward, but Wigan were resilient and almost snatched all three points at the death when Scharner powered in a diving header at the back post that Robinson somehow scrambled away. Wigan possibly deserved victory in the end. THE SUN

John Cross: Straight from the off, Wigan looked threatening and stormed into a 10th-minute lead, although

Henri Camara looked way offside, but no whistle came, and Johansson raced through to beat Robinson - though only just. Tottenham responded immediately and Defoe was desperately unlucky not to equalise three minutes later when chaotic Wigan defending gifted him a clear-cut chance, which Pollitt brilliantly blocked. However, Wigan's reprieve proved short-lived. Mido equalised and then was lucky not to be sent off when he went in late on Arjan De Zeeuw. Spurs finished the first half as the stronger team even if Danny Murphy looked lost at times. But it was Wigan who bossed the second half. Camara twice went close, first with an overhead kick and then having a shot which cleared the bar. Wigan's effort was rewarded when Graham Kavanagh, a work-horse in midfield, found Johansson who fired home a return pass from Camara. Tottenham were on the ropes and yet Wigan allowed them to hit back within 53 seconds, Defoe showing what a lethal finisher he is. From there they might have been expected to go on and seal an important win. But once again they fell short and it was Wigan who went closest to claiming victory in the dying minutes as Robinson denied Scharner. A draw was probably a fair result but, if either team deserved to nick it, it was Wigan, whose second-half display was magnificent. Jewell's men were bright, pacy and always looked dangerous on the break. However, Michael Carrick was once again outstanding. DAILY MIRROR

Russell Kempson: Wigan went ahead after ten minutes when Andreas Johansson jabbed a flick by Paul Scharner past Paul Robinson. Tottenham were level 13 minutes later when Mido touched in a cross by Paul Stalteri. Wigan regained their advantage when Johansson exchanged passes with Henri Camara and thundered home his shot. Seconds later, Arjan de Zeeuw blundered and allowed Jermain Defoe to nip in for the second equaliser. Overall Edgar Davids was a shadow of his former pitbull-like self against Wigan’s excellent midfield grafters. THE TIMES

David Miller: For Wigan, a week away from a cup final, every man was playing for his place with 100 per cent effort. It was a percentage that Tottenham could not equal. The one legitimate complaint Tottenham had was that when Andreas Johansson scored the first of his two goals Henri Camara was demonstrably offside: involved in play, if not "affecting" it. Wigan never allowed them to find a rhythm, pressing them relentlessly in midfield and regularly opting for the long clearance from the back. In the grandstands we spent much of the first half searching for the ball against an overcast sky. Following Wigan's lead, Tottenham attacked intermittently but without refinement. Defoe shot straight at Mike Pollitt in goal, then Arjan DeZeeuw felled Mido just outside the penalty area but the free-kick was wasted. It was a fluky Spurs equaliser in the 23rd minute. Wigan began the second half menacingly, Camara a constant source of danger to Ledley King and Michael Dawson. Once, robbing a tiring Davids of the ball, he sent a swerving left-foot drive just above the crossbar. In the 67th minute Wigan were ahead again. Johansson glided through on the left of a static defence to beat Robinson and no one could argue that it was against the run of play.

Yet in less than a minute Tottenham were level once more as DeZeeuw made his single error. DAILY TELEGRAPH

Arindam Rej: Tottenham fell behind as Michael Carrick failed to deal with a seemingly harmless long punt from Mike Pollitt. Although Henri Camara appeared to be interfering with play in an offside position, Wigan escaped. Spurs were also denied a penalty before half-time when Young-Pyo Lee's cross appeared to strike the hand of Pascal Chimbonda, who gestured that it struck his face. He presented Wigan with a good opportunity to regain the initiative early in the second half with a cross that Camara anticipated well only to send his overhead kick marginally off target. Wigan's pressure paid off, although their joy lasted 53 seconds. Tottenham were left with plenty to ponder with Edgar Davids and Danny Murphy both ineffective. The performance of Wigan's full-backs meant that they had to keep a rigid 4-4-2 throughout (as opposed to their own full-backs joining the midfield) and consequently looked unthreatening. THE GUARDIAN

Andrew Warshaw: Martin Jol keeps insisting his Tottenham side are not the finished article and you would have to agree with him on the evidence of yesterday's performance as they ended up having to battle for a draw, twice coming from behind. It was all about Wigan and the visitors were ahead after just 10 minutes. But then a sublime back-heel by Mido pulled Spurs level and the Egyptian was a whisker away from giving his team a half-time lead with a bullet header that just missed the target at the end of an electrifying three-man move. That should have been the signal for Spurs to move into the ascendancy. Instead, with Edgar Davids and Danny Murphy both looking half-fit and increasingly giving the ball away, Spurs were pushed back. Twice, Henri Camara could have restored Wigan's lead and it was no surprise when Johansson did just that, outsmarting Ledley King before rifling the ball past Paul Robinson. Before Wigan's celebrations could die down, Defoe latched on to Mido's flick for an instant equaliser but Spurs couldn't take advantage. THE INDEPENDENT