Good pressure was being applied early, the boys were putting their marker down and the passing was slick and confident without really working the goalkeeper.
The delay in doubling the advantage did not take too long but the two-goal lead was not protected. Jermain Defoe did his best to retrieve the cushion we enjoyed earlier in the second half but the boys held on for the win.
Ledley King and Teemu Tainio returned for suspended Michael Dawson and Edgar Davids who dropped to the bench. Paul Stalteri started and the inclusion of Calum Davenport among the substitutes meant no place in the 16 for either Stephen Kelly or midfielder Tom Huddlestone.
Of the three clubs immediately below Spurs in the table, only fifth placed Blackburn managed a point in the weekend fixtures. Arsenal in sixth still have a game in hand but are now trailing Tottenham by five points.
Martin Jol: "I thought we thoroughly deserved the win. We played as well as we can play in the first half but should have scored more. We attacked and tried to score. I think we missed one or two chances so that was the only problem but in the end it was a great result. Ledley King was back and that showed but on the other hand Anthony Gardner did a terrific job and I was very pleased for him. We trained well with him in the week and he wanted to play. He showed again what a very good central defender he is."
"We went 2-0 up but then conceded a soft goal again so I was disappointed with that because it's a bit of a problem with experience. Then we were caught in two minds – do we try to score a third and fourth goal or defend? You could see that problem through the team. Overall I thought we had chances and if we'd scored a third goal that would have made it easier for ourselves. But it was an exciting game and if it hadn't been for David James we would have scored four or five goals. To be fair, I don't think City had a lot of chances in the second half and I can only remember Paul Robinson making one save. The crowd was fantastic again in the first half, I felt them become a little anxious in the second half but they stuck with us."
Paul Stalteri: "I think we are proud of our performance and we deserved the three points. We were solid from the first minute and we were fortunate to score before the end of the half to boost our confidence a bit more."
"When I saw the strike I just followed it up and shanked it into the goal. I was fortunate in that I had got myself up the pitch and it was one of those if I had hit it cleanly he probably would have saved it."
Michael Carrick: "It was almost a carbon copy of my first goal (for the club). It was a superb ball, to be fair, and I didn't have a lot to do, I just got it down and managed to volley it in. A few of the lads were saying they were wating in the box for me to square it, but I was oblivious to that. Thankfully it went over the top of Jamo and it gave us a bit of a cushion which was nice - not for long though. But it was an important win for us."
Source: Official site