England breakthrough star Andros Townsend continued his fine form by inspiring Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-0 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.
|Last Updated: Oct 21, 2013, 08:26 AM IST|Source: AFP
London: England breakthrough star Andros Townsend continued his fine form by inspiring Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-0 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.
The 22-year-old winger, who starred as England booked their place at the World Cup earlier this week, scored the opening goal with a 31st-minute cross that crept past Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
Roberto Soldado added a second after half-time as Spurs moved up to fifth place in the table, three points below leaders Arsenal, and began to atone for their shock 3-0 home defeat by West Ham United.
It was a first defeat in four league games for Paul Lambert`s Villa, who now find themselves 13th, but it was a marked improvement on their 4-0 capitulation to the same side in the League Cup last month.
Villa had last season`s top scorer Christian Benteke on the bench following a hip injury, with Nathan Baker replacing Ciaran Clark in the only change to the side that drew 0-0 at Hull City last time out.
Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas brought Lewis Holtby into his team in place of Christian Eriksen, awarded Vlad Chiriches his debut at centre-back, and handed Sandro a first league start since January.
Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor put a half-volley over the bar from an early Leandro Bacuna cross, but heavy rain made for a slippery surface and the game suffered as a result.
Sandro shot straight at Brad Guzan from 30 yards and Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had to scramble away a free-kick from Ashley Westwood, before the visitors made the breakthrough.
Townsend claimed the goal, but it owed to a certain degree of fortune.
Picking up the ball wide on the right, he cut onto his left foot and attempted to pick out a team-mate in the centre, but his cross eluded both Holtby and Soldado, only to sneak in at the far post.
There was an unsavoury incident in the aftermath of the goal when assistant referee David Bryan was struck by a flare apparently thrown from the Spurs supporters` section, but after a brief delay, play continued.
Andreas Weimann flashed a shot just wide as Villa pushed for an equaliser, but Spurs came close to going 2-0 up in first-half stoppage time when Guzan produced a smart low stop to thwart Townsend.
Another fine save from the American prevented Paulinho from doubling the visitors` advantage early in the second period and the introduction of Benteke gave Villa further reason for optimism.
The burly Belgian planted a header from a Bacuna cross narrowly over the bar shortly after coming on, but five minutes later, Spurs struck again.
Paulinho`s intelligent first-time pass freed Soldado and the Spain striker took a touch before lifting the ball over Guzan to claim his third league goal in a Spurs shirt.
Villa`s fight faded, but Townsend refused to leave them in peace.
He dispatched a curler that cleared the crossbar by millimetres and then flashed a ball across the face of goal that Paulinho was unable to convert. After the best week of his fledgling career, the man-of-the-match award came as no surprise.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.