Deadly Defoe keeps Spurs in title hunt
TOTTENHAM 01 vs WEST BROM 0
TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp insists he has no plans to delve into the transfer market despite losing three more players to injury as
Jermain Defoe’s strike kept them breathing down the necks of the Premier League’s top two.
Defoe’s nimble second-half goal moved Spurs to within three points of second-placed Manchester United, who play tonight, and lifted them five clear of fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand.
An attritional victory over a robust West Brom side came at a cost, however, with calf injuries condemning William Gallas and Sandro to prolonged spells on the sidelines and substitute Jake Livermore departing with a mouth wound.
It leaves Spurs short in centre midfield, where Scott Parker remains sidelined, and centre-back, where Gallas joins Ledley King in the treatment room, yet Redknapp dampened talk of signing reinforcements in the January transfer window.
“I haven’t thought about it,” he said. “To be honest I haven’t really got any targets. You think you’re ok, but then you get a couple of knocks and it all changes. There’s nobody I could be saying to the chairman: ‘We’ve got to get this fella in’.”
Spurs, missing Parker and right-winger Aaron Lennon, lacked fluency in the first half and had only Rafael Van der Vaart’s snapshot, tipped over by Ben Foster, to show from a tepid opening 45 minutes.
The loss of Sandro after half an hour did not aid their plight, but they looked sharper straight after the break, when Defoe volleyed over and then backheeled just wide.
Tottenham finally made their superior possession count in the 63rd minute, Gareth Bale driving the ball back into the heart of the penalty area, where Defoe swivelled amid a crowd of defenders and shot low into the bottom right corner.
Spurs survived a couple of late scares with Somen Choyi’s rising drive forcing Brad Friedel to tip over and Bale also cleared off the line following an inswinging corner.