When is a draw not a bore? When it’s bizarre. 33 efforts at goal tell the tale, as a scintillating game of end-to-end football somehow finished 0-0 at White Hart Lane Saturday lunchtime.
From the moment Michael Dawson, the latest in a long line of exceedingly ‘English’ centre-backs, opened up his body and arced an exquisite shot onto the West Ham woodwork we knew we had a contest on our hands.
Chances were to come thick and fast from that point on. Carlton Cole wasted a one-on-one opening and Demba Ba tested Heurelho Gomes’ reflexes from range, while Jermain Defoe seemed destined not to join the 100 club, both for Tottenham and in the top flight, squandering numerous opportunities in a wonderfully open game that bucked the growing trend of cagey early kick-offs.
The returning Gareth Bale, making his first league start since recovering from a back complaint, wasn’t the only star of the show. Team-mates Luka Modric and Aaron Lennon, who also struck a post in the first half, to a lesser extent Defoe, the ever-improving Sandro and a Rafael van der Vaart clearly short on match fitness, all helped to create this free-flowing spectacle in north London.
For the guests, Thomas Hitzlsperger’s comeback from a long-term thigh injury and the January addition of the dependable Gary O’Neil has eased the burden on Scott Parker to orchestrate in recent weeks and allowed their potent front line to wreak havoc more frequently. Here, Carlton Cole and other winter acquisition Demba Ba both had chances, as did midfielder Mark Noble, whose acrobatic attempt not long after the restart deserved better than to drift agonisingly wide with Gomes a mere spectator.
What was most impressive about this match was: it required no real interference from officialdom, either in the form of cards, penalties or punishment for ‘battling qualities’ gone bad; football was never forsaken in the pursuit of three greatly required points by either side; there were no tears or tantrums; and no errors decided its outcome, despite the presence of two unpredictable goalkeepers who each put in accomplished performances, particularly the oft-derided Robert Green who was at times outstanding.
This was a proper game of football, but no proper 0-0. It seems strange that the game’s general public so regularly prioritises drama and incident over football aesthetics yet, in actuality, the only peculiarity in this case was how on earth the game remained goalless in spite of a display of such consistent, intense artistry. The cultured capital can feel proud at having played host to this sporting exhibition and hopefully look forward to further displays of this stature from Tottenham in Europe, and from West Ham at the Boleyn, the Lane or in Stratford. With performances like this, they will feel that their aspirations are safe for at least another season.
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