Cure needed for late goal disease
Plenty has changed over the last few seasons at White Hart Lane. Managers have come and gone and players have left (and come back!) but our tendency to concede late goals has remained unchanged.
Some teams are known for scoring late goals, others for conceding them. We definitely fit into the latter category, and whilst it is certainly true that the successful teams score more and concede less than others in the dying stages of games, Spurs were affected by this malaise in 2005/06, when we finished fifth.
Fourth place should have been ours that season. We were denied not so much by the infamous ‘lasagne defeat’ at West Ham, but by the points dropped late throughout the season.
We conceded injury time goals at the Lane against West Ham and on the road at Fulham, Sunderland and Chelsea, all of which cost us points. A late Robbie Keane penalty at home against West Bromwich Albion was our only late goal that brought points.
Kevin Davies’ late winner at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday was a reminder that this problem is yet to be fixed. Having got back on level terms the momentum seemed to be with us, but a lack of organisation and concentration at a corner cost us, as was the case at Wigan earlier in the month.
Spurs’ fitness levels have steadily improved – second half performances have generally been better than first half ones - so fitness should not be a factor. The problem is instead mental; players lack the nous to do the sensible thing in the closing stages – losing the ball in dangerous areas, conceding corners and free kicks.
Harry needs to quickly stamp out the problem, as well as rediscovering the luck that brought late goals and bonus points against Arsenal and Liverpool early on in his tenure.
Some teams are known for scoring late goals, others for conceding them. We definitely fit into the latter category, and whilst it is certainly true that the successful teams score more and concede less than others in the dying stages of games, Spurs were affected by this malaise in 2005/06, when we finished fifth.
Fourth place should have been ours that season. We were denied not so much by the infamous ‘lasagne defeat’ at West Ham, but by the points dropped late throughout the season.
We conceded injury time goals at the Lane against West Ham and on the road at Fulham, Sunderland and Chelsea, all of which cost us points. A late Robbie Keane penalty at home against West Bromwich Albion was our only late goal that brought points.
Kevin Davies’ late winner at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday was a reminder that this problem is yet to be fixed. Having got back on level terms the momentum seemed to be with us, but a lack of organisation and concentration at a corner cost us, as was the case at Wigan earlier in the month.
Spurs’ fitness levels have steadily improved – second half performances have generally been better than first half ones - so fitness should not be a factor. The problem is instead mental; players lack the nous to do the sensible thing in the closing stages – losing the ball in dangerous areas, conceding corners and free kicks.
Harry needs to quickly stamp out the problem, as well as rediscovering the luck that brought late goals and bonus points against Arsenal and Liverpool early on in his tenure.
Written by Philip Oliver, a professional sports writer who blogs about football betting.
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