[ad_1]
secondAle was soon having fun, backing off, spraying passes, sneaking behind Stoke’s lines. Stoke, meanwhile, wasted set pieces, more free throws, missing crosses. Any joy Stoke might have taken from Bale being replaced at halftime will soon have been dissipated by the identity of his replacement: Son Heung-Min.
But to the delight of his fans watching from afar, Stoke was undaunted. Things didn’t work out as well as the Spurs could have assumed from their first-half dominance, either. Disruptive, aggressive, the home team started the second half a different beast, not just pushing the Spurs back, but with their sight of the ball. And when Jacob Brown’s cross skimmed the Spurs’ area, Jordan Thompson arrived to convert the only opportunity they had created. That’s what O’Neill was looking for: parity until the penalty shoot-out.
Worried that Spurs would restrict themselves to passing the ball through their own field, Mourinho made changes: Alli paid the price for his mistake, Lucas Moura left for falling too far without reward.
And the Spurs reacted positively. Substitute Erik Lamela nearly came in like a ghost, Kane ran on the Stoke baseline, then Ben Davies showed his colleagues they didn’t have to walk the ball into the net. With the ball reaching his feet about 25 meters from Stoke’s goal, he unleashed a shot that even a goalkeeper half Lonergan’s age would have had a hard time hitting. When Kane scored a third, picking up a pass from Moussa Sissoko and firing his shot over the top of the goal, the Spurs got closer and closer to their first trophy since 2008. Sadly for those who have admired his game, the chances of that Alli would be in the field if they did now are minimal.
Match details
Prime: Lonergan, Collins, Souttar, Batth, Smith, Thompson, Cousins, Fox, Oakley-Boothe, Brown, McClean.
Subs: Ince, Vokes, Shawcross, Fletcher, Powell, Tymon, Nna Noukeu.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Doherty, Sánchez, Dier, Davies, Hojbjerg, Winks, Alli, Lucas Moura, Bale, Kane.
Subs: Reguilon, Alderweireld, Son, Lamela, Hart, Sissoko, Vinicius.
Referee: Darren England (South Yorkshire)
[ad_2]
