Another boring night at the Lane...NOT!

Spurs 4 Chel$ki 4

Team: Robbo, Chimbo, Woody, Ledders (Bent), Hutton, Steed, Jenas (Huddlestone), Lennon, Zokora, Berba, Keano

Well again we got our money's worth at the Lane with an eight goal thriller. So far this season, I've been lucky enough to have seen two 4-0s, a 5-1 and two 4-4s. Not bad eh?

It was the usual hate hate relationship between the two sets of fans but obviously there was more of us so we drowned them out most of the time! That same emotion was shown on the pitch as well with tackles flying in, descent from players on each side for what were some useless refereeing decisions. So what's new there?!

I came into this game pretty sure Spurs would lose, basically because of the performance in the last couple of games and also the fact that Chelsea would be looking for revenge after the cup final. We bearly had a chance to settle in our seats before they took the lead but it only took until the 11th minutes before Woodgate climbed high to convert a strong header. I think maybe he likes scoring against Chelsea! However, Spurs being Spurs, they let in another eight minutes later. The crowd were riled up just before half time when Ashley Cole tacked with studs up against Hutton's shin - having watched it back on TV, it could have been a red card; they certainly have been given for other similar tackles this season. Why Cole argued and showed descent to referee Riley I have no idea as it was a clear cut bad tackle (actually the word knobhead comes to mind), and he was lucky to get away with a yellow. Still, a good excuse to give him more abuse - a bit of 'Where's ya missus gone' to the the tune of 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' rang around the ground!

Spurs started the second half brightly but then somehow conceded a third goal. A soft one it was too, bobbling off the legs of the advancing Robinson. We looked dead and buried but needn't have despaired as we should know by now that Spurs are more dangerous when they're behind.
It was game on again on the hour when Berba headed home a Huddlestone corner - one of the few that actually went beyond the first defender! A great chance followed when a brilliant ball from Berba found Keane, he swivelled his body but it was superbly saved. The Lane erupted again after 75 minutes when Huddlestone drove the ball into the bottom corner of the goal. 3-3!
But just when we thought we could go on and snatch the winner, Chelsea scored again through Joe Cole who again got the better of Chimbonda. Talk about up and down emotions all night; I couldn't keep up!

I just have to interrupt this bulletin by mentioning Didier Drogba... it amazes me time and time again how the man gets away with what he does. Even right in front of the ref, he falls to the ground with the faintest of touches and gets awarded free kicks. Why are they fooled by this awful acting? You could blow him over, it's that bad. However, I'm not a total hypocrite as Huddlestone's pathetic effort of a dive on the edge of the box is not something I want to see from one of my players. Cheating does not impress me. He received a yellow card for his acting - the difference between the two is that Drogba does it in every game and rarely gets carded.

So, only ten minutes left of the game which was just enough for Keano to bring the house down once again with an absolutely stunning strike into the top corner. Maybe slightly fortuitous with the ball ricocheting off Carvalio's back but who cares?!!! The icing on the cake would have been Berbatov converting the clear cut chance he had in the last minute of added time, finding himself free in the penalty area with only Cuducini to beat. However, his shot was too close to the goalkeeper and it was saved. You've no idea how agonising that was - of all players, Berba would usually have stuck that away every time. Oh so close to another memorable victory over Chelsea. I think the Spurs fans were more than happy to go away with a point at the end of the night, considering being 3-1 down.

So there you have it. Another dull night at the Lane. Yawn. :)