Marriott won a surprise debute due to Ian Bennett sustaining an injury yesterday in training. In midfield, Damien Johnson took the suspended Robbie Savage's place in the middle of the park, with Devlin wide on the right, whilst Christophe Dugarry occupied a wide left role allowing both Geoff Horsfield and Stern John the starts that they have craved up front.
Blues started well, with Horsfield coming close almost immediately. He took the ball smartly on his chest, turned Chris Perry and really should have done more and at least tested Kasey Keller instead of dragging a left foot shot wide when well-placed. After 6 minutes though, came Marriott's misery. The Welsh 'keeper had the ball safely in his hands in his area after collecting it when a Spurs attack broke down. As the players all retreated back upfield, Marriott dropped the ball to the turf, to knock the ball forward a few yards, before clearing it. Somewhat stupidly though, he failed to check behind him where Keane had deliberately hidden (well, as much as a bloke in a football kit can hide on a huge grass playing area). As soon as Marriott had dropped the ball, Keane nipped in, and tapped into the empty net for one of the softest goals the Premiership has seen. Marriott was certainly heavily at fault, though it may have been nice if one of his team-mates had given him a shout also. That by no means excuses him not checking before releasing the ball from his grasp, however.
Blues had been hit by a sucker-punch, but continued to look the more likely team to score. Spurs, for all their deft little touches and neat interplay never really created a chance in the first half, whilst Horsfield again wasted a glorious opportunity, before Dugarry brought an excellent save out of Keller from a well-taken corner, with Matthew Upson also having a shot cleared of the line from another Stephen Clemence corner. Whilst Blues were not playing terribly well, they were the only team creating the chances, with Spurs best effort being a Poyet shot dragged a few feet wide. Blues were also denied what appeared to be a clearcut penalty when John was hauled over in the penalty area. Following a piece of trickery, the Trinidadian found himself through on goal, so quite why he would dive as referee David Elleray decreed, is beyond me. Elleray booked John for diving too, and in the second half failed to book Spurs full-back Stephen Carr for the same 'crime' despite the referee performing the universal 'push both hands forward in a diving manner' gesture and waving play on following a Jamie Clapham tackle. Once again, it brings the question of consistency to a head - either book both John and Carr, or book neither of them.
At half time, Blues were perhaps a little unlucky to be 1-0 down. Their performance hadn't been too clever, but Spurs looked to be no real threat at all, with Keane being the only real player to show any true class for the home side. Early on in the second half, John was replaced by Stan Lazaridis which enabled Dugarry to move into a more forward role. Blues continued to press for an equaliser, with Horsfield having a header cleared of the line, and the ball rebounding wide off a Spurs player when the game really should have been stopped for a head injury to Keller. At the other end, Marriott tipped over from a deflected Teddy Sheringham effort.
Blues, however, did get their breakthrough after 74 minutes, and on this occasion Mr Elleray actually did award Blues a penalty (remember Andrew Johnson in Cardiff 2001?). He didn't really have any choice, however, as momentarily it appeared that Uruguayan International Poyet thought he was a jockey in the Grand National, and attempted to mount Dugarry rather like Barry Geraghty would have mounted Monty's Pass at about 3.35. Elleray pointed to the spot and Devlin duly obliged.
Blues were now in the ascendancy, and despite their own below-par performance looked the more likely team to go on and win the game, as Spurs struggled to link together some of their moves. After around 86 minutes, Dugarry was replaced by Jovan Kirovski. The Frenchman received an incredible ovation from the travelling fans which was richly deserved. Dugarry was quite simply exceptional, and despite Keane's fancy footwork early on, the Blues forward was head and shoulders above any other player on show. The only worrying aspect to this, is that it is becoming increasingly apparent that no one else in a Blues shirt is clever enough to play with him. So often Dugarry will create a piece of magic that just isn't read by his team-mates.
Just a minute after Dugarry had left the field, no doubt thinking that he had done his bit in earning Blues a crucial point, Spurs netted a winner. Blues simply went to sleep on a long ball upfield from Keller and allowed the ball to bounce over their heads and through to Poyet who redeemed himself with a sweet strike that Marriott stood no chance with.
Overall, this was certainly a disappointment for Blues who despite playing poorly, created by far the most and the best chances of the game. However, two incredibly sloppy goals gifted Spurs a victory that they certainly didn't deserve, and with other results as they were, plunged Blues into greater difficulties. The fact is, if Blues go down, they only have themselves to blame. A win next week at home to Sunderland is more than a must now. If the performance can be improved somewhat, and they can create this many chances again, they should be ok. Anything other than a win, however, and it's 'bite your nails time' for the remaining five games.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Marriott - Poor, just making up the numbers
Kenna - Average
Clapham - Still to prove his defensive qualities
Cunningham - Reasonable
Upson - Excellent, but possibly at fault for second goal
Devlin - Goal aside, pretty poor
Clemence - Assured return to White Hart Lane
Johnson - In and out of the game
Dugarry - Too clever for his team-mates, pure class
John - Mixed, some lazy moments, some neat touches
Horsfield - Wayward finishing
SUBS:
Lazaridis - Nowhere near fit. Either that, or just rubbish.
Kirovski - Never got involved
Carter - Didn't have time to get involved