Bale Bullet Downs The Saints – Tottenham vs. Southampton

PFA Player of the year Gareth Bale sealed the points for Tottenham with a magnificent drive on what was an otherwise uninspiring display from the home side, with Southampton unfortunate to come away with nothing.

After 85 goalless minutes, the game looked to be heading for a draw until Gareth Bale scored his 19^th goal of the season to keep Tottenham’s Champions League hopes alive.

Adam Lallana evades the challenge of Benoit Assou-Ekotto. Credit: @SouthamptonFC

A very slow opening 10 minutes meant that whoever got themselves into gear the fastest would have the first clear chance. Rickie Lambert’s superb pass into Nathaniel Clyne turned out to be this very opportunity, however, the former Crystal Palace man could only fire wide of the post. One would have expected Tottenham to have been coaxed into action after this chance, though it was the away side who continued to cause all the problems.

The next 35 minutes saw The Saints, and Rickie Lambert in particular, wreak havoc on the Tottenham defence. After a delicious pass to set up Jay Rodriguez and a clever run to deceive the Tottenham defence, the 31 year-old striker set his sights on goal, only to see his rasping free-kick tipped onto the bar by Hugo Lloris.

If the Spurs fans were looking for an immediate reaction to their side’s woeful first half they would have been left disappointed, as it was Southampton who had the opening chance after the break. A moment of magic from Adam Lallana saw him flick the ball over the head of Michael Dawson leaving him with a promising run at goal – though his shot was weak and straight into the arms of Lloris. Adebayor’s 60^th minute introduction in place of the totally anonymous Aaron Lennon seemed to breathe some life into the home side, with the striker getting involved in two decent looking attacks within the first 10 minutes of coming on.

The last few minutes finally saw the hosts engage in some sustained attacking play and with four minutes left to play, the 60 million pound man made his mark on proceedings. After receiving a pass from Kyle Walker on the right wing, the Welshman managed to cut inside Luke Shaw and send a piercing low drive past the keeper and into the far corner.

Writer’s Comment: They always say that the mark of a great team is that they can win even when they play badly – that’s exactly what Tottenham did today. They may have been pretty dire but at this stage of the season how you play is irrelevant as long as you get the points. The result has delayed the Southampton Premier League safety party a little longer than expected, however there is still a comfortable gap. And finally, a word on Gareth Bale. Over the course of the season he has not been as consistently brilliant as Luis Suarez or Van Persie, however, when he has been on top form he has outshone both. Today may not have been a vintage display from him but it was a decisive and crucial one.

Man Of The Match: Luke Shaw – The entire Southampton defence gave an accomplished performance but Shaw was exceptional. The 17 year-old was so effective that the experienced England international he was marking – Aaron Lennon – had to be substituted in the 60^th minute because he was unable to do anything against the young full back.