Tottenham 3-1 QPR: Daily Mirror match report
Published 22:05 30/10/11 By Darren Lewis
Tottenham were the beneficiaries of a nightmare week of chaotic preparation for their London rivals.
And Gareth Bale showed no mercy, shooting Spurs joint-third in this year’s fiercely contested battle for the Premier League’s highly-prized fourth place.
QPR boss Neil Warnock might have sent sparks flying in the visitors’ dressing room as he put his players on full blast at half-time.
But it was all to no avail as Spurs proved again they are a force to be reckoned with at home, having lost just one of their last 21 matches at White Hart Lane.
Arsenal might have enjoyed a resurgence and Liverpool may have had a bloodless victory at West Brom.
But only a fool would bet against Harry Redknapp’s men at the moment.
Some people at Spurs even believe third place is within their grasp, as Chelsea’s flirtation with sexy football continues to drop points.
The fall out from that YouTube clip involving John Terry and Anton Ferdinand last week will have been music to their ears as QPR found themselves plunged into the eye of a storm.
And, sure enough, Redknapp’s men were given such an easy start to this contest by the time Rangers had stirred into life it was crystal clear that they had left themselves far too much to do.
Special mention must go to Scott Parker who was simply outstanding in the Tottenham midfield. Spurs have not lost a Premier League game since his summer arrival.
QPR defender Ferdinand, meanwhile, did not play that badly at all after his seven days in the spotlight. It was just that Tottenham’s movement, industry and ingenuity were far superior.
The Hoops’ heads were dropping all over the pitch as Spurs bombarded their goal.
Keeper Paddy Kenny stopped the scoreline from becoming an embarrassment before many fans had even taken their seats, keeping out two efforts from Rafael Van der Vaart in the first three minutes.
Emmanuel Adebayor then let Rangers off the hook when he headed wide unmarked in the box, then mis-kicked from six yards.
Warnock’s men were defending deeper than a Joey Barton Twitter quote as Spurs kept up the pressure.
And they broke on 20 minutes with Bale finding the bottom corner with a diagonal effort from Aaron Lennon’s assist.
The Welshman, who last hit two 12 months ago, could have had a quickfire second just seven minutes later, had he not scooped a close-range effort over the bar.
Van der Vaart put things right, stopping a speculative Ledley King effort going wide and ramming the ball home himself.
Rangers were struggling for breath under the relentless pressure and only wayward finishing from the hosts prevented an exotic scoreline on another free-scoring Premier weekend.
Luka Modric, who had an outstanding game, powered a superb volley wide. And a fine team move ended with the little Croatian spearing off target.
Four minutes before half time, Adebayor burst free from the hapless Rangers defence, but chipped wide.
Cue the half-time coating from Warnock and the substitutions that would get them back into it.
Off went luxury/liability Adel Taarabt, along with veteran Shaun Derry. On came Jamie Mackie and striker Jay Bothroyd, finally putting Rangers on the front foot.
Spurs still had chances. Van der Vaart forced Kenny to save with his feet, and the Dutchman even tried a cheeky back-heel from a Bale ball into the box.
But QPR gave as good as they got and earned their reward when Bothroyd headed in from Barton’s cross on 61 minutes.
It got tasty from that point, taking on an air of the kind of game Spurs used to lose last year after having all the possession.
This term, however, they have far more cutting edge and Bale provided it with Spurs’ third.
Seven passes were exchanged to dissect the Rangers rearguard, the last four coming between Bale and Lennon, before the Welsh wizard let fly with a sensational effort into the top corner.
It was a goal so good it should have been preceded by a drum roll.
Spurs manager Redknapp was off his seat excitedly punching the air in jubilation, while opposite number Warnock just groaned in frustration.
Yet a second giant-killing, after Chelsea last week, was never on the cards for the Hoops.
