Juande Ramos’ Midas touch in the UEFA Cup continued as he oversaw Tottenham Hotspur surmount a 2-0 half-time deficit to defeat Aalborg BK.
Ramos has won the tournament with Seville two years running; his new side are well placed to reach the knockout stages after a victory that looked very unlikely at one stage.
Aalborg out-battled and out-thought Spurs in the first half and were good value for their two goal lead. But Tottenham stormed back after the break, blitzing the opposition with three goals in 20 minutes. Second half goals from Dimitar Berbatov, the impressive Steed Malbranque and substitute Darren Bent sealed a 3-2 win.
White Hart Lane was stunned into silence after one minute and 50 seconds when Thomas Enevoldsen, the Aalborg striker, scored with a venomous shot from 20 yards. Collecting lifelong Spurs fan Martin Pedersen’s throw, he shrugged off a half-hearted challenge from Robbie Keane, the Tottenham captain, before rifling the ball past Paul Robinson’s despairing dive.
Spurs were tentative after this early setback and the ball broke down in central areas too often. Jermaine Jenas injected some pace into their play in the 15th minute when his driving run forced a corner, but the home side’s attacks were not as direct or as frequent as Aalborg’s.
As Tottenham’s frustrations grew, so too did the Danish side’s confidence and they began dictating play. Young Pyo Lee, playing in an unfamiliar right-back role, was caught napping as Rade Prica raided down the wing. Lee appeared to bundle him over in the penalty area, but the referee gave a corner.
Spurs did not heed this warning. In the 37th minute, Lee was again out of position and Prica took full advantage. He crossed accurately to Kasper Risgaard, who stabbed the ball in from three yards after getting in front of Michael Dawson.
Aalborg were playing their 19th game of their European campaign, having qualified through this season’s Intertoto Cup. They had won only two of their previous fixtures, drawing six. Yet their organised approach outwitted Tottenham’s unbalanced play in the first half.
Juande Ramos didn’t scream at his players at half-time; it appears this isn’t his style. “The most important thing is to explain things,” he said. “Not to shout at them, but to solve problems.”
He did this by introducing Darren Bent for the woeful Lee and Tom Huddlestone for Jermaine Jenas, who picked up an ankle injury. Huddlestone made an instant impact. After 39 second-half seconds, his subtle through-ball fed Dimitar Berbatov, who slid in to poke the ball past Aalborg goalkeeper Karin Zaza.
The visitors looked shell-shocked as Tottenham increased the tempo and tenacity of their play. Altering their formation to 4-3-3, with Bent joining Berbatov and Keane in a three-pronged attack and Didier Zokora slotting in front of a back three, rejuvenated the home side.
Berbatov revelled in the improved service he was given. After 50 minutes, he showed strength and hunger to power past two defenders before squaring the ball to Bent. His shot was blocked, but Keane calmly laid the rebound off to Steed Malbranque, who smashed it into the roof of the net.
Aalborg dropped deeper as they sought to steady themselves, but this only allowed Huddlestone to pull the strings in midfield. He was able to bring Spurs’ wide players, largely ineffective in the first half, into play. Malbranque probed intelligently on the left, while Aaron Lennon’s speed caused havoc on the right.
It was Lennon who created the winner for Bent, Ramos’ other inspired substitution. Gareth Bale’s free-kick was parried out to the diminutive winger and he drilled the ball to Bent who poached from four yards.
Their endeavour in the first 45 minutes had drained Aalborg’s energies and they lacked the guile to force an equaliser. Ramos’ half-time changes turned the match around. But the Spaniard is aware his side need to improve if they are to progress further in this competition and climb the Premier League.
“At the moment we are conceding too many chances,” he said. “We can’t rely on us scoring three goals each time.” With such sloppy defenders, he may have to, but with so many attacking options, they just might manage it.
Ramos has won the tournament with Seville two years running; his new side are well placed to reach the knockout stages after a victory that looked very unlikely at one stage.
Aalborg out-battled and out-thought Spurs in the first half and were good value for their two goal lead. But Tottenham stormed back after the break, blitzing the opposition with three goals in 20 minutes. Second half goals from Dimitar Berbatov, the impressive Steed Malbranque and substitute Darren Bent sealed a 3-2 win.
White Hart Lane was stunned into silence after one minute and 50 seconds when Thomas Enevoldsen, the Aalborg striker, scored with a venomous shot from 20 yards. Collecting lifelong Spurs fan Martin Pedersen’s throw, he shrugged off a half-hearted challenge from Robbie Keane, the Tottenham captain, before rifling the ball past Paul Robinson’s despairing dive.
Spurs were tentative after this early setback and the ball broke down in central areas too often. Jermaine Jenas injected some pace into their play in the 15th minute when his driving run forced a corner, but the home side’s attacks were not as direct or as frequent as Aalborg’s.
As Tottenham’s frustrations grew, so too did the Danish side’s confidence and they began dictating play. Young Pyo Lee, playing in an unfamiliar right-back role, was caught napping as Rade Prica raided down the wing. Lee appeared to bundle him over in the penalty area, but the referee gave a corner.
Spurs did not heed this warning. In the 37th minute, Lee was again out of position and Prica took full advantage. He crossed accurately to Kasper Risgaard, who stabbed the ball in from three yards after getting in front of Michael Dawson.
Aalborg were playing their 19th game of their European campaign, having qualified through this season’s Intertoto Cup. They had won only two of their previous fixtures, drawing six. Yet their organised approach outwitted Tottenham’s unbalanced play in the first half.
Juande Ramos didn’t scream at his players at half-time; it appears this isn’t his style. “The most important thing is to explain things,” he said. “Not to shout at them, but to solve problems.”
He did this by introducing Darren Bent for the woeful Lee and Tom Huddlestone for Jermaine Jenas, who picked up an ankle injury. Huddlestone made an instant impact. After 39 second-half seconds, his subtle through-ball fed Dimitar Berbatov, who slid in to poke the ball past Aalborg goalkeeper Karin Zaza.
The visitors looked shell-shocked as Tottenham increased the tempo and tenacity of their play. Altering their formation to 4-3-3, with Bent joining Berbatov and Keane in a three-pronged attack and Didier Zokora slotting in front of a back three, rejuvenated the home side.
Berbatov revelled in the improved service he was given. After 50 minutes, he showed strength and hunger to power past two defenders before squaring the ball to Bent. His shot was blocked, but Keane calmly laid the rebound off to Steed Malbranque, who smashed it into the roof of the net.
Aalborg dropped deeper as they sought to steady themselves, but this only allowed Huddlestone to pull the strings in midfield. He was able to bring Spurs’ wide players, largely ineffective in the first half, into play. Malbranque probed intelligently on the left, while Aaron Lennon’s speed caused havoc on the right.
It was Lennon who created the winner for Bent, Ramos’ other inspired substitution. Gareth Bale’s free-kick was parried out to the diminutive winger and he drilled the ball to Bent who poached from four yards.
Their endeavour in the first 45 minutes had drained Aalborg’s energies and they lacked the guile to force an equaliser. Ramos’ half-time changes turned the match around. But the Spaniard is aware his side need to improve if they are to progress further in this competition and climb the Premier League.
“At the moment we are conceding too many chances,” he said. “We can’t rely on us scoring three goals each time.” With such sloppy defenders, he may have to, but with so many attacking options, they just might manage it.
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