Booked: Malbranque, Jenas.

Goals: Gardner 26.

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Yobo, Stubbs, Lescott, Osman, Neville, Carsley, Arteta, Johnson, Anichebe (Jagielka 80).

Subs Not Used: Ruddy, McFadden, Nuno Valente, Pienaar.
 
Goals: Lescott 3, Osman 37, Stubbs 45.
 
White Hart Lane was packed to the rafters last night with a crowd full of expectancy for the first home game of the season. They wanted to see passion, ability and more importantly a victory. They got none of these. They expected their team to come out and banish the memory of Saturday's opening day shambles at Sunderland and put to the sword the team many see as their closest rivals outside of the traditional big four. It didn't happen, it just didn't happen. Before the game the supporters were singing and the rousing noise reverberated around the Lane only for Joleon Lescott's 3rd minute header to dampen the spirits immediately. at least they have 88 minutes to get back into the game. The dark cloud over White Hart Lane grew as new and very promising signing Younes Kaboul limped out of the action to add to MArtin Jol's defensive injury crisis. Within ten minutes of the substitution, much maligned centre half Anthony Gardner headed home Spurs' first goal of the campaign and after 116 minutes of the new campaign Spurs' supporters had something to cheer about. For ten minutes either side of Gardner's goal Spurs seemed to get into their rhythm and start to stroke the ball around nicely in the pouring rain only for Leon Osman great touch and finish to knock the stuffing out of the team and put Everton back in front. For the remainder of the first half the boys in white huffed and puffed only to be met by resolute Everton defending and a one goal deficit at half time looked likely. That was until Mark Halsey awarded Everton a very soft free kick 30 yards from Robinson's goal and Alan Stubbs duly blasted the ball home via the toe of Dider Zokora. 3-1 and the half time whistle blew. Sections of the support certainly let their team know how they felt as the players trooped off, heads bowed and shoulders hunched.
 
No changes were made at half time and it looked like Spurs were right back in the game when Dimitar Berbatov showed everyone a flash of last season's form with a great header that crashed against the upright and fell very unkindley for Darren Bent who couldn't capitalise. this near miss seemed to deflate Spurs even further and as the half wore on the crowd grew restless and the players seemed to drain of ideas and invention. Everton closed down, harried and stood up tall to anything Spurs tried to create and despite the introduction of Jermain Defoe and Wayne Routledge for his first league appearance for Spurs in 20 months, it just wasn't to be. A great save by Tim Howard from Defoe's snapshot was the last action of note in the Everton penalty area. Paul Robinson was called upon twice in the dying minutes to stop the lead being increased by the Evertonian strike force. The ground was two thirds empty when Mark Halsey blew the final whistle and a furious looking Martin Jol stormed down the tunnel after the briefest of handshakes with his counterpart David Moyes.
 
The team , support and management look low on confidence and this needs to be addressed with a win against newly promoted Derby on Saturday at White Hart Lane. The crowd will be noisy again on Saturday, letting our boys know we are their for them and we are behind them. They need to respond. They need to get at Derby and show passion and guile and get this season up and running with a bang. If Ledley King's post match summary and very glum face in the Sky Sports studio  is anything to go by, the players and management are hurting as much as we are after this latest setback.
 
It's never been easy being a Spurs fan, so it's not going to change now. Let's dust ourselves off, puff out our chest and remember that its a "Grand old team to play for, Its a grand old team to see" and hope that on Saturday our performance will once again make our "hearts go woah, oah, oah!"
 
COYS

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