Sunderland v Tottenham | John Ashdown:
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53 min: Bardsley chips a free-kick boxwards from halfway, but it's utterly aimless.
51 min: Cattermole gives the ball away horribly on the edge of his own box, but some scrambling defending gets him off the hook.
49 min: Sandro gives the ball away, but like a typewriter whose shift button is broken, Bendtner can't capitalise.
48 min: Spurs start on the front foot, but Sunderland are sitting back, and denying the visitors space for their preferred fast-breaking approach.
46 min: Hesitant defending from Spurs allows Sessegnon to prod goalwards. It's a weak effort, though.
Peep! Off we go again.
Half-time email dept.
"The two Ullevi arenas in Gothenburg would need an asa-priest and some form of sacrificial offering to live up to their name," writes Jesper Haglund. "And Camp Nou would have to be torn down and rebuilt."
"Fluminense's ground is/was called Laranjeiras, which, along with being my favourite word in any language, means "orange grove" in Portuguese," writes Simon Frank. "Surely that wouldn't be too difficult to arrange?"
"Now, were I in MoN's position, I'd take off Gardner and bring on Richardson at left back, moving Colback into central midfield," Chas Marshall. "Gardner's been ineffective, Richardson would give us a bit more pace and width, and Colback has been pretty enterprising in recent weeks."
Half-time listening dept.
Peep! Spurs end the half on the front foot, with the ball pinballing around the Sunderland box, but there's no way through. This could go either way in the second half.
44 min: This is drifting towards half-time now. "How about the Parc Des Princes?" suggests Simon Frank. "All we need is for one of William/Harry to show up, plus the mighty Minneapolis one, who could sport a Tottenham away shirt, to keep it current."
42 min: Tottenham get back on the front foot after the best part of 10 minutes of Sunderland pressure. Van der Vaart gets a sight of goal after Modric's run is blocked, but Kilgallon makes a fine block.
40 min: Larsson curls in another free-kick that screams "HEAD ME IN!! HEAD ME IN!!" masochisticly. Instead Tottenham head over. Corner. Nodded over by Bendtner.
38 min: McClean's defleceted low cross escapes under the boot of Sessegnon.
36 min: Modric pitching-wedges a free-kick into the box, but Sunderland have defended very well thus far. The resurrection of Matt Kilgannon's career is one of O'Neill's most remarkable feats.
35 min: "What about the Sports Direct Arena?" suggests Mark Guthrie. "For that to live up to its name it would need to be full of overweight, half-drunken, nylon clad... Oh, hang on. (I'm a Newcastle fan, so it's allowed!)"
33 min: Sunderland with some concerted pressure for the first time in the game. Kilgallon almost wraps his foot around a close range effort, then from the corner Gardner nods a header at goal that is so soft it probably moisterised Friedel's hands as he grabbed it.
32 min: Sandro gets away with one as Sunderland break. Sessegnon almost picks his pocket on halfway, but the Brazilian stretches out a toe and gets the tinieist of touches on the ball to snuff out the attack.
31 min: "Underhill is mainly uphill," notes Phil Booth. "And the Emirates could do with a couple more hereditary federal administrations to join in. Maybe they should bring in Tufnell Park." Tottenham corner … nodded clear once more.
30 min: Colback's passback just has the legs to reach Mignolet with Adebayor closing down fast.
29 min: "Of course if he was not a very good huntsman, or one troubled by a vegetarian conscience, his aim may stray and he could just end up with White Hart Lame," writes comedy's Robin Hazlehurst. "I'm here all week, try the venison."
27 min: Colback, filling in at left-back, makes a solid tackle on Walker as the full-back charges forward. This is smouldering rather than on-fire at the moment.
26 min: … nodded clear by Walker. "The City Ground, home, as I'm sure you're all aware, of Nottingham Forest is located yards outside the city of Nottingham's borders, just the wrong side of the Trent," writes Ben List. "Notts County's name is technically wrong too." Nothing a few wild flowers and a field mouse or two couldn't sort out.
25 min: … Larsson fizzes it in, headed out for a corner. Then another …
24 min: McClean skitters past Walker – that's a match-up of two speedsters – and the Tottenham man brings him down. Foy keeps his cards in his pocket. But a nice attacking base for the Black Cats …
22 min: Adebayor gets a sight of goal, but Turner is quick to make the block. "Plymouth's Home Park?" suggests John Phillips. "Can't live up to its name unless somebody moves in."
21 min: Bendtner spins and twizzles 40 yards from goal – his own goal – and loses the ball. Then concedes a free-kick with a hefty challenge on Parker.
19 min: "Surely a huntsman would be more likely to remove a hart from somewhere than to put it there or keep it there (except perhaps his dinner table)," writes Robin Hazlehurst. "Wouldn't a gamekeeper or zoo warden or James Herriot be more to the point?" Hmm. Possibly. Any other grounds needing outside help to live up to their name?
17 min: Sandro, who either has vivid yellow and green teeth or, more likely, is wearing a gumshield (not sure I've ever seen that before), wins a corner. Van der Vaart swings it deep and wide of the far post.
16 min: Sunderland swing in a corner, Friedel grabs it at the second or third attempt.
15 min: 75% possession for Spurs in the opening 15 minutes, but Swansea v Newcastle proved yesterday that that's an over-rated stat.
13 min: … whipped in deliciously by Van der Vaart, and Adebayor, with the freedom of the six yard box, should probably do better than head straight into the arm of Bardsley. The Togolese's penalty appeals are optimistic.
12 min: McClean trips Walker down the Tottenham right. Danergous set-piece this …
11 min: Modric spanks a shot at goal but Mignolet gathers with ease.
10 min: "re: White Hart Lane not living up to its name without help of a huntsman," writes London_Dog on Twitter. "Surely that should be pub." Well, to be fair, the pub's are named after the animal, rather than the other way round (or at least, that's my understanding).
8 min: Bale goes flying under challenge from Bardsley. The Sunderland man 'likes a tackle', but Bale rather made the most of that.
6 min: Gardner swings a widely wild shot wildly wide of Brad Friedel's goal.
4 min: The Hair Bear Bunch's Assou-Ekotto spanks a shot narrowly wide from distance. And still Spurs press.
3 min: Spurs are sporting a lopsided formation – they're narrow on the right with Van der Vaart drifting inside, but have plenty of width on the left with Bale.
2 min: Sunderland have barely had a touch in the opening couple of minutes
PEEP! Off we go. Sunderland in stripes, Spurs in that lilac effort.
Pre-match email dept. "Sunderland have been inconsistent lately," writes Chas Marshall. "Terrible against Everton, superb against City. If they play today like they did last week, our 'friends' in Newcastle will be celebrating at 2:30. Can't remember the last time the Mags wanted us to win."
Click-clack, click-clack … and out come the teams into the sunshine. Stadium of Light living up to its name today, something that White Hart Lane will never able to do without the help of a huntsman.
The teams are already in:
Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Turner, Kilgallon, Colback, Larsson, Gardner, Cattermole, McClean, Sessegnon, Bendtner. Subs: Westwood, Bridge, Richardson, Vaughan, Ji, Meyler, Kyrgiakos.
Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Van der Vaart, Sandro, Parker, Modric, Bale, Adebayor. Subs: Cudicini, Lennon, Saha, Defoe, Kranjcar, Livermore, Nelsen.
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)
Sunderland captain and walking booking Lee Cattermole had been a doubt pre-match, but he seems to have recovered from his knee injury sufficiently to start. Aaron Lennon is on the bench for Spurs, somewhat surprisingly.
Afternoon all. Pressure. Pres·sure [presh-er] noun, verb, -sured, -sur·ing.
noun
• the exertion of force upon a surface by an object, fluid, etc., in contact with it: the pressure of earth against a wall.
• Physics . force per unit area. Symbol: P Compare stress ( def. 6 ) .
• Meteorology . atmospheric pressure.
• Electricity . electromotive force.
• the state of being pressed or compressed.
• harassment; oppression: the pressures of daily life.
• a constraining or compelling force or influence: the social pressures of city life; financial pressure.
• urgency, as of affairs or business: He works well under pressure.
verb (used with object)
• to force (someone) toward a particular end; influence: They pressured him into accepting the contract.
Yep, this one is all about pressure. Newcastle have poured in on Spurs with their win over Swansea on Good Friday, now Spurs can slather it over Arsenal with a win at the Stadium of Light.
That's far from a given, though. Sunderland have lost on home soil only once since November, should've completed a double over Manchester City last weekend, and are playing with the verve and swagger of brash young pop stars. You know, REO Speedwagon, Norman Greenbaum and the rest of the popular beat combos the kids are listening to today.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
• Press F5 to refresh this page or use our auto-refresher
• Email your thoughts to john.ashdown@guardian.co.uk
• Or send it to him via Twitter – @John_Ashdown
• All the latest scores from around the UK and Europe
• And click here for all the stats/tables you will ever need
53 min: Bardsley chips a free-kick boxwards from halfway, but it's utterly aimless.
51 min: Cattermole gives the ball away horribly on the edge of his own box, but some scrambling defending gets him off the hook.
49 min: Sandro gives the ball away, but like a typewriter whose shift button is broken, Bendtner can't capitalise.
48 min: Spurs start on the front foot, but Sunderland are sitting back, and denying the visitors space for their preferred fast-breaking approach.
46 min: Hesitant defending from Spurs allows Sessegnon to prod goalwards. It's a weak effort, though.
Peep! Off we go again.
Half-time email dept.
"The two Ullevi arenas in Gothenburg would need an asa-priest and some form of sacrificial offering to live up to their name," writes Jesper Haglund. "And Camp Nou would have to be torn down and rebuilt."
"Fluminense's ground is/was called Laranjeiras, which, along with being my favourite word in any language, means "orange grove" in Portuguese," writes Simon Frank. "Surely that wouldn't be too difficult to arrange?"
"Now, were I in MoN's position, I'd take off Gardner and bring on Richardson at left back, moving Colback into central midfield," Chas Marshall. "Gardner's been ineffective, Richardson would give us a bit more pace and width, and Colback has been pretty enterprising in recent weeks."
Half-time listening dept.
Peep! Spurs end the half on the front foot, with the ball pinballing around the Sunderland box, but there's no way through. This could go either way in the second half.
44 min: This is drifting towards half-time now. "How about the Parc Des Princes?" suggests Simon Frank. "All we need is for one of William/Harry to show up, plus the mighty Minneapolis one, who could sport a Tottenham away shirt, to keep it current."
42 min: Tottenham get back on the front foot after the best part of 10 minutes of Sunderland pressure. Van der Vaart gets a sight of goal after Modric's run is blocked, but Kilgallon makes a fine block.
40 min: Larsson curls in another free-kick that screams "HEAD ME IN!! HEAD ME IN!!" masochisticly. Instead Tottenham head over. Corner. Nodded over by Bendtner.
38 min: McClean's defleceted low cross escapes under the boot of Sessegnon.
36 min: Modric pitching-wedges a free-kick into the box, but Sunderland have defended very well thus far. The resurrection of Matt Kilgannon's career is one of O'Neill's most remarkable feats.
35 min: "What about the Sports Direct Arena?" suggests Mark Guthrie. "For that to live up to its name it would need to be full of overweight, half-drunken, nylon clad... Oh, hang on. (I'm a Newcastle fan, so it's allowed!)"
33 min: Sunderland with some concerted pressure for the first time in the game. Kilgallon almost wraps his foot around a close range effort, then from the corner Gardner nods a header at goal that is so soft it probably moisterised Friedel's hands as he grabbed it.
32 min: Sandro gets away with one as Sunderland break. Sessegnon almost picks his pocket on halfway, but the Brazilian stretches out a toe and gets the tinieist of touches on the ball to snuff out the attack.
31 min: "Underhill is mainly uphill," notes Phil Booth. "And the Emirates could do with a couple more hereditary federal administrations to join in. Maybe they should bring in Tufnell Park." Tottenham corner … nodded clear once more.
30 min: Colback's passback just has the legs to reach Mignolet with Adebayor closing down fast.
29 min: "Of course if he was not a very good huntsman, or one troubled by a vegetarian conscience, his aim may stray and he could just end up with White Hart Lame," writes comedy's Robin Hazlehurst. "I'm here all week, try the venison."
27 min: Colback, filling in at left-back, makes a solid tackle on Walker as the full-back charges forward. This is smouldering rather than on-fire at the moment.
26 min: … nodded clear by Walker. "The City Ground, home, as I'm sure you're all aware, of Nottingham Forest is located yards outside the city of Nottingham's borders, just the wrong side of the Trent," writes Ben List. "Notts County's name is technically wrong too." Nothing a few wild flowers and a field mouse or two couldn't sort out.
25 min: … Larsson fizzes it in, headed out for a corner. Then another …
24 min: McClean skitters past Walker – that's a match-up of two speedsters – and the Tottenham man brings him down. Foy keeps his cards in his pocket. But a nice attacking base for the Black Cats …
22 min: Adebayor gets a sight of goal, but Turner is quick to make the block. "Plymouth's Home Park?" suggests John Phillips. "Can't live up to its name unless somebody moves in."
21 min: Bendtner spins and twizzles 40 yards from goal – his own goal – and loses the ball. Then concedes a free-kick with a hefty challenge on Parker.
19 min: "Surely a huntsman would be more likely to remove a hart from somewhere than to put it there or keep it there (except perhaps his dinner table)," writes Robin Hazlehurst. "Wouldn't a gamekeeper or zoo warden or James Herriot be more to the point?" Hmm. Possibly. Any other grounds needing outside help to live up to their name?
17 min: Sandro, who either has vivid yellow and green teeth or, more likely, is wearing a gumshield (not sure I've ever seen that before), wins a corner. Van der Vaart swings it deep and wide of the far post.
16 min: Sunderland swing in a corner, Friedel grabs it at the second or third attempt.
15 min: 75% possession for Spurs in the opening 15 minutes, but Swansea v Newcastle proved yesterday that that's an over-rated stat.
13 min: … whipped in deliciously by Van der Vaart, and Adebayor, with the freedom of the six yard box, should probably do better than head straight into the arm of Bardsley. The Togolese's penalty appeals are optimistic.
12 min: McClean trips Walker down the Tottenham right. Danergous set-piece this …
11 min: Modric spanks a shot at goal but Mignolet gathers with ease.
10 min: "re: White Hart Lane not living up to its name without help of a huntsman," writes London_Dog on Twitter. "Surely that should be pub." Well, to be fair, the pub's are named after the animal, rather than the other way round (or at least, that's my understanding).
8 min: Bale goes flying under challenge from Bardsley. The Sunderland man 'likes a tackle', but Bale rather made the most of that.
6 min: Gardner swings a widely wild shot wildly wide of Brad Friedel's goal.
4 min: The Hair Bear Bunch's Assou-Ekotto spanks a shot narrowly wide from distance. And still Spurs press.
3 min: Spurs are sporting a lopsided formation – they're narrow on the right with Van der Vaart drifting inside, but have plenty of width on the left with Bale.
2 min: Sunderland have barely had a touch in the opening couple of minutes
PEEP! Off we go. Sunderland in stripes, Spurs in that lilac effort.
Pre-match email dept. "Sunderland have been inconsistent lately," writes Chas Marshall. "Terrible against Everton, superb against City. If they play today like they did last week, our 'friends' in Newcastle will be celebrating at 2:30. Can't remember the last time the Mags wanted us to win."
Click-clack, click-clack … and out come the teams into the sunshine. Stadium of Light living up to its name today, something that White Hart Lane will never able to do without the help of a huntsman.
The teams are already in:
Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Turner, Kilgallon, Colback, Larsson, Gardner, Cattermole, McClean, Sessegnon, Bendtner. Subs: Westwood, Bridge, Richardson, Vaughan, Ji, Meyler, Kyrgiakos.
Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Van der Vaart, Sandro, Parker, Modric, Bale, Adebayor. Subs: Cudicini, Lennon, Saha, Defoe, Kranjcar, Livermore, Nelsen.
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)
Sunderland captain and walking booking Lee Cattermole had been a doubt pre-match, but he seems to have recovered from his knee injury sufficiently to start. Aaron Lennon is on the bench for Spurs, somewhat surprisingly.
Afternoon all. Pressure. Pres·sure [presh-er] noun, verb, -sured, -sur·ing.
noun
• the exertion of force upon a surface by an object, fluid, etc., in contact with it: the pressure of earth against a wall.
• Physics . force per unit area. Symbol: P Compare stress ( def. 6 ) .
• Meteorology . atmospheric pressure.
• Electricity . electromotive force.
• the state of being pressed or compressed.
• harassment; oppression: the pressures of daily life.
• a constraining or compelling force or influence: the social pressures of city life; financial pressure.
• urgency, as of affairs or business: He works well under pressure.
verb (used with object)
• to force (someone) toward a particular end; influence: They pressured him into accepting the contract.
Yep, this one is all about pressure. Newcastle have poured in on Spurs with their win over Swansea on Good Friday, now Spurs can slather it over Arsenal with a win at the Stadium of Light.
That's far from a given, though. Sunderland have lost on home soil only once since November, should've completed a double over Manchester City last weekend, and are playing with the verve and swagger of brash young pop stars. You know, REO Speedwagon, Norman Greenbaum and the rest of the popular beat combos the kids are listening to today.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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