Tottenham Hotspur (0) 2 v 0 (0) Chelsea
46 Skipp
82 Kane, assist Dier
Yellows: Emerson, Davies Havertz, Ziyech, Mount Ref. S Attwell
Played Sunday 26 February 2023 at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, attendance 61, 613.
It is facetious to call Harry Kane – a footballing phenomenon – a “local lad”, but he was born in Walthamstow and his fellow goal scorer Oliver Skipp in Welwyn Garden City. Skipp’s goal was his first for Tottenham Hotspur beating Chelsea’s Joao Felix to an attempted clearance by expensive Enzo Fernandes and rocketing the ball home from 20 yards. For Kane it was his 268th and now the 9th consecutive season in which he has scored 20 or more goals in all competitions for Spurs. Neither player cost a transfer fee, and they and their coaching staff have put in many hours of hard work and much trust has been invested in one another.
Where now for The Blues? They started brightly enough but never kept the home side under enough pressure to put the result in doubt. It is the first time they have conceded goals or lost points at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which must have caught their co-owner’s eye. Their biggest influence on the match was to involve on-field Referee Stuart Attwell in some more VAR controversy. He showed a Red card to Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech for pushing Spurs’ Emerson Royal, his hand slipping from shoulder to cheek after a foul by Kai Havertz on Richarlison. After 5 minutes VAR advised review and a Yellow card was given, rightly.
After the mid-week 5th Round FA Cup matches only Fulham are left to represent Premier London Derbies (PLDs) Clubs in the Quarter Finals. They beat Leeds United 2-0, while Tottenham Hotspur, starting with 3 forwards who had not played together all season, lost at EFL Championship Sheffield United (1-0), and West Ham United lost away to EFL (Carabao) Cup Winners Manchester United (3-1) after having taken the lead. It will be Manchester United v Fulham in the FA Cup Quarter Final tie on Saturday 18 March 2023.
Fulham will feature in our next PLDs match away to Brentford on Monday 6 March 2023. This fixture has not been played before, although at Craven Cottage early in the season it was an entertaining 3-2 home win. On Sunday 5 March 2023 it is the FA Women’s League Cup Final between Arsenal Women and Chelsea Women who met on Sunday 26 February in the Women’s FA Cup 5th Round. Chelsea Women won 2-0, so revenge may be afoot.
Until next time, “Keep Safe” and enjoy your football, Andrew at PLDs.