Brilliant Norwich leave Spurs in a panic

Tottenham 1 Norwich City 2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR have felt the breath of their rivals getting hotter and hotter in recent weeks …

Tottenham 1 Norwich City 2TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR have felt the breath of their rivals getting hotter and hotter in recent weeks and after this, they could also feel the flush of panic. Towards the end of February, the club looked set to swagger their way into next season's Champions League. Nothing is certain now. Fluttering nerves abound.

Harry Redknapp’s players could not even fall back on excuses. They were second best in all areas to a Norwich City team who, in the words of their manager Paul Lambert, produced the “best performance” of his three-year tenure. From the front, where Grant Holt and Aaron Wilbraham bullied Tottenham’s defenders, to the back, where the goalkeeper John Ruddy made a breath-taking save to deny Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Lambert’s men covered themselves in glory.

The volume of the boos from the home crowd at full-time told their own story. It might be mere coincidence that Spurs have won only two league games since February 8th, the date that Fabio Capello became England’s ex-manager and Redknapp was installed as heir apparent. But nobody can argue that Tottenham have picked an inopportune time to falter.

They looked laboured and, despite a flicker at the start of the second half when Assou-Ekotto was thwarted and Gareth Bale curled a shot against the crossbar, there was the sense that Norwich were the likelier winners.

READ MORE

They took the points with a glorious goal, one that Elliott Bennett will never forget. The winger hit a 20-yard drive so sweetly that it fairly fizzed past Brad Friedel into the far corner. It was Bennett’s first goal in the Premier League. He might never score a better one.

It sent Lambert punching the air. Earlier, he had looked close to punching the fourth official when Holt was denied what seemed a clear penalty just before Spurs scored. But in a season where his team have confounded expectations, he later permitted himself a moment of satisfied reflection.

“If you sit back and analyse it, it’s ridiculous what’s happened,” Lambert said. “To beat Tottenham in their own back yard is incredible. I couldn’t even spell Tottenham three years ago. Collectively, we were brilliant.”

Tottenham mustered a reply to Anthony Pilkington’s early goal through Jermain Defoe yet his ice-cool finish was a rare moment of class. After Bennett’s strike, they had no answers. Heads appeared to drop. Even Redknapp sounded happy to reappraise targets.

“We’d settle for finishing fourth,” he said. “It would be lovely to finish above Arsenal . . . but it’s still all to play for.”

Guardian Service

TOTTENHAM: Friedel, Walker, Kaboul (Nelsen 45), King, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Livermore (Van der Vaart 71), Modric, Bale, Saha (Adebayor 46), Defoe. Subs not used: Cudicini, Kranjcar, Rose, Sandro. Booked: Walker.

NORWICH: Ruddy, Martin, R Bennett, Ward, Drury, E Bennett, Howson, Johnson, Pilkington (Surman 72), Holt (Morison 69), Wilbraham (Jackson 79). Subs not used: Steer, Crofts, Hoolahan, Barnett. Booked: Johnson, E Bennett.

Referee: M Oliver (Northumberland).