Joao Gomes double gives Wolves win at Tottenham once again
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Wolves' Joao Gomes celebrates with his teammates after winning the match.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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LONDON - Wolverhampton Wanderers put a dent in Tottenham Hotspur’s top-four ambitions as Joao Gomes scored twice in an impressive 2-1 away victory in the Premier League on Feb 17.
Brazilian Gomes headed Wolves in front shortly before halftime and struck again in the 63rd minute after Dejan Kulusevski had equalised immediately after the break.
It was Wolves’ fourth win in their last six Premier League games at Tottenham and completed the double this season after their victory at Molineux in October.
Defeat, combined with Aston Villa’s win at Fulham, dropped Tottenham down to fifth place with 47 points from 25 games.
Wolves moved into 10th with 35 points.
Poor as Tottenham were, much of the credit must go to a Wolves side who executed manager Gary O’Neil’s plan superbly.
“I thought we were near enough perfect today,” he said, revealing that Gomes was touch-and-go to be available after injuring his foot in training.
“I am proud of the group. It is a tough place to come and I think we deserved to win the game.”
Tottenham could have no real complaints as they missed the thrust of injured full backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, failing to force Wolves keeper Jose Sa into a first-half save.
“It was a similar to the last couple of games at home,” Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said after his side’s five-match unbeaten league run came to an end.
“We controlled the game well enough but were not threatening enough. For us to dominate games we need to start aggressively and put the opposition on the back foot. We didn’t do that.”
Wolves took the lead in the 42nd minute with a goal that summed up Tottenham’s afternoon.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Joao Gomes scores their first goal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Richarlison needlessly gave away a corner and when Pablo Sarabia swung in the delivery Gomes was unmarked to dispatch a header past the helpless Guglielmo Vicario.
Strange goal
Tottenham urgently needed a lift and got one just after the interval with a curious equaliser.
A throw-in was held up by Richarlison and the ball broke to Kulusevski who out-foxed Craig Dawson before prodding a shot past Sa from a narrow angle.
With the shackles off both sides the game opened up and Wolves were close to restoring their lead with Sarabia’s shot from Nelson Semedo’s pass well saved by Vicario while at the other end Kulusevski’s shot was turned around the post by Sa.
But Tottenham’s revival was fleeting and Wolves struck in devastating fashion with a 63rd-minute counter-attack.
Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma lost the ball on the edge of the Wolves area and Pedro Neto showed searing pace to maraud down the right wing before having the vision to cut back inside and pick out Gomes to smash a first-time effort past Vicario.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Joao Gomes scores their second goal past Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Postecoglou made a triple substitution around 20 minutes from time with Rodrigo Bentancur, Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson, who scored a last-gasp winner again Brighton and Hove Albion last week, sent on to try and salvage something.
But unlike the previous week they had nothing in the tank and it was Wolves who looked capable of extending their lead.
Tottenham’s best chance of an equaliser arrived deep in stoppage time when Ben Davies headed wide of a gaping goal. REUTERS
