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A Month in
the Illustrious History of Spurs FEBRUARY(Compiled by |
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1st 2003 |
Chelsea |
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2nd 1987 |
Spurs 5
West Ham United 0 This League Cup Replay, following
a 1-1 draw the previous week, saw Spurs produce a top class performance with
Ardiles and Hoddle in control, producing some very attractive football. After six minutes Ardiles found Claesen who
scored and from then on, Spurs dominated the game but it was not until the 71st
minute that they increased their lead with a Hoddle shot from 20 yards. In
the last ten minutes Clive Allen came into his own, completing a hat-trick
including a penalty after a foul on his cousin, Paul Allen. This is a game often remembered by those
present and set up a two-leg semi-final clash with |
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3rd 1960 |
Spurs
13 |
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4th |
Spurs 2
Leicester City 3 The ‘Double’ winning season included many records and this
game marked the first home defeat suffered by the team. Spurs had won all but two of those thirteen
League games but this game proved one too many. Leicester took the lead after
thirty minutes. Allen equalised within
five minutes but City scored again three minutes later. Immediately after half time, Spurs were
level through a Blanchflower penalty but when Leicester regained the lead,
Spurs were unable to reply. Although
suffering their second defeat in three games, Spurs were still eight points
ahead of Wolves with Sheffield Wednesday third. |
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5th |
Spurs 0
Everton 0 This Screen Sport Super Cup
Semi-Final clash attracted an attendance of 7,548. The competition had been
organised for the European qualifiers following the ban on English clubs in
Europe. Pointless matches, which did
not attract any interest from spectators, saw Spurs progress to this stage
after two victories over Southampton and two defeats to Liverpool. Having
drawn this first leg Spurs lost the second leg by three goals to one after
extra time. The only point worthy of note from the competition was the
re-appearance of Pat Jennings in a Spurs shirt for the previous game against
Liverpool. |
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6th |
Spurs 6
Wolverhampton
Wanderers 1 This game marked the official
opening of the new West Stand with Sir Stanley Rous, the former President of
FIFA, performing the ceremony. Spurs
celebrated in style as they over ran a poor Wolves team which was to be
relegated at the end of the season.
Ricky Villa rose to the occasion again and scored a hat-trick. Glenn
Hoddle scored the first from a penalty and then Villa added the second, before
Wolves scored on half-time. In the
second half Villa scored two more while Garth Crooks and Mark Falco completed
the scoring. |
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7th |
Spurs 3
Derby County 5 (aet) For
some dates it is difficult even with over 100 years of history to find a
match of note to record but for this date we are spoiled for choice. There
were the four goals in 4 minutes 44 seconds against Southampton in 1993 or
the 2001Cup fight back at Charlton as well as this 4th Round
Replay. With less than ten minutes to
go, Spurs were comfortably looking forward to the 5th Round. They were 3-1 ahead after goals from Martin
Chivers, Alan Gilzean and a penalty from Mike England when Derby’s lanky
centre forward, Roger Davies, took over completing a hat-trick in extra time
to leave Spurs’ Cup dreams over for another year. |
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8th 1987 |
Arsenal 0 Spurs 1 Spurs went into this game with a record of only two defeats
in their previous 12 games, the last one having been at home to Arsenal in
early January. Spurs had progressed in both Cup competitions and in this
Littlewoods Cup Semi-Final 1st leg game both teams started
cautiously. Once Clive Allen had scored his 34th goal of the
season towards the end of the first half, Spurs dominated the match and could
have put the tie beyond doubt. Spurs
class and performance were summed up in a quote from the Independent
newspaper; ‘No attacking side can be more difficult to deal with than Spurs
at the moment.’ |
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9th |
Spurs 1
Preston North End 1 This
was the first ever F.A.Cup tie at White Hart Lane and had been delayed
following the death of Queen Victoria.
Spurs, Southern League Champions, were drawn in the 1st
Round against the team who had defeated them at the same stage the previous
year. Preston were to be relegated from the 1st Division at the
end of the season but they went ahead within half an hour and looked set to
progress until Spurs scored with nine minutes remaining. The goal was scored by Sandy Brown from a
cross by Jack Kirwan, finally beating the Preston goalkeeper who had had an
outstanding game. Few gave Spurs much hope of producing a result from the
replay. |
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10th 2001 |
Manchester
City 0 Spurs 1 This game marked the fifth
consecutive Premiership match in which Spurs kept a clean sheet. The goal scored by Rebrov in the 89th
minute was the first in the same period and brought Spurs their first away
win of the season. Neil Sullivan and
Ian Walker shared the goalkeeping spotlight for these matches with Walker
appearing twice due to Sullivan’s suspension having been sent off in the
first game of the New Year. While the
team was sound defensively the overall performances left much to be desired. |
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11th |
Spurs 4
Fulham 2. An entertaining game which saw Spurs take
an early lead through Alan Gilzean.
Fulham equalised, only for Jimmy Greaves to restore Spurs lead. Before
half time Fulham scored their second.
Also at the end of the first half, an incident involving Terry
Venables and Callaghan of Fulham resulted in both players being sent
off. Two second half goals from Cliff
Jones gave Spurs victory and completed their third ‘double’ of the
season. Venables claimed that it was a
minor incident that got blown out of all proportion because other players
started interfering. |
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12th |
Spurs 4
Burnley 3 An amazing 4th Round
F.A.Cup match saw Spurs come through a very difficult tie. They were two down early on and were
trailing 2-3 with only minutes to go but Spurs survived thanks to a great
performance from Alan Gilzean who scored a brilliant hat-trick and a goal
from Frank Saul. Spurs progress in the
Cup was halted at Preston in the next Round, going down by two goals to one. |
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13th |
Preston
North End 2 Spurs 4 Having
failed to win at White Hart Lane; Spurs were given little chance of surviving
this F.A.Cup 1st Round Replay.
However, Spurs played with greater urgency, going ahead within six
minutes from a goal by John Cameron, their Secretary/Manager. Two further
goals from Sandy Brown gave Spurs a comfortable half-time lead. Preston
scored in the second half but Brown completed his hat-trick and although
scoring again, Preston were well beaten. The first stage of a memorable and
historic Cup campaign had been successfully completed by the non-League team. |
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14th |
Halifax Town 0 Spurs 3 A difficult 5th Round
F.A.Cup tie was anticipated as Halifax, in the old 3rd Division
(North), had overcome two 1st Division sides, Cardiff and Stoke,
in the previous rounds. The match was
in doubt due to overnight snow but the pitch was cleared sufficiently for it
to proceed although the pitch had to be marked out in blue dye. The first half was very close and remained
goalless but after half time Spurs started to take control. Within ten minutes Spurs scored through
Bennett and although the home team rallied, Spurs were encouraged and went
further ahead when Duquemin scored.
Duquemin had a goal disallowed and then two minutes later Bennett
scored his second to give Spurs a convincing victory in difficult conditions.
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15th 1969 |
Queens Park
Rangers 1 Spurs
1 Earlier in the
month Spurs had signed Roger Morgan, a left winger from Q.P.R. for £110,000,
equalling the highest cash transfer fee between English clubs. Roger and his
identical twin, Ian, had helped Q.P.R. gain promotion to the 1st
Division and had played all their football together. At the end of January
Spurs had defeated Q.P.R. at White Hart Lane in a game re-arranged from
November because of heavy rain. After
signing, Roger Morgan had been unable to play in Spurs next match, as he was
cup-tied so his debut was at Loftus Road against his former club and facing
his twin brother. The match was close
and finished all square with Spurs goal being scored by Jimmy Greaves, his 30th
of the season. |
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16th |
Wimbledon 0 Spurs 1 There have been few really successful evenings for
Spurs supporters to remember in the last two decades but this is one of
them. A single goal from Steffan
Iversen in the Worthington Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg match was
sufficient to secure a place in the Final at Wembley. Spurs and Wimbledon had
played a series of five League and Cup games through January and February and
all had been very close. Having drawn 0-0 in the 1st Leg, this was
the really important one with a place in the Final at stake. Spurs showed
great resolve and the second half goal was well deserved. The players held on through a frantic final
few minutes and then the fans swarmed onto the pitch to join in the
celebrations. |
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17th 1962 |
West Bromwich
2 Spurs 4 In their efforts to retain the F.A.Cup the 5th
Round draw required Spurs to travel to the Midlands to face West Brom. A difficult match was expected but Spurs
started well and Bobby Smith scored after 8 minutes. The game was fast and exciting with both goalkeepers
busy and the second goal didn’t come
until a minute before half-time with Smith scoring again. Three minutes into the second half W.B.A.
scored but in the 75th minute Jimmy Greaves restored the two goal
advantage. This was short lived as
four minutes later West Brom scored again. In a tense finale, Greaves scored
his second a minute from time. |
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18th |
Norwich
City 1 Spurs 0 Spurs must have expected to
progress to the next Round when drawn at home to 3rd Division
Norwich who were the season’s giant killers.
Norwich had defeated Manchester United and Cardiff but no one expected
them to win at Tottenham. They didn’t
although they nearly did! Having taken
the lead in the second half Spurs equalised through Cliff Jones with 40
seconds remaining. In the replay Spurs started brightly but a fanatical home
crowd urged on Norwich who scored the only goal in the 63rd minute
for a deserved victory. Norwich progressed to the semi-final that year. |
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19th |
Everton 2 Spurs 0 All good things must come to an end
and so it proved in the 5th Round match at Goodison Park. After over two seasons undefeated in the
F.A.Cup Spurs went out rather tamely to Everton. In winning the Cup for the two previous
seasons Spurs had played 18 games, winning 14 and being taken to 4 Replays
including both Finals against Manchester City and Q.P.R. An under strength team, lacking some of
their top players through inevitable injury, even then, gave a rather
lack-lustre performance to surrender their hold of the Cup they had won so
magnificently in the previous two seasons. |
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20th 1993 |
Spurs 4
Leeds United 0 This
was to be Terry Venables last season in charge of Spurs. He was putting together a promising team of
experienced and younger players which was playing exciting, entertaining
football as they won six consecutive League and Cup games. Teddy Sheringham
who had been signed at the beginning of the season scored in the 9th
minute and added his second before half-time.
Neil Ruddock then added a third and Sheringham completed his first
hat-trick for the Club with a penalty to give Spurs their best League win of
the season, revenge for a five goal defeat at Elland Road in August. Team
work and the enthusiasm and skill of Nicky Barmby and Darren Anderton clearly
demonstrated the entertaining style that had the fans believing that the good
times were about to return to White Hart Lane. |
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21st |
Wrexham 2 Spurs 3 Spurs were finding it difficult to
re-establish themselves in the 1st Division having won promotion
the previous year. Progress in the Cup
was also being achieved the hard way, as they had needed a replay to overcome
non-League, Altrincham in the previous Round.
Again, drawn at home in the 4th Round, Wrexham proved
equally as difficult, earning a deserved 3-3 draw at White Hart Lane. The
replay went to extra time and Spurs can be grateful to an unlikely hero in
Chris Jones who scored a hat-trick to secure victory. This was Spurs second hat-trick in
consecutive replays. |
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22nd 1937 |
Spurs 4
Everton 3 The match in Liverpool had seen Spurs score through Jimmy
McCormick with five minutes remaining, only for Everton, who were in the 1st
Division, to equalise in the last minute.
The 5th Round Replay, on the following Monday, surpassed
that for excitement as Spurs looked to be going out of the Cup until a
dramatic comeback. The pitch had been
flooded and conditions were poor but Everton took control and went into a two
goal lead. Spurs scored through Johnny
Morrison in the 27th minute but in the second half after a
Morrison ‘goal’ was disallowed, Everton extended their lead. With seven
minutes remaining, Everton were awarded a penalty but the referee changed his
decision as Everton had taken a throw-in incorrectly. A minute later Morrison
scored Spurs second, then with two minutes remaining Joe Meek equalised with
a great solo goal and in the last minute Morrison scored the winner. A Cup Classic witnessed by 46,972
spectators. |
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23rd |
Spurs 2
Bury 1 Spurs were drawn against the Cup holders and as a
non-League team were not expected to progress to the next Round. The match started badly for them conceding
a goal in the second minute. However,
in spite of Bury’s domination, they gradually managed to get themselves back
into the game thanks to a fine display from goalkeeper Clawley and a Sandy
Brown equaliser in the 30th minute, against the run of play. In
the second half Spurs started to take more control and went ahead with a
second goal from Brown, his sixth in the competition. Bury fought back but Spurs had made it into
the next round. |
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24th 2002 |
Spurs 1
Blackburn Rovers 2 [ |
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25th |
Aston
Villa 0 Spurs 1 In the first match at |
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26th |
Spurs 4
Dukla Prague 1 A goal down from the first leg, Spurs
returned to European Cup football at White Hart Lane determined to proceed to
the next round. The pitch was covered
with snow but Spurs attacking flair over-powered the Czechs. The match was virtually decided after
fifteen minutes as Bobby Smith and Dave Mackay had scored to wipe out the
first leg deficit. At the start of the second half a mistake by the Spurs
defence allowed the visitors to score and level on aggregate, but Smith and
Mackay continued their domination with two goals in a minute, one each, to
see Spurs into the semi-finals. |
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27th |
Aston
Villa 0 Spurs 2 [League Cup Final at Wembley] Spurs were playing in their first
League Cup Final against 3rd Division Villa, not as easy a task as
could have been expected. Villa made
it difficult for Spurs but they eventually came through thanks to two
excellent goals late in the second half. With twelve minutes remaining,
Martin Chivers scored against the run of play and then three minutes later
added a second. Bill Nicholson had
produced another winning team that was about to uphold the Spurs tradition of
Cup success in the coming years at home and in Europe. Jennings; Kinnear,
Knowles; Mullery (Capt), Collins,
Beal: Gilzean, Perryman, Chivers, Peters, Neighbour. Sub: Pearce. |
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28th |
Nottingham
Forest 2 Spurs 2 Nine days earlier this F.A.Cup 5th Round tie was
abandoned after 15 minutes because of snow. At the second attempt, Forest
took an early fourth minute lead but Spurs managed to equalise through Chris
Armstrong on eight minutes. Armstrong’s second goal after 28 minutes put
Spurs ahead before succumbing to a second superbly struck free-kick in the 72nd
minute to take the tie to a replay at White Hart Lane on the Saturday of the
6th Round matches. |
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29th 1964 |
Birmingham
City 1 Spurs 2 This is the last occasion that
Spurs played on this unusual date. A First Division game at St. Andrews saw
Spurs take the two points through goals from Jones and a Greaves’
penalty. This was a transitional
period after the ‘Double’ and Nicholson’s next successful team. Danny Blanchflower was about to retire
through injury, Dave Mackay was injured and Bill Brown and Bobby Smith were
out of favour. The team contained some
unfamiliar faces, including a centre-half, Laurie Brown, signed from Arsenal,
playing at centre-forward. Nicholson
was active in the transfer market and a number of new players would soon be
arriving at White Hart Lane, the nucleus of the new team - Alan Mullery,
Jimmy Robertson, Pat Jennings and Cyril Knowles would all arrive before the
start of the next season. |
Acknowledge the work of Graham Betts in his book
‘Spurs Day – to – Day Life at