Have you ever heard of Remembrance Day events being in October? Well, with our next home game against an English side being held 11 days after the occasion, we had no choice but to play “The Last Post” on this occasion against Tottenham in Wor Cup, more commonly known as the Carabao Cup. After the bugler played, where you could hear a pin drop (though less so during the supposed silence that have way to applause), the game got underway and swung in our favour from the off.
The first chance came as early as the 7th minute, when the impressive Ramsey gave it a good go trying to take on two of Tottenham’s back-line, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Four minutes later, the next shot was much closer to home. Elanga laid off to Woltemade who passed beautifully to Barnes on the far side, but he struck the post. At the other end, Johnson shot wide, rousing mocking cheers from the crowd and drowning out the singing from a well populated Spurs end.
After a couple more forays from us into the box, the 22nd minute mark was the golden period. A great corner lead to a simple header into goal for Fabian Schär. He might not have Thiaw’s youth but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t prove how valuable he is to this team! Mysteriously, the goal prompted mass complaints from the Spurs side, as a result of which Richarlison got booked. Shame!
In the true spirit of the World Wars, most of conflict occurred outside the trenches of the boxes and in the war zone of the halfway line. Unfortunately, most of the fouls fell in the favour of Tottenham, particularly to their pesky Brazilian.
After the goal, Tottenham attempted to up their game by pressing more aggressively, but their efforts amounted to nothing, largely thanks to Richarlison proving rather less adept at scoring tap-ins than winning fouls. One hopeful kick towards our box prompted Ramsdale to clear adventurously from the halfway line.
The second half began with Tottenham attempting to continue that momentum, but once again, to no avail. Instead, four minutes into the half, our bloody lovely Nick Woltemade headed home from Willock’s cross. I know it’s Remembrance Day, but God, I love the German.
Nick’s goal inspired choruses of “Tell Me Ma” from the Gallowgate, which seemed only fitting. It’s Wor Cup after all. I’d been apprehensive towards this game going into it, but I needn’t have been. The two goals came from an incredibly confident side.
The rest of the half was a bit more subdued. We certainly didn’t park the bus, but it was clear which team were trying to hoof the ball up the pitch and who were just trying to keep hold of it.
One player who made a difference – not that there needed to be a difference made – was Sandro Tonali. At the 75 minute mark, he ran back to make an excellent tackle that made me simply write “ST GOAT.” He is an absolute gem, who covers everyone time and time again.
The most exciting bit of action towards the end of the game came when the metaphorical Flanders Field turned real. Tensions boiled over with Kudus and Joelinton, prompting them both to be booked and the former to be booed for the rest of the game, even more so after he immediately clattered us on the break but somehow escaped a second yellow. When he came on, I expected him to unsettle the boat, and yet all I can remember is him stupidly getting in Big Joe’s face!
Overall, it was a relatively easy game against an opponent that wouldn’t go down easily, but it certainly felt satisfying to beat them (again!). A final special mention must go to Ramsdale who once again showed his capability as our keeper with several excellent saves to completely prevent Tottenham from getting back into the game.
Onto Fulham!
Grace Laidler
