Tom Hamilton
Multiple Authors
WOLVERHAMPTON, England — It was a scrappy, ugly goal, but it may prove utterly priceless in helping Tottenham Hotspur avoid the unthinkable fate of relegation.
João Palhinha’s close-range effort in the 82nd minute of a drab-tense contest gave Spurs a crucial 1-0 win at already relegated Wolves. At one point, as the game crept towards added time, it even briefly helped them out of the relegation zone as Everton equalised at West Ham United.
Yet, as West Ham found a stoppage-time winner themselves, Spurs’ afternoon ended not with dancing in the sun at the Molineux but again with the cruel, nervous feeling that comes with sitting in the bottom three for another week. At least Spurs fans were able to chant about a victory at full-time.
Saturday was another reminder that a relegation scrap leaves trams completely at the mercy of results around them. Really, the afternoon resembled Dr. Seuss’ “Cat in the Hat” — after a whirlwind of intense, unstructured chaos, West Ham and Tottenham largely find themselves back where they started.
The first half at the Molineux was grim. There were plenty of crosses into the box, but neither team could find a player in space to muster a single shot on target. It was symptomatic of the occasion: one team who are relegated, the other nervous and trying to find their feet in an unfamiliar position. All that it gave was a match which only sparked when André clattered Yves Bissouma in first-half injury time — a tackle which left the Wolves player with a yellow card, and the Spurs player with an imprint of studs on the bridge of his foot as a memory of his trip to the West Midlands.
The loudest cheer was for Barry Douglas, the former Wolves player, who was honoured on the pitch at half-time.
Then, in the second half, came the relegation drama from unlikely sources. A scrappy corner fell to substitute Palhinha at the back post, with the midfielder prodding it home. Then came a moment of heroics from backup goalkeeper Antonín Kinsky.
Just over a month ago, Kinsky was hauled off after 17 minutes in the UEFA Champions League at Atlético Madrid in the most humiliating moment of his career. But, filling in for Guglielmo Vicario again on Saturday, he had a different experience: the 97th minute of the match saw an immense free-kick from Wolves’ João Gomes stopped by Kinsky’s diving save.
Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi hugged his assistant, and Kinsky allowed himself to breathe. In the stands, Spurs fans were singing how much they loved their club again.
On one hand, this is all good news for Spurs. They remembered how to win! They have waited 15 long matches for this feeling, one game off the club’s 91-year record of 16 matches without a triumph. On an afternoon where the first shot on target for either team didn’t come until the 68th minute, that run didn’t always seem like it would end. Substitute Palhinha’s outstretched leg handed them not just a victory but a slice of hope.
However, this wasn’t a dream afternoon by any means. If Spurs are to somehow claw themselves out of this predicament, they likely have to do it without both Dominic Solanke and Simons, who were both forced off early through injury — Solanke exited in the first half with a suspected hamstring issue before Simons jarred his knee in the second period and left on a stretcher.
For a team that lacked any threat up front against a Wolves side that conceded seven goals in their past two games, losing two key attackers leaves Spurs in a difficult situation.
As Spurs fans head back to London, they will cling to their newfound three points, but they must also question their team’s complete lack of attacking threat against a Wolves side that conceded seven times in their last two matches. Remove Solanke and Simons, and those fears will be heightened.
There is only so much Spurs can control. They are still two points off safety, and the tricky thing with their predicament is the other team involved in all this. West Ham will take such heart from their late winner against Everton, while Spurs are yet again dealing with an ever-lengthening injury list and the reminder that they are still in the drop zone.
Saturday proved that Spurs can win a match — and that is no mean feat — but for all their effort and their commitment to get the late winner, they are no closer to safety. Anyone hoping that Spurs’ reputation or history would be enough to keep them up should think again.
No team is too good to go down, not least Tottenham.
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