Bathos and pathos
Ring out the old, ring in the new
Happy New Year to the COYS Community. The dawn of 2024 finds us temporarily out of our house and me feeling under the weather, so this two-match edition of Upstate Spurs will be brief:
December 28 - Brighton 4, Spurs 2.
The less said about this one, the better. Our many injuries and suspensions caught up to us here, as our team resembled the fish carcass that Hemingway’s old man dragged to shore. After some promising runs forward in the opening minutes, we surrendered a bad goal in the 11’ when a Brighton attacker cut in from the left and had multiple teammates sitting unmarked in our box.
Then, in a comic sequence in the 19’ when it seemed Brighton were giving us many chances to clear the ball from danger yet we kept refusing their generosity, we eventually allowed a corner, which yielded a second goal when Deki pulled down Danny Welbeck for a penalty. It’s not the first time Deki, who’s been otherwise brilliant this season, has done this and he needs to cut this out of his game in the VAR era.
MOTM: Nobody.
Spur of the Moment: Alejo Véliz, for notching his first Premier League goal to make it 4-1. Ben Davies later pulled another one back, and even though the match felt done and dusted in the first half, these two goals might well prove important in a league campaign with so many teams bunched at or near the top.
December 31 – Spurs 3, Bournemouth 1.
This match rode a wide range of emotions and was won uglily.
We got back on track with our characteristic early lead when the ever-pressing Bentancur intercepted Neto’s pass down the center of the pitch and directed it toward Lo Celso, who assisted Sarr’s run in the 9’.
The AFCON-bound midfielder then appeared to suffer a tragic injury, one that left him in tears behind his pulled-up jersey as our captain Sonny tried his best to console him. It would have been a cruel blow if our Sarr Man were to be denied his chance to shine on international duty, but his fans can breathe easier now as he posted good news after the game:
That said, Sarr coming off was bad news for a team that already was effectively playing with a backline of four fullbacks. We limped to the half still 1-0 up but very much looking second best.
Yet somehow our boys gritted through it. Goals from Son (assisted by Gio in 71’—see below) and Richarlison (off a precise cross from the promising Brennan Johnson in the 80’) put the match out of reach…though even then, we had some scary minutes. Lifelong Spurs fan Alex Scott came on for Bristol and scored in the 84’…and looked to have scored again shortly afterward on a goal that was disallowed for offside. Robert’s Rule of Disorder: When an opposing team introduces a substitute who (a) once played for your club or (b)wanted to play for your club, he will cause problems in the match. The 3-1 result seemed unfair to the visitors yet spoke to our boys’ grit.
MOTM: I’m going to break with what most people are understandably saying and give it to Destiny Udogie. He kept us in the match not just for his work down the left but in the many times he roamed to the right to win challenges and keep the dangerous Dominic Solanke in check. Our 21-year-old left back from Italy was a one-man wrecking ball. It’s hard not to give this distinction to a player who bagged a brace of assists, but without Destiny, I believe that match might’ve gotten out of hand in the first half.
Honorary mention for Gentle Unsung Ben Davies for his continued work in the absence of both van de Ven and Romero.
Spur of the Moment: Oh my goodness, Gio! That one-touch pass from the outside of his foot finding Son for his 12th goal of the season…it might be the assist of the season. When Lo Celso plays, he is showing how good he is and how important he could be to us in the second half…and maybe beyond that.
Honorary mention for Véliz, who seemed to suffer a serious leg injury and spent the match’s final minutes hobbling back and forth for his team with no substitutions remaining for Ange. He left the stadium on crutches. Get well soon, Alejo! And shame on the USA commentator who mocked his injury in real time.
Atta boy, Ange! Is our skipper starting to give it back to the media who keeps discounting him? Asked to assess his team’s performance over the first half of the season, he said: Ange: “If I’m not mistaken we’re three points off the top. So. You know…if three points is the difference between having a great season and where we are, well I’ll take it.”
Thank you: To Hugo Lloris, our former captain and the man who’s appeared in more Premier League matches than any other for our club. More to say on this in a future post, but I need to go lie down for a bit…so for now, we say Merci and good luck at LAFC.