Published: 22 April, 2013
by DAN CARRIER at White Hart Lane

Premier League
SPURS 3, MAN CITY 1

ANDRE Villas-Boas praised a trio of super-subs who came on to turn around a season-defining game against Manchester City at White Hart Lane.

The manager made a tactical shift as his side were struggling to get back into a game they were losing 1-0. He brought on Tom Huddlestone, Jermain Defoe and Lewis Holtby with 20 minutes remaining – and saw in a crazy five-minute spell his team come back to romp home 3-1 winners, keeping the Champions League dream alive with just five matches remaining.

"The players came in with exactly the right approach and mentality," he said of the three substitutes.

"Huddlestone enjoyed the game and brought organisational skills and vision. The team found its rhythm, made better passing decisions and the impact of the boys who came on from the bench was tremendous. They improved us and finally unlocked the game."

It had all gone wrong after just three minutes. As Spurs settled, City attacked down the right and James Milner's cross was tapped home by Sami Nasri.

Spurs then battled to get back with Kyle Walker being denied by the brilliance of Joe Hart, Clint Dempsey arrowing a header just over and Gylfi Sigurdsson having a goal-bound effort blocked. At the other end, it took a mouthwatering save by Hugo Lloris to stop a point-blank header by Carlos Tevez, and the keeper also earned his spurs by denying a combination of Edin Dzeko and Nasri.

The second half saw more of the same, Spurs scampering but not offering enough composure to really threaten. As the season seemed to be slipping away, AVB and his assistant Steffen Freund told three players to warm up, get stripped and follow Plan B. Huddlestone, Holtby and Defoe stepped up and suddenly Tottenham were pushing City back.

Huddlestone's passing began to find its range, and on 78 minutes Spurs reached parity.

Walker was picked out by Huddlestone, he cleverly feinted to cross but instead played Bale in, and his simple ball across the six-yard box was steered home from close range by Dempsey on 75. Two minutes later, Defoe was asked to chase a Holtby pass down the right: he took one look up and buried a neat effort into the bottom corner.

And there was more to come. As the fans celebrated the second on 79, Bale was then flicked into space on the left. He strode his way into the box, drew Hart out and then delicately chipped the England keeper.

It was a remarkable turnaround and had looked completely unlikely before AVB's bold changes created the equaliser.

The players' response and subsequent post-match celebrations at taking three points off the reigning Champions must bode well for the final five games. This was not just three vital points, this was the confidence booster that could well have handed Spurs the key to the Champions League treasure chest next year.

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier 

UNTIL Tom Huddlestone got his tracksuit off, Spurs had fought for everything but seemed only to be able to operate at top speed when a little bit of time and patience was required. Everything was hurried. You couldn't fault the effort, but the application left lots to be desired.

Then AVB showed why he has a reputation for being a truly exceptional young coach. He knew what was going wrong and he knew how to put it right. The three subs brought into the fray at the mid-way point of the second half were timely, well considered and won the match.

Huddlestone has long been the type of player the fans love at Spurs – a ball player, a passer in the Hoddle tradition. But after his injuries over the last two seasons he hasn't got back into the team and was seemed destined to leave.

But AVB has seen what he can do. He has found a role for him in this squad that plays to his strengths without expecting him to do stuff we know, after watching him for years, are a little too much for his skill-set. On Sunday, he came on and won the game. It showed he has a future at Spurs – and underlined Spurs have a coach who knows how to best manage the resources at his disposal.

Spurs: Lloris, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto, Walker, Parker, Dembele, Bale, Dempsey, Sigurdsson, Adebayor.

Attendance: 36,121