Published: 7 April, 2013
by DAN CARRIER

Premier League
SPURS 2, EVERTON 2

SPURS were held to an entertaining 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane today (Sunday) by Everton – and while it allowed Chelsea and Arsenal to get the upper hand in the race for the top four, boss Andre Villas-Boas defiantly told fans that the season was not over.

“It will go down to the wire,” he said afterwards.

“We are still in there. We have been here before, chasing the pack, and have responded well.”

Villas-Boas said that with the scheduled game against Chelsea next Sunday now rearranged, his team had a welcome breather to get key players off the treatment table and back on the pitch. It also meant the club could turn their guns on the return leg against Basel in the Europa Cup on Thursday.

“We can now just focus on the Basel game, and we then have some time to get ready for the league,” he added.

Spurs were missing the talismanic Gareth Bale and also had their other flying winger, Aaron Lennon, sidelined. But AVB was full of praise for those who came in, including Tom Huddlestone, whose passing after being brought on in the second half gave his team-mates the momentum to score the equaliser.

Villas-Boas said: “We were missing Defoe, Bale, Lennon, Sandro, but this give others chances to step up. Sigurdsson and Holtby came in, Adebayor has hit goal-scoring form and both Carroll and Huddlestone did very well. In the end it was important to gain a point and I was encouraged by the performance of the team.”

After just 35 seconds Spurs took the lead: Jan Vertonghen found space on the left and his arrowed ball across the face of the goal was poked home by Adebayor. The lead lasted 15 minutes. Everton settled and Jagielka turned home a deep corner, though referee Marriner could just as easily given a free-kick for a climb on Vertonghen.

After a tit-for-tat first half, things went badly wrong for the home side on 52 when Kevin Mirallas won the ball and set off a great run. He twisted and turned and then slipped it home with real panache.

Spurs then huffed and puffed and pressured everything, but all too often the final ball into the box was too easy for Tim Howard. The Everton keeper dominated everything that was thrown goalward and there was a sense as things got more and more desperate that there would be no equaliser.

However, Tottenham's two best players on the day – Walker and Adebayor – made sure a point was gained. Substitute Huddlestone had found his impressive passing range, and constantly pinged balls out wide for Walker to chase. It was this tactic that led to the deserved equaliser. As the clock ticked down, Spurs tore down the right with Walker, his cross was dummied by Dempsey, Adebayor's shot hit the post and Sigurdsson finished it off. It led to a siege of the Everton goal, but a vital winner was not to come.

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

IF you are a glass half-empty type of fan, this will be nothing short of a disaster. After last season's disappointment, the dropping of two home points, allowing Arsenal to be just two behind with a game in hand, feels like we've whacked the iceberg full on.

But here's a few things to cheer us up.

This was a cracker of a game. While not the most technically adroit of displays, it was hammer and tongs, a super advert for coming to watch matches at the Lane, and while the result may not be what was wanted, life's too short to worry about solely points: it's the thrill that matters. My nails took a battering.

Spurs were under strength: no Bale, no Lennon, no Defoe, without Kaboul or Sandro, and Everton are no slouches: despite the moans about lack of strength, AVB got everyone playing well.

AVB has a chess player’s mentality previous coaches we've had defintiely missed before. His subbing of Dembele for Huddlestone was greeted with boos, but Hudd changed the game and for 15 minutes re-set the tempo in Tottenham's favour.

Spurs were trailing with five to go, and it's not the first time we've seen a good comeback. On Thursday, they trailed by two and clawed their way back into it, against Manchester United they did the same, and here it looked like Spurs could even go on and win it. That's character.

Spurs: Lloris, Demspey, Vertonghen, Parker, Adebayor, Dembele, Dawson, Siguerdsson, Holtby, Walker, Caulker.

Attendance: 36,192