Spurs slumped to a disappointing defeat at the hands of bottom-feeders West Bromwich Albion, who hadn’t scored a goal in over four hours.
White Hart Lane was the site of the Baggies organized attack and defense, and James Morrison was the man to put West Brom through in the second half and give Alan Irvine his first win in charge of the club.
West Brom began by smothering the Spurs back line, and it caused Hugo Lloris problems early. Craig Gardner ripped in a dangerous strike from outside the top of the box on 14 minutes, but Lloris was equal to the low shot.
Spurs maintained much of the possession during the opening half hour, but they were wasteful and ultimately the less incisive.
The visitors nearly earned a penalty on the half-hour mark, but Kevin Friend waved away the claims while West Brom argued for a hand ball on Craig Dawson’s headed attempt.
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Tottenham began to build better towards the end of the first half, as a run by Emmanuel Adebayor required a solid tackle from Jolean Lescott to stop the ball by Christian Eriksen from getting through.
On the other end, Saido Berainho put the ball in the back of the net but it was pulled back for offsides on a correct call. Spurs will be thankful, having left the England U-21 international alone on the end of a great long ball.
Younes Kaboul produced Spurs’ best chance of the half as the 45 minutes closed, getting a head to a corner but putting it a good deal over the bar. They nearly had another chance as Eriksen ripped in another great cross but Adebayor couldn’t get a head to it despite finding himself free on point blank range.
West Brom remained in the ascendency in the second half, as Berainho again ripped on net and forced a fine save from Lloris on 55 minutes.
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Mauricio Pochettino made a double change with 30 minutes to go, and it brought life to their attack with Roberto Soldado and opened the game up. However, West Brom finally picked up the goal they’ve deserved for the first hour of hard work.
Chris Brunt sent in a ridiculous curling corner, and James Morrison rose above, well, nobody really to pump the header into the back of the net. It was horrid marking from Spurs, with Erik Lamela the nearest to it but too far to make a difference.
A stunned Spurs looked to try and equalize, but against an organized Baggies defense they couldn’t produce anything of real quality and it wasn’t enough to get a point.
With the result, Spurs find themselves stuck in seventh position, while West Brom lift themselves off the bottom of the table with what proves to be a vital three points this early in the season. They leave Burnley, Newcastle, and Crystal Palace as the only winless teams remaining in the Premier League.
LINEUPS
Tottenham: Lloris; Dier, Kaboul, Chiriches, Rose; Capoue, Dembele (Paulinho 61′); Chadli (Soldado 61′), Eriksen, Lamela; Adebayor.
West Brom: Foster; Wisdom, Dawson, Lescott, Pocognoli; Dorrans, Morrison, Gardner, Brunt; Sessegnon, Berahino.
Goal: Morrison 74′
