Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Harry Kane and Jimmy Greaves, Gary Lineker and Gareth Bale, Chris Waddle and Glenn Hoddle, Jurgen Klinsmann and Paul Gascoigne. and now mickey van de venThe list of Tottenham’s top scorers this season is indeed prestigious, but there is an anomaly at the moment, with a Dutch defender in the area previously occupied by Teddy Sheringham, Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Clive Allen, Martin Chivers, Bobby Smith and Heung-min Son.
Van de Ven may have been a fearless intruder into the scoring charts, but he was also a fearless traveller: to the Hill Dickinson Stadium as Tottenham became the first visitors to win, and everton Penalty box for scoring twice. The Dutchman surprised even himself. “It’s crazy, I never score two goals in a game,” he said. “It’s always in the back of your mind that I might get a hat-trick.” That may not have been the phrase he said before his brace, along with Pep Matar’s clincher, clinching a victory that made Hill Dickinson look less like a fortress and more like a fortress by Mersey and Tottenham. Thomas Frank Team.
A clean sheet win and two goals from corners? This was hardly angelball. But then Anze Postecoglou took over to lift Tottenham to 17th in the Premier League. These are early days, but his successor’s side are in third place. It might appear that Postecoglou hates set-pieces. Frank doesn’t. Brentford were such dead-ball specialists that their set-piece coach became Frank’s replacement as manager.
And Van de Ven could be the face of this Spurs. Promoted from the ranks, he is captaining them while Cristian Romero is out. Newly prolific, he is compensating for the absence of more obvious scorers like Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison; After finding the net only seven times in his club career, he now has five goals this campaign. While Postecoglou’s teams were weak, Frank’s Spurs had a defensive record only better than Arsenal. It may also help that there is less strain on Van de Ven’s hamstrings, with Frank’s defensive line being deeper than Postecoglou’s.
It had a practical feel to it, but practicality is no longer a dirty word for Tottenham. Their xG from open play was just 0.78, but Romero’s understudy Kevin Denso made 18 clearances and, with his long throws, added to his set-piece armoury. “We have a clean mentality,” Frank said. Maybe it’s something he brought. “The second half was like a dogfight,” he said. It was muddy and gritty but Tottenham showed why they have the Premier League’s only unbeaten record on the road. They may not have had a ton of creativity at home, but they were solid and street-wise and that can be a good base.
“The set pieces are very important,” Frank said. “Right now, Arsenal are on their way to the title from set pieces.” Spurs themselves are heading for a good season, and David Moyes said: “We don’t take too many from corners, and I have to praise Tottenham. Thomas Frank works on that a lot.”
That training ground work achieved two goals. Van de Ven’s first set piece was well-crafted, the centre-back running from behind the far post to the goal-line, Rodrigo Bentancur circling around to appear on the field he had vacated and Mohamed Qudus meeting a header across the box for the Dutchman to nod into the deep corner. His second looked simple, with Van de Ven beating Jordan Pickford and placing a header into Pedro Porro’s corner. “Mickey again,” the traveling fans shouted. “At the beginning of the season, I said, ‘You’re a centre-back and you need to score more,'” Frank said. Van de Ven replied. “The way he attacks the ball and gets where it hurts” impressed his manager.
Perhaps due to Van de Ven’s second mistake, Pickford made a good save from his former teammate Richarlison. Everton might have been relieved that a player who had a propensity to score on his returns to Goodison Park was only a substitute. Instead Richarlison recorded an assist, setting up his fellow substitute Sarr. This was the signal for Hill Dickinson to evacuate.
Everton can reflect on two moments when it could have been different. Porro made a brilliant block on the goal-line to thwart Jack Grealish in the third minute. Everton celebrated the equalizer from another corner, with Jake O’Brien heading in. But replays showed Illiman Ndiaye and Grealish offside and Guglielmo Vicario in the vicinity. “I think it was the right decision,” said the extremely honest Moyes.
Vicario continued where he left off in Monaco, making a brilliant save from James Garner and making an even better save from Beto’s overhead kick. He did well to stop Ndiaye’s deflected effort. The goaltender was credited with another shutout. “He was man of the match in Monaco,” Frank said. “Mickey was man of the match today. And let’s not forget Kevin Denso, who has done very well.”
Same is the condition of Frank since his appointment. The good news for Tottenham is that they are in third place. Of course, the bad news is that Arsenal are in first place.