Lennon scores against former club Spurs as Everton draw
Published:
Matt Haynes | January 3, 2016
Everton 1-1 Tottenham
- Aaron Lennon opens against the run of play against former club
- Midfielder Dele Alli score superb equaliser
- Spurs with just one defeat in 19 matches
Dominant start from Spurs
Tottenham, 11/1 with Coral to win the Premier League, came into this match seemingly full of confidence and you would have been forgiven for thinking they were the home team as they starved Everton of the ball for long periods.
Kyle Walker was first to attempt to carve out an opening and when he surged down the right and fizzed a ball in from the by-line, many expected a goal as the ball ricocheted off a number of bodies.
Not long after, following another couple of Spurs chances, Harry Kane thundered a right foot effort against the base of Tim Howard’s right post as the away team turned the screw.
Shock goal
In what was Everton’s first genuine chance of the half, Romelu Lukaku headed down for Aaron Lennon who steered past Hugo Lloris on the half volley to cap a fine move against his former club, leaving the French goalkeeper with no chance.
With Spurs clearly stunned, the Toffees attempted to seize the initiative, though the pendulum did keep swinging. Left back Ben Davies cannoned the crossbar with a long range effort and was unlucky not equalise, while Arona Kone’s burst through the hosts’ defence was halted due to being offside.
Then on the stroke of half time, Dele Alli connected with a sumptuous ball from Toby Alderwiereld as Spurs changed tack, with the midfielder controlling with his chest before striking past Howard, leaving Seamus Coleman and John Stones wondering how he had found a way through.
Exciting second half
The subsequent 45 minutes threw up plenty of entertainment, with the second period played at breakneck pace, as both sides went close to taking the lead.
Erik Lamela was proving a constant handful and combined well with Alli and Kane, with the latter firing just over the bar.
Muhamed Besic, meanwhile, forced a reaction save from Lloris late on with a shot from outside of the area, while Ramiro Funes Mori headed just over from the resulting corner.
In injury time, Lukaku twice went close to winning the match for the Toffees, though in the end the 1-1 result doesn’t paint an accurate picture of how entertaining the game was.
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