Tottenham Hotspur are leading Aston Villa 1-0 at the break in their Premier League clash, thanks to Andros Townsend's goal.
Both teams were feeding off scraps in the opening minutes. Michael Dawson almost made contact with a Spurs corner, while Sandro had an effort saved by Brad Guzan.
However, Villa almost took the lead when Ashley Westwood's free kick evaded everyone in the box and appeared to be heading for the bottom corner before Hugo Lloris tipped it away.
Spurs were next to threaten, and again it was a set piece that Dawson was unable to reach.
Their goal came soon after that chance and it was Townsend who continued his positive start to the season with a cross that missed everyone in the box and went in at the far post.
It was nearly 2-0 for Spurs, but Gylfi Sigurdsson missed with a header from eight yards out.
Andreas Weimann then shot wide for Villa, while Guzan was required to push away Townsend's shot just before half time.
Gary Peters
