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Spurs logo
Premier League
Feb 28, 2016 at 2.05pm UK
 
Swansea logo

2-1

Chadli (70'), Rose (77')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Paloschi (19')

Live Commentary: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Swansea City

Sports Mole provides live text updates as Premier League title chasers Tottenham Hotspur play host to struggling Swansea City.
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Late goals from Nacer Chadli and Danny Rose earned Tottenham Hotspur all three points from their home clash with Swansea City this afternoon.

Alberto Paloschi's first goal in Swansea colours gave the visitors the lead at the break.

However, Chadli and Rose struck in the 70th and 77th minute respectively at White Hart Lane to secure a 2-1 win.

Find out how the match unfolded with Sports Mole's text updates below.


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There goes the final whistle as Tottenham's title charge continues thanks to two late goals. White Hart Lane is buoyant. Arsenal have lost as well - what a day to be a Spurs fan!

FULL TIME: SPURS 2-1 SWANSEA

There will be five minutes of added time at the end of this contest. Can Spurs hold on?

SPURS SUB: Another change for Spurs as Kane is replaced by teenager Onomah.

SWANSEA SUB: An attacking change for the visitors as Gomis takes Ki's place.

SAVE! Almost an instant disaster for Spurs as Swansea threaten to hit back. A Sigurdsson cross causes problems and when the ball drops for Paloschi, he thrashes goalwards. However, Lloris is on fine form and pushes away the danger.

Is the title heading to White Hart Lane? It may just be you know! A corner is cleared only as far as Rose and from the edge of the box the Spurs left-back lashes the ball into the back of the net. The home faithful erupt.

GOAL! SPURS 2-1 SWANSEA (ROSE)

SUBSTITUTIONS: Both teams make changes. For Spurs, Mason is on for Son and Swansea take off Britton and bring on Fer.

Replays of the goal show that Walker's initial shot was not going in, so it's a hugely important touch from Chadli.

An inspired substitution from Pochettino and you have to say that it's been coming. Walker turns the ball into the area and Chadli gets the decisive touch. Fabianski has been in fantastic form, but he's helpless there. Game well and truly on at White Hart Lane.

GOAL! SPURS 1-1 SWANSEA (CHADLI)

Some good news (of sorts) for Spurs. Arsenal are now 3-1 down away at United. Of course, Tottenham need to get a win here to fully capitalise on that.

SPURS SUBS: Pochettino turns to his bench for the first time this afternoon as Lamela trudges off and is replaced by Chadli.

BOOKING! And now the roles have been reversed. Ayew is the offender with a foul on Rose and he is cautioned.

BOOKING! The first yellow card of the afternoon for Spurs goes to Rose, who brings down Ayew with a sliding challenge.

SAVES! I doubt Fabianski has ever put in a better performance in the Premier League! First he denies Eriksen's free kick and turns Kane's shot that is bound for the top corner over. Surely he can't keep producing save after save, can he?

Bright start by Spurs with Kane chipping an effort goalwards. Guess what? That man Fabianski was well placed, though, to punch clear the danger.

RESTART! We're back underway at White Hart Lane.

MATCH ACTION! Here's the moment that splits the two teams.

Alberto Paloschi scores during the Premier League game between Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City on February 28, 2016© Getty Images


Meanwhile, Swansea need to keep up their concentration levels. They've defended well and when the rearguard has been breached, Fabianski has come to the rescue. It must also be said that the Swans have posed a threat, particularly on the counter. You would expect them to get more space in the second half as well as Spurs push more men forward in search of an equaliser.

As frustrating as the scoreline is, there is not much Spurs need to change for the second. They just need to be more clinical or hope that Fabianski's inspired form eludes him. They've carved out enough openings to be in front - more of the same will probably be the message from Pochettino.

There goes the whistle for the break and for all their possession and chances created, Spurs trail 1-0 to Swansea. Is a shock on the cards? Incidentally, Arsenal are 2-1 down at Old Trafford as the Marcus Rashford fairytale continues.

HALF TIME: SPURS 0-1 SWANSEA

SAVE! Another wonderful stop from Fabianski as the first half draws towards a conclusion. Dier is only six yards out when he pulls the trigger, but the Swansea keeper does ever so well to turn the ball away.

There will be two minutes of stoppage time at the end of this first half.

Credit to Swansea because they have killed off all of Tottenham's momentum with some solid defending and good passing when in possession. The home crowd were lifted for a while, but it's been quietened again.

Swansea relieve some of the pressure by breaking clear with pace. The move ends with Paloschi, who sees his speculative shot from the edge of the box well blocked.

SAVES! Some serious pressure is being applied by Spurs at the moment. Eriksen, Lamela and Son have all produced good efforts in the space of a couple of minutes, but Fabianksi is able to answer the questions that are being asked of him at present. Great goalkeeping from the Pole.

BOOKING! Just after that half chance for Spurs, Swansea captain Williams went into the book for a foul on Alli.

A decent opening for Spurs and it's Walker that is once again involved - he's having a good game. The right-back fizzes a low ball across the face of goal, but it just evades the stretching Kane.

A quick note on Alli. He's been very quiet so far. Whether that has anything to do with the knock he picked up in the warm-up, who knows? He's certainly been off colour today, though.

STAT!



Silence descends upon the majority of White Hart Lane as the visitors from Wales take the lead. It's a first Swansea goal for Paloschi, who is the right place at the right time when Rangel's shot deflects into his path. Now this is a major test of Tottenham's title credentials!

GOAL! SPURS 0-1 SWANSEA (PALOSCHI)

This is how former Chelsea player Pat Nevin has called the game so far over on BBC Sport:

"Spurs have had more of the play, but there's not a lot in it so far. Swansea have set out to play on the break, and they do look very dangerous, very pacy."


SAVE! The home team are starting to move through the gears now. Walker and Eriksen link well, with the latter eventually crossing for Kane from the right flank. However, from close range the Spurs talisman is well thwarted by Fabianski.

Spurs right-back Walker ventures forward and then tries his luck from distance. It seems that the shot is going to work Fabianski, only for Taylor to block bravely.

CHANCE! Now there's an opening at the other end as Rose picks out Lamela. The Argentine flicks his effort towards goal, yet it ends up flying over. Open start to this game.

SAVE! There are not many better goalkeepers in the world than Hugo Lloris, surely? It looks a sure bet that Sigurdsson's shot from Paloschi's low cross is bound for the net, but the Spurs keeper somehow turns the ball over the crossbar. That's one of the saves of the season, no doubt about that.

KICKOFF! We are underway in North London - huge 90 minutes ahead for both of these teams.

The teams, including Alli, are now out on the pitch. Not long now until we are off and running.

By the way, it's also worth remembering that at the same time as this game, Arsenal will take on Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Gunners have the same points total as Spurs, but their goal difference is inferior. We'll keep you posted on how that one goes.

PREDICTION: Well, as you asked Jan, I'll tell you! It might not be overly pretty, but I still expect Spurs to have more than enough to win this game and keep the pressure up on Leicester. Let's go for 2-0, with Kane helping himself to a brace.

No doubt Tottenham fans will be wishing that this man was playing today.



Panic over maybe? Alli was on the deck receiving treatment, but he's now back on his feet and appears to be moving freely. It will be interesting to see how he starts the game.

INJURY? Brace yourselves Spurs fans, rumours are circulating that Dele Alli has picked up a knock in the warm-up. We'll keep you posted.

Having said that, he may not be the man that Swansea fear most this afternoon...



It is certainly a massive plus for Spurs that Kane is back today. After a slow start to the season, the England hitman has gone on to score 16 goals in the Premier League - only Jamie Vardy has bulged the back of the net on more occasions.

Looking good, Harry!



THE DUGOUT: With around 30 minutes to go until kickoff at the Lane, why not have a listen to Sports Mole's podcast 'The Dugout', where the big footballing issues of the week are discussed.


So, can Spurs actually win a first league title since 1961? The current situation sees them in second position, five points adrift of Leicester City. You feel that they must win today to stand any chance of doing so. They also have to juggle Europa League commitments, but Pochettino believes they have the numbers and quality to do that:

"It's true that maybe for the supporters the Premier League is more important [than the Europa League] but we need to show we respect both competitions," he told reporters.

"I think we have enough quality and a big enough squad that we can do both. Why prioritise one of them? We have ahead three important games in the Premier League, and then we will think about the next round of the Europa League."

Mauricio Pochettino Manager of Tottenham Hotspur gestures during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at White Hart Lane on September 26, 2015© Getty Images


With regards to today's game, Curtis went on to back Swansea's opponents to win the Premier League title:

"I think they've done exceptionally well. They've got a great opportunity to win the league this year and they're still in the Europa League. I don't see any reason why they can't [win the league]. They've shown this year they can go all the way."


That statistic was certainly a cause of concern for Swansea coach Alan Curtis when he spoke to the press during the week:

""We brought Alberto in to score goals but the responsibility has to lie with the team. Alberto wasn't brought in to be the main man but to make a contribution. I think we're too reliant on Andre and Gylfi to get our goals, and it needs to be spread out," he said.


There are not so many alterations from Swansea - one in fact. That has seen Ki Sung-Yueng introduced into the midfield instead of Wayne Routledge, who has dropped down to the bench. January signing Alberto Paloschi will lead the attack, with Andre Ayew and former Spurs playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson offering the support from advanced roles. Of Swansea's 24 goals in the Premier League this season, those two have scored 15 of them.

SWANSEA SUBS: Nordfeldt, Naughton, Amat, Fer, Routledge, Barrow, Gomis

SWANSEA XI: Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Britton, Cork, Ki; Sigurdsson, Ayew; Paloschi

And now for the visitors...

The big news for the hosts is that Harry Kane, despite suffering with a broken nose, has been passed fit to play. He will the lead attack, while South Korea international Heung-Min Son has also come into an advanced role. The other changes that head coach Mauricio Pochettino has made are at full-back, with Kyle Walker and Danny Rose coming in at the expense of Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies respectively.

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his teams third goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at White Hart Lane on November 22, 2015© Getty Images


SPURS SUBS: Vorm, Davies, Trippier, Bentaleb, Chadli, Mason, Onomah

SPURS XI: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose; Alli, Dier; Lamela, Eriksen, Son; Kane

First of all, let's get some team news from North London, starting with the home side...

Afternoon all. What an important game we have ahead of us at White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur need the three points to keep in touch with surprise leaders Leicester City, while Swansea City remain in relegation danger. Let's hope that it means we are set for an action-packed encounter.

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Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his teams third goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at White Hart Lane on November 22, 2015
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