Mido’s touch downs Spurs

Middlesbrough 2 Tottenham 1
ONE of the reasons Middlesbrough were willing to part with Jonathan Woodgate last season, apart from the small matter of £8m, was that they already had a replacement who could fill the gap. When his p r e d e c e s s o r s h o w e d u p yesterday in the colours of Tottenham Hotspur, David Wheater was able to assure his club that their faith in him had been justified.
On a miserable opening day for Spurs, when a late own-goal was the sum total of their efforts, and Dimitar Berbatov’s transfer to Manchester United appeared to move a step closer, the man who took full advantage of their fragile condition was Wheater.
Not only did he score the opening goal, he had another disallowed, and although the big centre-back was filling in at right-back, he did more than enough at the other end to thwart a Tottenham side who lacked an edge in the penalty area.
To make matters worse for a frustrated travelling support, the decisive goal, which came with four minutes left, was plundered by their former striker, Mido. When Gary O’Neil picked out new signing Didier Digard at the corner of the box, the substitute’s low shot across goal was turned in by a player who has bagged more injuries than goals since his move to the Riverside.
It was that kind of day for Tottenham, whose absentees were as interesting as their starting lineup. The presence of Berbatov on the bench seemed to reflect renewed speculation about his future.
His manager, Juande Ramos, denied reports that the Bulgarian had put in a transfer request, and insisted that he still wanted to keep him. “Of course,” he said. “I love great players. For the moment, he is a Spurs player. We are happy with him as part of the squad. There is nothing to say.”
The decision to start him on the bench made no sense. Either he is distracted, and not fit to play at all, or he is committed to Tottenham for 90 minutes, but as it was, he remained hidden until the Londoners’ patience ran out. “We opted for Giovani [Dos Santos] as I thought his speed would trouble Middlesbrough,” said Ramos. “However, as Middlesbrough tired, we decided to throw him on.”
Berbatov’s arrival on the pitch midway through the second half prompted an even mixture of booing and applause from the 4,000 travelling supporters. If this turns out to be his last appearance for a club who are also adjusting to life without Robbie Keane, the acquisition of Andrei Arshavin will become an urgent priority. Zenit St Petersburg are reported to have dropped their asking price for the Russia striker. “I cannot speak about players who are not currently in my squad,” said Ramos, when asked about the forward who came to prominence at Euro 2008.
Although Giovani had a bright game, Darren Bent was quiet, save for a late shot that flashed wide, and Spurs’ best efforts came from distance, usually courtesy of David Bentley’s boot. “It is always difficult when you have quite a few new players. Everyone takes time to settle into a new type of football, ” said Ramos.
Spurs lacked the freshness expected of a team that gave d e b u t s t o L u k a M o d r i c , Heurelho Gomes, Bentley and Giovani. The last two of those combined to create the visitors’ best effort of an otherwise pedestrian first half. The Mexican striker, playing deep behind Bent, danced past two opponents before laying the ball off to Bentley, who stepped inside to rush a hopeful shot wide from just outside the box.
Middlesbrough left Didier Digard and Marvin Emnes on the bench but they were sharper in key areas. When Tuncay dashed on to Wheater’s long ball, and lobbed it over Benoit Assou-Okotto, his pass to Afonso Alves gave the left-back just enough time to recover. With a sliding challenge, the Spurs defender deflected the shot over. Then, when Wheater arrived late in the box to crash a Stewart Downing corner into the net, referee Martin Atkin-son decided that he had pulled down Michael Dawson in the process.
There was a distinct improve-m e n t i n S p u r s a f t e r t h e interval, with crisper, more inventive passing, and another shot from Bentley to declare their intentions. This time, with his back to goal, the £15m signing from Blackburn accepted a pass from deep, needed only one touch to turn and steady himself, before delivering an outswinger that the goal-keeper parried wide.
Berbatov’s arrival briefly compounded Middlesbrough’s problems, most notably when his clever exchange with Jer-maine Jenas allowed the midfielder to test Brad Jones with a low shot, but as long as the home side have Stewart Downing in their midst, they will sustain a threat. With 17 minutes left, the England midfielder swung in a low cross to the front post, where a flick by Alves was tipped on to the bar by Gomes. It was no surprise to find the irrepressible Wheater, an eager handful at both ends, pouncing on to the loose ball and thrashing it over the line.
Middlesbrough announced yesterday that they had signed Justin Hoyte from Arsenal for £3m but it was too soon for him to make his debut, so Wheater played at right-back, and Robert Huth partnered Pogatetz in central defence. The big German had a sound enough game until stoppage time, when he rose to meet Bentley’s cross, but succeeded only in glancing it into the far corner.
It couldn’t take the sheen off a performance that had the Middlesbrough manager, Gareth Southgate, brimming with optimism. “There has been a real good feeling about the club preseason,” he said. “When there is that faith, you want to reward it with a performance and a result, and we did that on both counts.”
Star man:David Wheater (Middlesbrough)
MIDDLESBROUGH:Jones 6, Wheater 8, Huth 7, Pogatetz 6, Taylor 6, Aliadiere 6, O’Neil 7, Shawky 6, Downing 7, Alves 6 (Mido 76), Tuncay 6 (Digard 72)
TOTTENHAM: Gomes 7, Zokora 7, Dawson 6, Woodgate 6, Assou-Ekotto 5 (O’Hara 78), Lennon 6 (Bale 66), Jenas 6, Modric 6, Bentley 7, Bent 6, Giovani 7 (Berbatov 66)
FROM:TIMESONLINE