MX23RW : Friday, November 8 12:55:06| >> :60:312:312:

Tottenham Hotspur survive late Swansea City scare

First-half goals from Jan Vertonghen and Gareth Bale prove enough for Tottenham Hotspur to win 2-1 at Swansea City.

Tottenham Hotspur have narrowly defeated Swansea City 2-1 at the Liberty Stadium in the Premier League.

Gareth Bale is congratulated by team mate Jan Vertonghen after scoring his team's second against Swansea on March 30, 2013© PA Photos

Andre Villas-Boas's side surged ahead as early as the seventh minute through Jan Vertonghen, who played a one-two with Gareth Bale before tucking the ball past Michel Vorm.

Tottenham could have doubled their advantage five minutes later when Emmanuel Adebayor found himself in a one-on-one with Vorm, but the Togolese striker's shot was kept out by the Swansea goalkeeper.

Michu had a good chance to restore parity when he found himself at the end of a Jonathan de Guzman delivery, but the Spanish striker headed wide from just eight yards.

That miss came to haunt Swansea as Spurs went 2-0 up on 21 minutes, Bale firing home from 20 yards after being teed up by Vertonghen.

Jan Vertonghen is congratulated by team mates after scoring the opening goal against Swansea on March 30, 2013© PA Photos

The Welsh winger almost added his second goal of the afternoon just before the half-hour mark with another left-footed effort, but this time his shot went narrowly wide.

However, Tottenham had their luck to thank for not conceding eight minutes from the half-time interval when Nathan Dyer headed Dwight Tiendalli's cross against the bar.

Swansea stepped up their game at the start of the second half, as Michu drew out a save from Brad Friedel and minutes later headed wide from a good position.

The former Rayo Vallecano striker eventually etched his name on the scoresheet with 20 minutes left on the clock with a headed goal from a corner.

Michu celebrates moments after grabbing a goal back against Spurs on March 30, 2013© PA Photos

Bale was unlucky not to restore Spurs' two-goal advantage on 75 minutes when he smashed against the Swansea post following a surging run from inside his own half.

ID:76917: cacheID:76917:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4926:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Gareth Bale is congratulated by team mate Jan Vertonghen after scoring his team's second against Swansea on March 30, 2013
Read Next:
Half-Time Report: Spurs going strong in Swansea
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!