Milan - a sort of great night!

Well I can safely say its been a good week for Spurs!

Dawson at full time - says it all!

I intended to write a review of the AC Milan game the other day, however work and a busy weekend prevented me from doing it. However what a great night! I arrived for the game early and headed straight for The Bricklayers pub to meet a friend and my uncle, we quickly found out however that a large percentage of the attending crowd had this idea as well. Now its a busy pub anyway, lets get that straight but when you actually cant move then you know theres a problem!

Great atmosphere as always in there however which set up a great night! We then headed to The Bell and Hare in order to be closer to our seats in The Park Lane upper, again the party atmosphere was present and before we knew it it was that time to head to our seats.

As I entered the stadium there was a buzz that I hadn't felt for a long time, I missed the Inter Milan game but even though the Werder Bremen game provided a great night this was something else. The roar of the crowd really was something to behold, and not just from out own supporters, the Italians were in full voice as well which provided a real adrenaline rush for the game that was about to ensue.

I think most people were expecting a spectacle similar to the first leg - one of drama, incident, good football and of course a great result for the lillywhites. The game never really happened that way, the first half in particular we were on the back foot for large parts. Milan were going for it, as we all new they would - but really hoped they wouldn't.

The drama did present itself with Gallas' goal line clearance, I have never been present in a stadium when the noise suddenly vanished, as Gomes rushed from his goal and it became apparent that he wouldn't get back there was a gasp and then silence. It sort of went in slow motion before speeding up as Gallas remarkably got back and cleared the ball before the enormous Tottenham cheer.

It was certainly going to be one of those nights.

Gallas' great clearance!

A flurry of missed chances from both sides peppered the first half, the pick of the Spurs moments being a VdV free-kick that went oh so close! At the beginning of this half there was a shout for a Spurs penalty - none was given but it certainly looked like one from where I was sat.

The atmosphere was still present throughout the first half and into half time, there was however the feeling of nerves from all present that made sure that the second half would start a little quieter. We started much brighter and attempted to take the game to the Italians, however like the first half this pressure was not to be sustained as Milan went on attack after attack.

The reason none made it through? Sandro. I couldn't believe how well he played, he blocked every ball, made every tackle, stopped every attack. Not only this but his passing for the most part was spot on - he was just oozing confidence. If Milan did get past the Brazilan wall then they came across Dawson and Gallas who were in similar form themselves. The three of them would make it a memorable night for Spurs!

What a game from Sandro!

This was a defensive display to rival them all and it was great. i was disappointed with our attack however, this was in large part because the Italians done a great job of cutting us out. However in other areas it was because of poor decisions from our men. 3 players in particular I noted were quite poor. Modric for once had a bad game, he was constantly hassled on the ball and never really looked comfortable. Pienaar had a lot of the ball but rarely done much with it - far too hesitant at times and lacked the speed that he needed to get past the back line. BAE although doing a good job in defence, invited a large number of attacks as a result of his poor passing.

All eyes were on Bale when he returned to the pitch however he didn't have much of a chance to impress, very little service made it his way - despite him getting into fantastic positions. Both BAE and Pienaar responsible for missing some very easy and potentially great balls to him. Bale was obviously a little frustrated at this.

Despite the huge amount of Milan possession and pressure I was never really worried that they would score, I was nervous sure but their front line didn't really do enough to get overly close to goal and so the game finished 0-0. Que jubilant scenes at full time from the Tottenham fans. Not quite a glory glory night in the true sense but a big night in our history nonetheless! The quarter final draw is Friday, Ill be keeping a beady eye on that one!

The side were rewarded with a weekend rest once again, this time because of FA Cup weekend, one of the best sights of Wednesday night for me was seeing Ledley King back on the bench. This weekend rest will only be good news for him and the rest of the returning squad - bale included in this. Unfortunately Palacios is now out for three weeks after undergoing surgery on his knee, not good but with Sandro displaying his capabilities we should be ok.

It was nice to see the filth lose out to Manchester United in the cup as well, this see's them knocked out of three competitions in the space of 2 weeks - the crowd singing 'Are You watching Arsenal?' at full time against Milan was apparently just a precursor of things to come!

Next up are The Spammers at home. Incidently they were also knocked out of the cup at the weekend. Shame. I wont be able to make the game this time but will be glued to the telly, a win is a must and after our rest period and display against Milan you would hope that 3 more points will be added to our total.

COYS!