Tottenham Hotspur spoiled the party on the weekend as they beat Newcastle United 3-2 in the first game for the ‘Toon Army’ since news broke of their takeover.
With the new members of Newcastle’s takeover present at the ground, the atmosphere was rocking hours before kick-off. Many couldn’t remember the last time there was such anticipation in the city for a football fixture, with pubs and bars rammed pre-game.
Callum Wilson stuck to the storyline script and gave the Tyneside outfit a 1-0 lead inside two minutes, sending fans into jubilation as he kicked off their new era.
St James’ Park was jumping following Newcastle’s strong start, however, Tanguy Ndombele arrived to burst their bubble with a fabulous, curled finish.
Harry Kane finally got off the mark in the league after he was sent through by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and instinctively lobbed Karl Darlow to turn the game on its head.
The goal was initially adjudged to have been offside meaning Kane wasn’t able to celebrate getting off the mark. However, following the VAR review, his teammates mobbed him on the halfway line prior to the restart.
Much has been made of the talismans’ form this season, with his attitude and the relationship with his teammates questioned. Those celebrations are perhaps the perfect answer to the doubts around Kane’s position within the Spurs camp.
Before the end of the first half, we were again reminded of things much more important than football.
A Newcastle fan suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands, and following the efforts of the medical teams, a doctor in the stand, Eric Dier and Sergio Reguilon, he was able to receive the necessary attention and be transported to the hospital.
The play was halted while the incident was being managed, with both sides sent to the dressing room before re-emerging once the situation had been dealt with.
Understandably the tempo was flat following the incident, but it didn’t stop Spurs from making it 3-1 in the added time of the first half through Heung Min-Son.
Spurs cruised to victory in the second half with a controlled display, despite a late own goal from Eric Dier.
The win made it two in a row for Nuno Espirito Santo as he hopes to build momentum heading into a London derby vs West Ham.
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