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64 min: GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Leeds. Taty Castellanos has broken the deadlock at the London Stadium … and the mood suddenly darkens in N17. Spurs are still in the box seat, and there’s no need to panic yet, but the nerves are going like the clappers now.
62 min: Everton make a double change, replacing Rohl and O’Brien with George and Armstrong.
61 min: Tel is down getting a spot of treatment. Time for an impromptu drinks break.
59 min: Bentancur knocks Garner to the ground on the right flank. The resulting free kick leads to some head tennis, and an awful lot of murmuring in the stands. Spurs eventually clear their lines, but at some cost to their fans’ nerves.
57 min: Garner comes sliding in on Palhinha, then gives him a sly little upwards flick-kick as they continue to tangle. VAR has a look, but waves play on. Everton have got away with a couple of challenges on the edge of legality this afternoon.
55 min: More sterile Everton domination. It causes Roberto De Zerbi to come to the touchline and tell it as he sees it.
53 min: Everton enjoy a relatively long period of possession, but achieve nothing with it. A reminder, though, that only Arsenal (35) and Manchester City (33) have so far won more points away from home than Everton (26) this season.
51 min: Dewsbury-Hall makes off down the left and is skittled by Van de Ven. He sends in a harmless free kick that Tarkowski tries to make something out of, but fails. Everton have been awfully toothless this afternoon. “The White Heart Danes is certainly a great name for a Spurs supporters’ club in Copenhagen and would be difficult to beat,” writes Kevin Thomson. “Just thinking that a Hearts supporters club in Russia’s Volga-Ural region could be called The Jam Tartars.”
49 min: … and doubly fortunately for Pickford, nothing comes of the resulting corner.
48 min: Spence cuts in from the right and aims for the bottom right. His shot is a dribbler, but Pickford, in an attempt to scoop it up, nearly shovels it into his own goal! The ball squirts inches wide of the right-hand post. Pickford blows out in relief. So close to a humiliating gaffe.
47 min: Spence battles his way down the right and wins a corner off Mykolenko. The linesman – the same one with the knackered battery pack – doesn’t see the Everton man’s final touch, and awards a goal kick! That’s put the tin lid on it. The PGMOL, ladies and gentlemen.
Spurs finally get the second half started. Apart from the linesman’s battery pack, there have been no changes.
The West Ham v Leeds game has now reached the 51st minute. What nonsense.
Seems they were waiting to synchronise the second-half kick-off with the West Ham game. At which point the game at West Ham were given the go-ahead to start … only for this technical issue with the assistant referee to crop up. The fans whistle in irritation. This is a fiasco.
Spurs are left hanging for a minute or so by Everton, who emerge from the tunnel late, having presumably been given a full-fat bollocking for their first-half performance. They were abysmal. Then everyone has to wait while one of the linesman gets his walkie-talkie battery replaced. Dear me.
HALF TIME: West Ham United 0-0 Leeds United. So with Leeds holding the Hammers at the London Stadium, and with apologies to Simon McMahon’s liver (26 min), here’s the table AS IT STANDS. West Ham will be playing Championship football next season.
HALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Everton
A deserved lead for Spurs on the balance of play. Will it stop the nerves jangling in the second half? Of course it won’t! But the mood is a whole lot better since Palhinha headed against the post and rammed home the rebound. A whole lot better.
45 min +5: Mykolenko requires some treatment after being caught late by Spence. But with the half-time whistle so close, he’s staying on, for now at least.
45 min +3: The sub keeper Vicario is in a very strange mood this afternoon, incidentally. That row with Seamus Coleman, and now there’s footage of his celebrating the goal by taking De Zerbi in a headlock from behind.
45 min +2: The stadium is now bouncing, by the way, like that’s breaking news given what’s just happened! Roberto De Zerbi reacted to the goal by wheeling around in a heightened state. Can you blame him?
45 min +1: The first of four additional minutes.
45 min: A long Everton throw comes in from the right. Bentancur barges into the back of Tarkowski, but though VAR has a quick look, there’s not going to be a penalty. Garner drags a poor shot wide right.
44 min: That goal was a proper mess, but Spurs won’t care! Barry had hooked Palhinha’s shot from just behind the line. Danso followed it up, ramming home, but that’s Palhinha’s goal.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Everton (Palhinha 43)
After a shaky few minutes, Spurs are finishing the half strongly … Richarlison dribbles down the left and wins an actual corner this time. Tel sends it to the far stick. Palhinha heads against the right-hand post. The rebound falls to him, and he pokes over the line. Bedlam!
41 min: Gallagher is going nowhere near the left-hand corner flag. But Rohl gifts him a free kick by needlessly barging into his back. A free kick that’s almost the same as a corner. Porro sends it long … and Pickford punches it clear likewise.
40 min: Tel, just inside the Everton box on the left, drops a shoulder and looks for the top-right corner with a curler. It’s heading in, and it’s not clear that Pickford will get to it, so Tarkowski does exceptionally well to block. Tel spins around in frustration, suggesting he knew he’d hit a good one there, and the shot was on its way.
38 min: Ndiaye wins the ball and makes good down the right. His cross is deflected into the air. Palhinha tries a weird back-flicked header across the face of his own box that nearly drops to Barry. He’s fortunate it doesn’t, and Everton clear their lines. Those anxiety levels are rising and rising.
36 min: Rohl finds Dewsbury-Hall down the left. A ball’s slipped into the box along the channel in the hope of finding Barry. Kinsky claims. Everton are beginning to grow as an attacking force, albeit from a very low starting point.
35 min: Palhinha romps down the inside-right channel and shoots. Deflection. Corner. The set piece is sent in, and Danso wins a free header on the penalty spot. He flaps a weak effort down and straight into the arms of Pickford. Spurs have had their chances. Danso has now had two of them. Will they end up regretting these misses?
33 min: Dewsbury-Hall swings the corner into the six-yard box. Spurs let the ball sail all the way through. They’re fortunate that there’s nobody in blue to poke home. Eventually Spence clears. Audible anxiety as the volume dropped through all of that.
32 min: Dewsbury-Hall tries a curler towards the top left from the right-hand edge of the Spurs box. It’s blocked. But Spurs come again, Ndiaye dribbling in from the right but not quite making enough space to get a shot away. He makes do with winning a cornner. From which …
30 min: The xG so far: Spurs 0.38, Everton 0.03. Which tells quite a few stories, on both micro and macro levels.
28 min: … though having said that, Everton have just spent a couple of minutes in Spurs territory, and there are a few frustrated groans from the home fans as a result. All of which will be music to the ears of David Moyes.
27 min: Dewsbury-Hall advances down the left and wins a throw, which Mykolenko prepares to hoick long … but then throws short to Ndiaye. There goes another chance to dispatch the ball into the Spurs box. What on earth are Everton up to?
26 min: The game restarts. “It’s partly cloudy and 20 degrees in Dundee, Scott, which qualifies as a heatwave in my book,” begins Simon McMahon. “Fear not, though, as I am having regular drinks breaks while watching the drama unfold, including a single malt every time the ‘as it stands’ table is shown. It’s been a long hard season, so why not? Good training for the World Cup too.”
Hey, have a nippy sweetie on us.
25 min: A drinks break, and it’s time for some tactical instruction as well. Roberto De Zerbi talking ten to the dozen. A lot of beneficial advice to impart.
23 min: Spence gets the run on Mykolenko down the right. He crosses, hoping to find Richarlison in the middle for a tap-in. Pickford reads the danger and punches clear. Spurs looking far more dangerous than Everton, though that won’t stop the nerves jangling.
22 min: Everton finally put a set piece into the box. Garner curls it in; Tarkowski tries to flick it goalward but only manages to send the ball sailing harmlessly wide left. “White Heart Danes is a great name for a Scandinavian supporters’ club. Much better than Mads It’s Tottenham.” Peter Oh, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all season. Try the water.
