Stoke soar over sorry Spurs

Tottenham and Juande Ramos continue to toil in the relegation mire after a 2-1 defeat at Stoke.

Delap winner condemns Tottenham to sixth league defeat

Tottenham and Juande Ramos continue to toil in the relegation mire after a 2-1 defeat at fellow basement dwellers Stoke City left them propping up the rest of the division. The beleaguered North Londoners have now taken just two points from eight games, with Rory Delap's winner condemning nine-man Spurs to their sixth league defeat, following a contest that also saw Stoke miss an injury-time penalty. When with just over a quarter of an hour played a lapse in Gareth Bale's concentration resulted in not only a red card for the Welshman but also a Stoke penalty, the writing was already being etched on the wall for a side short on confidence, shy of fight. In injury-time, Bale would be joined by substitute Michael Dawson in taking an early bath following his lunge on Mamady Sidibe. Tom Soares had already served a Tottenham warning when he scampered clear early on, only for an insipid finish to let Heurelho Gomes off the hook. The wide man's next forward foray would prove more productive though as he nicked the ball off a dozing Bale, only to be felled in the penalty box in an incident that left Spurs both a man and goal down. Danny Higginbotham was a model of composure as strong headwinds repeatedly blew the ball off the spot, as the Britannia faithful held a collective breath. They need not have worried; as the big defender's low spot-kick gave Gomes not a prayer.

Ramos pressure

Ramos looked nervous on the touchline but his charges regrouped and showed considerable resolve to restore parity as Darren Bent - despite being in an offside position from Alan Hutton's deflected shot - demonstrated a striker's nous in front of goal, as he fended off a Stoke challenge to stab the ball between Thomas Sorensen's legs. The reversal in fortunes invigorated Ramos' side and Aaron Lennon went on a promising run but his shot was tame, then David Bentley curled a long-range effort but too high. Luka Modric was next to try his luck after cutting in from the right but his drive sailed wide, before Sorensen was forced into a one-handed save to keep out Lennon's fierce 20-yard strike. Both sides toiled but lacked the necessary guile to further threaten the scoresheet, in a first half full of endeavour but lacking in genuine opportunities. Potters boss Tony Pulis will have urged his side to return to what they do best in the half-time interval and, with a renewed vigour and fire, they set about an understandably disjointed Tottenham for the second half. Delap has received his fair share of attention for his long throws this season but it was a willingness to gamble in getting forward that was rewarded in the 52nd minute. A bright Stoke move saw the ball worked out wide right to Sidibe and from the striker's perfectly executed ball across goal, Delap stole past his marker to score a well engineered winner. Seyi Olofinjana brought a sprawling save out of Gomes from 25 yards before Stoke were forced into a change with Steve Simonsen coming on in goal for Thomas Sorensen after the Dane had been caught by Hutton.

Spurs slump

Spurs' woes were exacerbated by the sight of Vedran Corluka leaving the ground in an ambulance following a head injury, but even 11 minutes of stoppage time proved too little, too late for a Spurs side very much embroiled in a battle to retain their top-flight status. A remarkable conclusion to the most absorbing of contests saw Stoke substitute Ricardo Fuller hit both posts from the penalty spot after Jonathan Woodgate had brought down Soares, with Delap following up only to crash his rebound onto Gomes' bar. The impressive Fuller hit the frame of the goal for a third time after a typically slalom-like run in the game's dying embers, but not before Dawson was shown a straight red card that leaves Tottenham in dire straights.

Stoke City	Team Statistics	Tottenham Hotspur
2	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	1
4	Shots on Target	4
6	Shots off Target	5
1	Blocked Shots	3
6	Corners	1
16	Fouls	14
2	Offsides	0
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	2
69.1	Passing Success	73.9
22	Tackles	19
77.3	Tackles Success	52.6
43.7	Possession	56.3
57.8	Territorial Advantage	42.2