Watford 1 Tottenham 2: Late strike from Heung-min Son puts Spurs within three points of the leaders

Winner: Son grabs victory for Spurs
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
James Benge28 December 2015

Tottenham muscled their way into the title race as Heung-min Son grabbed a late winner away to Watford.

A red card for Nathan Ake on the hour mark seemed to give Tottenham the chance to claim all three points, an opportunity the visitors seemed to have failed to exploit until Son added to Erik Lamela’s opener.

Watford had seemed on course for a fully-deserved point after Odion Ighalo brought Quique Sanchez Flores’ side level on the stroke of half-time, but the Hornets five match unbeaten run ended in frustrating circumstances.

Both sides came into the contest in the upper echelons of the league form table, with just two defeats between them in their last six matches.

Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings

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Watford in particular had shown themselves to be more than a match for the league’s top sides, capping an impressive month with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Liverpool and a more than creditable 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge in Guus Hiddink’s first match in charge at Chelsea.

And they showed their mettle early on, pressing Tottenham’s backline high and looking to steal the ball in dangerous areas. Fine interplay by the front two of Troy Deeney and Ighalo in the 16th minute teed up Etienne Capoue but his thunderous effort was well wide.

Tottenham may have been on the back-foot but with Harry Kane and Lamela leading the line they posed plenty of threat on the counter, as the latter proved two minutes later. A loose pass in Watford’s midfield by Cathcart allowed Kane to release the Argentine, who showed no sign of nerved when running at the Watford defence, calmly stroking his side into a 1-0 lead.

The first half was to continue along much the same timbre, with Spurs sacrificing possession but always remaining a dangerous reactive force through the pacey front trio of Lamela, Kane and Dele Alli. The hosts found Tottenham’s 5-2-3 far more difficult to read, with the presence of Eric Dier in the heart of defence forcing Deeney to drift further wide in search of space to influence the game.

Yet Dier was not able to deal with Ighalo in the 41st minute, as the Watford striker turned his man inside the area before stabbing past Hugo Lloris from close range for his 14th goal of an exceptional campaign.

Neither side were able to gain a stranglehold on the second period, which became increasingly tetchy as both sides felt the burn of a second game in three days. Miguel Britos was lucky to avoid a red card for a tough tackle on Lamela just before the hour but Watford’s luck did not last long.

Ake, who had been an excellent presence on Watford’s left flank, hit the same man with a high tackle that seemed a certain yellow. It was with some surprise that the Chelsea loanee saw red from Anthony Taylor.

Flores adjusted by adding Allan Nyom to the Hornets defence and it worked, as Spurs struggled to find a way in behind. When Heung-min Son did in the 78th minute Gomes was live to it, sprinting out to claim the ball.

Indeed it was Watford who had the best chances of the dying minutes , with Ben Watson an inch away from scoring direct from a corner. However an impressive back-heeled flick from Son in the 89th minute secured the win for Spurs.

Pochettino's side now sit just three points behind Leicester, and a single point off rivals Arsenal, ahead of the remaining fixtures today and tomorrow.

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