Spurs duo get rare chance together
19/09/2005 - 18:44:18
Tottenham boss Martin Jol will pair strikers Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane together against Grimsby in tomorrow night’s Carling Cup second-round tie.
Keane was Spurs’ saviour on Saturday when he came on to score a dramatic equaliser to earn a share of the spoils against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
The Republic of Ireland marksman has played second fiddle to England striker Defoe all season and, even following the suspension of Egyptian striker Mido, Keane’s return has been blocked by new signing Grzegorz Rasiak.
Keane’s strike spared the blushes of Defoe who missed a first-half penalty but now the Irishman is set for a place alongside him as Rasiak is cup-tied for the clash against the League Two leaders at Blundell Park.
Jol paid tribute to Keane – who is beginning to earn something of an unwanted ‘super-sub’ reputation at White Hart Lane – and insisted the Irishman still has a big future at the club despite interest from Everton, Newcastle, and Villa.
Jol said: “We can play Defoe and Keane together and they do play marvellous football but, in English football, you do need someone who is good with his head too.
“Jermain is scoring some very good goals and Robbie is playing in a similar position so it’s difficult.
“I am always happy when Robbie comes on and he is such an important part of the squad.”
Keane would not be drawn on his situation apart from admitting, like every other player, he prefers to play regular first-team football.
Instead, he preferred to focus on the team spirit that brought them back into the game against Villa and which will hopefully start them on a run in the Carling Cup against Grimsby.
Spurs fell behind early to James Milner’s fine strike before Keane struck the leveller 12 minutes from the end.
“It was a difficult game and I thought Villa played ever so well,” reflected Keane. “We showed a lot of character to come back and we could have nicked it in the end but overall, we were happy enough to come away with a point. It’s a tough place to go and we’ve found that out over the last few seasons.”
Spurs have been rocked by the news Anthony Gardner could be out for up to two months following the thigh injury he sustained against Villa.
Jol confirmed: “It is sad for Anthony because he has been doing very well but it looks a bad one. Fortunately, we have Goran Bunjevcevic as cover for Ledley King and Nourredine Naybet while Stephen Kelly and Tom Huddlestone can fill in if necessary.
“It have told the players it won’t be easy at Grimsby and we’ll be travelling there with a great deal of respect.
“They are top of the league, a hard-working side with good players like Michael Reddy who is scoring goals.”
Grimsby boss Russell Slade is relishing the prospect of taking on Spurs after his side surged to the top of League Two with a 3-0 win over bottom club Torquay on Saturday.
Slade said: “It’s a fantastic occasion for us and everyone is really looking forward to it.
“It is a chance for the players to go out and express themselves against a team of international stars and our main aim is to give a good account of ourselves. We can look forward to having a go at Tottenham. It’s great going into the Spurs game having won a match.”
Town’s two-goal hero against Torquay, Michael Reddy, believes they can enjoy the game against Spurs without any pressure.
Reddy said: “It would have been a bit of a blow if we hadn’t got a good result ahead of the game against Spurs. But we can now all go into that looking forward to it.
“We are top of the league now and the only way is up hopefully. The gaffer was obviously delighted about it but we have just got to try and keep this run going.
“Hopefully we can remain unbeaten for a while and enjoy the game against Tottenham.”
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