- Shelvey sent off
- Scoreless at break
- Dele with breakthrough
- Davies adds insurance
Dele Alli drew a red card than scored the winner, and Ben Davies also scored as Tottenham Hotspur beat 10-man Newcastle United 2-0 at St. James Park on Sunday.
Jonjo Shelvey was sent off and will face a significant ban for stepping on Dele’s ankle after the midfielder delayed the match by holding onto the ball following a foul.
Spurs host Chelsea in one week’s time, while Newcastle visits Huddersfield Town on the same Sunday.
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Newcastle opened pressing very high, and Spurs struggled to get the ball in the first five minutes as a loud St. James Park.
Dwight Gayle flubbed a couple chances, and the crowd lustily booed ex-Magpies midfielder Moussa Sissoko when he got the ball.
Newcastle left back Paul Dummett needed to leave the match after six minutes, and captain Jamaal Lascelles subbed into the mix.
A Javier Manquillo foul provided a rare chance for Spurs, but Harry Kane’s heading a free kick bounced harmlessly to Magpies backstop Rob Elliot.
Newcastle was sloppy with its touches and passing, but its relentless pressure allowed the hosts most of the ball through most of the first half and a significant amount of corner kicks.
Rafa Benitez was forced into his second substitution when new signing Florian Lejeune was injured from a rash tackle from Kane -- the Spurs man saw just yellow -- and a second center back came off the bench in Chancel Mbemba.
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - AUGUST 13: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur fouls Florian Lejeune of Newcastle United and recives a yellow card during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St. James Park on August 13, 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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Spurs found their footing around the 41st minute, and Elliot had a little work to do when Christian Eriksen curled a shot from outside the box.
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200 – Florian Lejeune will be the 200th French player to play in the @premierleague, the 2nd most represented nation in its history. Vive.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 13, 2017
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Jonjo Shelvey was given a red card after the break. Dele Alli handled the ball after a foul and would not release it. As Shelvey stepped over Dele to gather the ball, he stepped on the Spurs’ player’s ankle and was sent off.
Newcastle would have to play 42 minutes down a man.
Harry Kane made a sliding point-blank shot that Elliot foiled for a corner as Spurs mounted their attack.
It was Dele the villain who put Spurs ahead, rightly so, with a sliding finish off Christian Eriksen’s feed. Kane started the play, and Lascelles was victimized on the finish. 1-0, Spurs.
The Magpies held firm for less than 10 minutes, and this time it was Davies with a stylish finish of more fluid play from Dele, Kane, and Eriksen.
Christian Atsu put a shot into the outside of the netting in the 83rd minute as the Magpies sought a goal. A late free kick then saw Ciaran Clark hit a partial clearance right into Hugo Lloris’ arms.
Kane, who doesn’t have a PL goal in any August, battered the post in the first minute of stoppage time then scored an offside goal in the second.