Tim Sherwood always believed that the tide would turn for Roberto Soldado. The Tottenham Hotspur manager said so last week, when he advanced the old favourite about the striker simply needing one to ricochet in off his backside to get him back in the groove.
The breakthrough, which also served to deepen Cardiff City’s mounting anxiety, was a thing of rather more beauty. It was the kind of instinctive finish, following a smart run, that Tottenham had hoped to see more of this season, after his €32 million arrival from Valencia. Yet it was extremely welcome here; a flash of quality on an otherwise drab occasion.
Soldado has now pulled clear of Jermain Defoe, who has departed for FC Toronto, as the club's leading scorer this season with 11 goals in all competitions, although the fact seems to have slipped under the radar. It is because of the slightly devalued feel to his five Europa League goals while four of the six in the Premier League have been penalties. This one ticked all the right boxes.
Cardiff gave everything and they were still throwing punches in injury time when everybody flooded the Tottenham penalty area for two corners. But they came to nothing and the club’s vociferous supporters might reflect that, apart from a Steven Caulker header on 29 minutes that rattled the crossbar, they did not examine Tottenham closely enough.
Tan speech
Vincent Tan, the club's owner, had addressed the squad in the hotel on Saturday night and, according to manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he was encouraging and supportive. "It was the first time he's done that since I've been here and you could see the effect on the players," said Solskjaer. But the statistics show that Solskjaer has a single league victory on his two-month watch and survival opportunities are running out. The home match against Fulham on Saturday has a make-or-break feel.
Soldado’s decisive contribution allowed Sherwood to give vent to unbridled joy on the touchline and he was not the only one in Tottenham colours to feel the thrill. It was a moment when Soldado also repaid the faith of the home support, who had earlier belted out his name despite him touching wide at the near post from Aaron Lennon’s first minute cross.
The goal stemmed from Andros Townsend's break and when Emmanuel Adebayor rolled a pass through the Cardiff defence, Soldado took an excellent first touch before steering the ball into the far corner.
“If Robbie wasn’t showing the desire in training, I would have left him out,” said Sherwood, who reported that Kyle Walker and Christian Eriksen would miss the England-Denmark friendly on Wednesday night with hip and back injuries respectively. “But I’ve looked Robbie in the eyes and . . . He’s a true pro.”
Solskjaer had not anticipated being unhinged by a quick counter when he set up to be compact with a new-look five-man defence. He had hoped it would be his team hitting on the break and there were flickers from Craig Bellamy and Fraizer Campbell.
Impressive Dawson
Cardiff almost equalised after Soldado's goal when Hugo Lloris found himself boxed in on a Bellamy corner and Caulker crashed a header
against the crossbar from three yards out. But there was little else by way of goalmouth incident.
The excellent Michael Dawson made a saving tackle on Kim Bo-kyung after a Bellamy run while the Tottenham captain flashed a header just wide at the other end. Declan John was denied by Lloris in the 40th minute after a powerful surge.
John impressed going forward but he was less secure when confronted by Lennon and he was fortunate not to concede a penalty early in the second half when he tripped the Tottenham winger. The contact looked to be just inside the area but Phil Dowd deemed it to have been outside. John was booked.
Cardiff’s shape was good and they restricted Tottenham. But despite Solskjaer’s attacking substitutions, it was difficult to see where the goal would come from.
The second half was less eventful than the first as sloppy errors fractured the rhythm but it was somehow more of a spectacle due to the rising tension. Cardiff's day was summed up when substitute Kenwyne Jones knocked over Campbell as they went for the same ball and when Marshall denied the Tottenham substitute Harry Kane, it was clear that the occasion would belong to Soldado.
Guardian Service
