Tottenham Hotspur recorded their first win under Andre Villas-Boas with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Reading at the Madejski Stadium this evening.
Jermain Defoe's second club goal of the season put Spurs ahead at the break, before he and Gareth Bale added to the visitors' lead in the second half.
Hal Robson-Kanu pulled a goal back for the Royals in the dying seconds of the match, however it was too little too late for Brian McDermott's men.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the afternoon's events in Berkshire.
Match Statistics:
Reading:
Shots: 5
On target: 2
Possession: 42.3%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 5
Spurs:
Shots: 20
On target: 8
Possession: 57.7%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 10
Was the result fair?
Without doubt, yes. Spurs almost monopolised possession in the first half and, when Reading pushed forward in the second, the pacy visitors looked deadly on the counter-attack.
Reading's performance
Subdued to say the least. It took the Royals until the 85th minute to register a shot on target. They looked panicky on the ball and were thoroughly outclassed without it.
Spurs' performance
Very good. The attacking quintet of Defoe, Bale, Aaron Lennon, Moussa Dembele and Gylfi Sigurosson all linked up well. Defensively, although Villas-Boas will be very disappointed with the way his side conceded late on, William Gallas and Jan Vertonghen were both excellent for the most part. The pair won the vast majority of their headers, giving Pavel Pogrebnyak a very frustrating afternoon.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Defoe by a country mile. The little man's movement was superb and his second goal was the work of a complete forward. Emmanuel Adebayor might have to get used to the comfy subs' bench at White Hart Lane.
Biggest gaffe
For all his brilliance, Defoe was guilty of missing a real sitter on 55 minutes. After Dembele had run 40 yards with the ball and fired in a low left-footed cross, Defoe, who was standing in the centre of the six-yard box, looked certain to score. However, he somehow managed to deflect the ball over the bar from four yards.
Referee's performance
Howard Webb was largely invisible, so he must have had a good game. The one real moment of controversy came in the first half with the game still goalless. A ball was swung into the Spurs area and struck Kyle Walker on the hand. It appeared to be a very good shout for a Reading spot kick, however Webb awarded Spurs a free kick for an apparent push.
What next?
Reading: The Royals' search for their first win of the season continues when they travel to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Spurs: Tottenham welcome Lazio to White Hart Lane in the Europa League on Thursday, before continuing their Premier League campaign with a home clash against London rivals Queens Park Rangers a week today.
Robert Summerscales
