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Match Analysis: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Norwich City

Match Analysis: Tottenham 1-1 Norwich
© PA Photos
Sports Mole dissects the 3pm kickoff between Tottenham and Norwich, which ended 1-1.

Tottenham Hotspur were on the receiving end of a late equaliser for the second week running as they drew 1-1 with Norwich City this afternoon.

The result means that both bosses are still looking for their first league wins as manager, although that seems to be more of a problem for Andre Villas-Boas than Chris Hughton.

Robert Snodgrass cancelled out debutant Moussa Dembele's strike to give Norwich the point with just six minutes left.

Here, Sports Mole looks at the ins and out of the 1-1 draw.

Match Statistics:

Tottenham:
Shots: 14
On target: 8
Possession: 58%
Fouls: 7
Corners: 4

Norwich:
Shots:
10
On target: 4
Possession: 42%
Fouls: 12
Corners: 12

Was the result fair?

On the balance of things, yes. Norwich were the better team in the first half without blowing anyone away with their performance. They had the two best chances, only to be denied by the woodwork and Brad Friedel. The second half was more even, but overall the draw was probably fair, although Norwich fans may make a strong argument that they deserved all three points.

Tottenham's performance

Not good. The fact that a team that thrilled the home crowd so much under Harry Redknapp was being booed at the end of both halves today speaks volumes. In the first half they were outplayed by the Canaries, and looked a shell of the side that looked like title challengers at times last season. One plus point for Villas-Boas will be Dembele's debut goal, though.

Norwich's performance

Norwich will be pleased with their performance. They weren't spectacular by any means, but White Hart Lane, even with Spurs not on song, is a tough place to come and the Canaries acquitted themselves well. They could have been two up at half time and deserved to get at least the draw. I'm pretty sure that they would have taken that before the match.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Brad Friedel. One day after Spurs signed Hugo Lloris for a fee that could rise to almost £12m, their 41-year-old regular proved himself to be as good as ever. A fine save from Russell Martin's header, followed by a phenomenal save from Snodgrass, were just two highlights from the American's display.

Biggest gaffe

This may step on the toes of the next point, but the biggest gaffe of the game has to go to referee Mark Halsey for sending Tom Huddlestone off. The midfielder had been on for just seven minutes when he went into a 50/50 with Jonny Howson. Halsey immediately showed him a red card for what he saw as excessive force in the tackle, but it was a very hard decision.

Referee's performance

It wasn't bad until the 81st minute sending off. However, that decision was a very soft one for me, and tainted Mark Halsey's performance.

What next?

Tottenham: In the smaller picture, next up for Spurs is Reading next Sunday, but in the bigger picture, what is next for Villas-Boas? It is, of course, too early to judge the job he is doing after just three games, but you can't help but think that he needs a win soon to stop doubts creeping in. The fans seem to be getting impatient already, judging by the boos, and Villas-Boas may get less time to prove himself than others due to his time at Chelsea.

Norwich: Norwich, meanwhile, are still also looking for their first win of the season, and Chris Hughton will be looking to get that weight off his shoulders against West Ham next Saturday.

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Barney Corkhill
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