Tottenham comfortably beat Sheffield United 2-0

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 

In their first home match of the new season, Tottenham Hotspur won against newly promoted side Sheffield United, 2-0. The FA Premier League game was settled early in the first half by strikes from Dimitar Berbatov and Jermaine Jenas.

The London side started very brightly, showing their attacking intent. This paid off for Tottenham after just seven minutes.

A perfectly judged pass from Robbie Keane found Aaron Lennon on the right side of the penalty area. Lennon's low cross was tapped in from close range by the waiting Berbatov.

Berbatov was signed by Spurs in the summer from Bayern Leverkusen for £10.9 million. This was his first competitive goal for Tottenham, after finding the net several times in pre-season matches.

Nine minutes later, Tottenham struck again. Jenas received a header on from Berbatov, knocked the ball around United keeper Paddy Kenny and tapped in to double the lead.

Spurs pressed for a third goal, but were unsuccessful as Young-Pyo Lee, Calum Davenport and Robbie Keane all missed opportunities.

Despite this, Spurs looked comfortable in dealing with occasional threats from the Blades, missing the influence of manager Neil Warnock who was serving part of a suspension. Substitutions by United were not enough to turn around the result.

Sources

• Matt Scott. "Spurs blunt Blades with Berbatov's first cut" — The Guardian, August 23, 2006