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Spurs took the lead on seven minutes when Jamie O'Hara scored his first goal for the club.

They were much the better side for the first half, if not lacking slightly in motivation. In the second, however, it was all Slavia; as the side that capitulated across town at Arsenal's Emirates' Stadium a couple of months ago in the Champions League put up a real fight here tonight at White Hart Lane, managing an equaliser but nothing more.

The home side therefore progressed to the last 16 without too great a scare, but the performance left a lot to be desired.

A Little Excuse

Assistant manager Gus Poyet admitted his side were not good enough, and said they had a 'little excuse', as with the tie all but won, attentions turned to Sunday's Carling Cup final against Chelsea.

"It's difficult to analyse the game," mused Poyet.

"Maybe we have a little excuse, after scoring early, the players started to think about Sunday.

"I know it looks like it's not professional, but it's something we have to accept.

"[We need to] forget about this, as soon as possible, and start thinking about Chelsea properly."

The former Chelsea midfielder insisted that the substitutions made in the game were not out of desperation, as his side struggled to stay in the game, but conceded that perhaps the introduction of Jermaine Jenas was a necessity as Spurs struggled on their right hand side.

"We thought that with the players that were on the pitch we were good enough to win the game," he declared.

"Of course at the end it looked like we were suffering a little bit, and Jenas had to come on to try and help us on the right side."

Looking Forward

Though he was not trying to shy away from his side's lack of conviction on the night, Poyet was keen to put it in the past in order to keep spirits high and focus on the positives: an upcoming cup final, and a round of 16 clash in the UEFA Cup with Dutch champions PSV.

"If you analyse this game too much you probably won't be happy," he said. "So I prefer not to look back but to look forward: Chelsea first, then PSV."

All Hail O'Hara

Poyet reserved special praise for Spurs' goal-scorer on the night, Jamie O'Hara, who netted his first for the club. The Uruguayan hailed O'Hara's all-round strength both leading into this game and on the night itself, and believes a goal puts the perfect cap on his performance.

"I was trying to put money on Jamie on Sunday [for the Carling Cup final], but unfortunately he scored too early," he joked.

"It was important for him; because he was trying, he was having good games, he was making great crosses and good passes and really working hard for the team."

Poyet refused to be drawn on the situation regarding injuries at the club, insisting that though everyone appeared to come through tonight's clash unscathed, tomorrow will be the big day when the players' fitness can be fully confirmed.

Keeper Conundrum

He also had some words of promise for goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who was dropped by club and country following woeful performances for both, and rumours of an exit during the January transfer window were rife.

However, having stuck it out at White Hart Lane, he put in an admirable performance today and was the Yids' unlikely hero, as Slavia caused the home side a lot more trouble than they would have anticipated.

Poyet, though, refused to be drawn on whether he had done enough to start in Sunday's big game: "He did very good, he kept us in the cup because he made a couple of great saves.

"Is he going to be [starting] on Sunday or not? We don't know yet."


source:goal.com