csconstantine.com

{ Tottenham's match winner Peter Crouch challenges Mathieu Flamini of Milan during the hot-tempered round of 16 first-leg at San Siro. Photograph: Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

Prizes come in many forms. Tottenham Hotspur, above all, have a fine prospect of stepping into the last eight of the Champions League following this first-leg result. Beyond that there is the pride in overcoming a club of Milan's renown, although the current side fell far from the standards once expected of them. The second-half winner from Peter Crouch was merited for Spurs' showing over the span of the night.

Milan took it so badly that the midfielder Gennaro Gattuso seemed to butt the Tottenham coach Joe Jordan at full-time. There was real harm done earlier, however, by a terrible two-foot challenge from Mathieu Flamini that ended Vedran Corluka's night. He had done much to bring vitality to Tottenham's play by cutting loose on the right when the contest wasstill taking shape. The referee, Stéphane Lannoy,somehow saw fit merely to book Flamini.

Even with Corluka hurt so severely, there was cause for Tottenham to be encouraged as Jonathan Woodgate emerged to make his first appearance in a competitive game since injuries engulfed him last, in November 2009. Milan were right to be wary of a team on the rise who are seeing events run to their benefit. Nobody missed even the injured Gareth Bale, who had notched a hat-trick at this ground against Internazionale in October.

The Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri understood the risk he faced and was conservative in putting the Brazilian forward Pato initially among the substitutes. His strategies still malfunctioned as Clarence Seedorf, now 34, looked too venerable for attacking midfield duties and he was necessarily substituted. Tottenham had swagger and also a blend of talents, with Sandro and Wilson Palacios adding a crucial solidity to the midfield.

Luka Modric, a couple of weeks after having his appendix removed, came off the bench eventually, but the initial line-up probably suited Tottenham for this type of encounter.

They looked settled from the outset. Crouch could not make much of Corluka's cross in the fifth minute, but he settled the outcome eventually. The winner was slick as Aaron Lennon went past Mario Yepes to set up the goal.

Milan were off-balance throughout and had distractions such as the loss of the goalkeeper Christian Abbiati after he seemed to hurt his head while challenged by Crouch for a cross. Half an hour passed without his Spurs counterpart Heurelho Gomes being involved in a notable way.

The one frisson of alarm had come when Sandro felled Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 23rd minute, but the contact was just outside the area and the referee saw no offence in any case. The inconspicuous striker did not catch the eye until putting the ball in the net only after shoving Michael Dawson in stoppage time. They did not want to be drawn into an unstable, incident-strewn game. The potential consequences of such an evening had been illustrated in Tottenham's 4-3 defeat at San Siro in the group stage. It might as well have been Inter who had been beaten that night, however. They took full points from the match, but also carried an inferiority complex with them. Harry Redknapp's side qualified ahead of them for this phase of the competition.

There is supposed to be a prize for that in the encounter with a club that could only come second in its group. In Milan's case the situation is more complex since they had been gathering momentum until now in Allegri's first season. The manager seemed to feel that Tottenham would be toppled eventually in this tie because they are an unbalanced team. There was no indication of that.

Tottenham were still in the ascendant when, four minutes from half-time, the replacement goalkeeper Marco Amelia tipped over an effort from Rafael van der Vaart. As the away side, they had also taken some precautionary measures, but briefly made a greater effort to exploit Milan.

Gomes did well to reach a header by Yepes and put it behind for a corner. Tottenham were under stress and the centre-half Yepes caused alarm more than once with aerial prowess that called for superb reactions and agility from the goalkeeper. Having commanded at times, Redknapp's men showed they also knew how to cope and eventually to prosper.

The losers were desperate, with Ibrahimovic applying a very obvious shove to Dawson before netting in stoppage time.

There are various punishments ahead for Milan. Some will now see the club's position at the head of Serie A as an indictment of Italian football. That is too extreme a conclusion to draw from a single evening at San Siro. It is enough to say that Milan fared badly when compelled to meet a keen and rising force such as Tottenham.

Agences de presses

Labels: breakaway, Crouch, Guardian, Hotspur, Milan, Peter, skids, Tottenham, under

{ Red zone: Steven Naismith of Rangers is challanged by Celtic's Mark Wilson which led to Naismith being sent off  Photo: ACTION IMAGES

While Naismith was offered sympathy, however, for Wolverhampton Wanderers’ striker Steven Fletcher, who made it clear that he did not wish to be part of manager Craig Levein’s plans, there was only bafflement from Houston.

Naismith, who had previously been cautioned, was dismissed 14 minutes from time at Ibrox after going to ground in theatrical fashion.

Television replays proved that Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew made no contact with his opponent, leaving the Dundee United manager to mount an unconvincing defence of the 24-year-old’s actions.

“Craig and I were sitting in the director’s box and at the time I thought it was a foul,” he said. “The debate we were having was whether it happened inside or outside the box so it’s a magnificent call from the referee.

“Obviously, you see players in certain teams going down but I don’t think for one second that Naisy [Naismith] is a cheat: he’s a player I respect and admire and I’d love to have him in my team.

“I think that he was going so quickly that he was on the way in a forward momentum that took him down. I don’t think that he deliberately dived.

“He’s not been accused of that in the past so I don’t think that it’s even worth mentioning that he’s a cheat or that he tried to con the referee.

“His momentum took him down due to the pace he was going at. He could have slipped – it was a slippery pitch on Sunday – so I don’t believe he has to worry because he’s not anywhere near being the type of person who will con referees.

“For me he’s one of our most honest and hard-working players and I’ve noticed that even more since working with him for Scotland. I think it would be really unfair if he was tarred as a cheat.”

As for Fletcher, one was left with the impression that his decision to sit our Levein’s reign (as Kris Boyd and Lee McCulloch did with George Burley) will not provoke wailing and gnashing of teeth from the Scotland management team.

“I don’t know why Steven’s chosen to do what he’s done,” he said. “We have a squad of young players who want to be here and I think that’s the biggest thing. “We are becoming more like a club side and people are wanting to be here more often than not although Steven Fletcher is a different kettle of fish.

“He has chosen his pathway and I don’t know if he will change his mind. He has decided to concentrate on his club, but all I’m interested in is guys who want to be here.

“We have to look forward as there are many more who want to be in the squad.

“For anyone to knock back playing for their country, I justc an’t understand that. It’s a big thrill for me, as a club manager, to come here.

“I love the experience I’m gaining as a coach with the national team. I see how other teams play – ones I’d normally only watch on television – and now I’m party to trying to beak them down and win matches against them. I’m also a Scotland supporter and I’ve seen call-offs in the past and people who don’t want to play but I’m just looking to the future.

“This squad could be really good for the national team in the future. The biggest thing is getting back to the time when Craig Brown got us to the finals of European Championships and World Cups. I think we have asquad now which, given time, can do that.”

Agences de presses

Labels: aposdiveapos, battle, defends, Houston, Naismithaposs, Peter, Scotland, Steven, Telegraphcouk