#Men'sFirstTeam #MatchReport #Motherwell #MattDoherty

Doherty at the double in mid-season friendly win over Motherwell

Spurs 4-0 Motherwell

Fri 09 December 2022, 15:00|Tottenham Hotspur

After four weeks away, we made a winning return to action on Friday afternoon as goals from Dejan Kulusevski, Bryan Gil and a brace from Matt Doherty saw us ease to a comfortable 4-0 victory over Scottish side Motherwell in a mid-season friendly at Hotspur Way.

In the winter sun at our Enfield training base, Antonio Conte’s side took the first steps towards a return to Premier League football following the break for the FIFA World Cup with a behind-closed-doors clash against the team currently sat ninth in the Scottish Premiership.

We made the perfect start as well, taking the lead in the third minute when Kulusevski picked up a loose ball in the box before tucking it home underneath Motherwell skipper and goalkeeper Liam Kelly.

We were well in control for most of the first half, although Brandon Austin did have to keep out a Blair Spittal effort before seeing a clearance blocked by the onrushing Connor Shields on 24 minutes, but the ball drifted a couple of yards wide.

We doubled our lead four minutes later with a move that was started by Yves Bissouma and flowed through Kulusevski and Bryan to Doherty inside the area, who cut onto his right and fired beneath Kelly.

The Well keeper then pulled off an outstanding save to tip over a curling effort from Bryan, but couldn’t prevent the Spaniard on 40 minutes as he tapped home Kulusevski’s cut-back. And it was the Swede with another assist in the 71^stminute, floating over a left-footed corner which Doherty flicked into the far corner of the net.

Both sides made a whole host of changes during the second period, Motherwell doing theirs just before the hour while we took off all our recognised first-team players during the final 15 minutes. The changes broke up the flow of the game, although a couple of late chances saw Sean Goss hit a free-kick for Motherwell which flicked off our wall and drifted just wide, before Romaine Mundle delivered an excellent cross from the left but Will Lankshear couldn’t quite get a clean header to trouble substitute Aston Oxborough in the visitors’ goal.

#Men'sFirstTeam #MatchReport #Motherwell

Spurs 4-0 Motherwell

Spurs (3-4-3): Austin (Whiteman 58), Tanganga (Dorrington 75), Sanchez (Fagan-Walcott 75), Sayers (Mundle 75), Spence (Paskotsi 75), Bissouma (John 75), Skipp (Devine 75), Doherty, Kulusevski (Lankshear 75), White (Donley 75), Bryan (Santiago 75). Substitutes (not used): Robson.

Motherwell (4-2-3-1): Kelly (c) (Oxborough 46), O’Donnell (Johnston 58), Lamie, Johansen (Maguire 24), Penney (Wilson 58), Slattery (Speirs 58), Goss (Miller 58), Spittal (Cornelius 58), Van Veen (Morris 58), McKinstry (Tierney 58), Shields (Ross 58). Substitutes (not used): Connelly.