Master trumped pupil at the Britannia Stadium. Tony Pulis may have learnt his managerial craft at the hands of Harry Redknapp, but it was Tottenham Hotspur who managed to come away from the Britannia Stadium with a win. And as they chase that golden fourth spot, what a vital win it was.
On balance, Tottenham just shaded it in the absence of Jermain Defoe, even if they were helped by the second half dismissal of Dean Whitehead.
Eidur Gudjohnsen and Niko Kranjcar were both excellent, and it was their goals that sealed victory either side of a Matthew Etherington penalty.
But in the early stages, Tottenham were unable to exact much influence.
Emaciated by injuries that deprived them of Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone, an improvised central midfield pairing of Luka Modric and Younes Kaboul was too often harried off the ball by the confrontational Glenn Whelan and Dean Whitehead. With Kaboul often sitting just in front of the back four, Modric was left isolated.
But by and large, it was Stoke who were creating in a largely uncreative opening, and they should have led after 20 minutes.
Glenn Whelan crossed from the left, Dave Kitson flicked the ball on from the penalty spot, but an unmarked Abdoulaye Faye nodded wide from four yards.
As Stoke City looked more and more threatening, Danny Higginbotham headed wide, before Heurelho Gomes's decisiveness was timely in shoving Matthew Etherington's low cross out of the reach the encroaching Rory Delap.
With Roman Pavlyuchenko coming off after picking up a knock, Tottenham were pleased to enter the break on level terms, although they had a scare when Ricardo Fuller bundled Sebastian Bassong off the ball and shot straight at Gomes from the edge of the area.
Within 20 seconds, the second half burst into flames. Crouch received the ball 40 yards out, turned, looked and prodded the ball through for substitute Gudjohnsen.
The Icelandic striker shrugged off Faye far too easily and finished emphatically with his left foot to score his first goal for Tottenham since his move from Monaco in January.
Three minutes later, a steep climb had turned into a daunting peak for Stoke when Dean Whitehead stepped into Modric. He had checked his challenge, but the Croatian still flew over his shoulder with the ball long gone.
Having already gone into Mike Dean's book for a clumsy lunge at the same player in the first half, it was an early warm-down for Whitehead.
Spacious where it had previously been cluttered, the midfield was now Modric's realm. He linked well with Gudjohnsen and Kranjcar on the right, and at times Stoke were almost being toyed with.
Yet you were never quite able to shake off the sense that Tottenham were still capable of shooting themselves in both feet. The first signs of trouble was the bizarre sight of Beno?Assou-Ekotto and Vedran Corluka having to be separated by Ricardo Fuller after shoving each other.
Concentration duly mislaid, Stoke levelled. It was a soft goal, Assou-Ekotto getting out of position as Etherington crossed and climbing on top of Dave Kitson as he tried to reach the ball. With great flourish Dean pointed to the spot, and Etherington converted the penalty to score against his former club.
Truly, it was up for grabs now. Fuller missed a glorious chance with his left foot from six yards as Stoke defied their numerical depletion. At the other end, Thomas Sorensen flicked a cross just out of the reach of Gareth Bale.
Ultimately, it was Tottenham's craft that trumped Stoke's graft, and a smart move produced the winning goal. Bale released Assou-Ekotto down the left, who pulled it back.
Gudjohnsen ingeniously let the ball run between his legs, and Niko Kranjcar's shot from 14 yards was as swift and as deadly as a sniper's bullet. Joy for Tottenham's fans was spontaneous and unbridled.
There was yet plenty of time for further score. Bale shot just wide on the break with five minutes left, but Stoke were to get one more golden opportunity as Sebastian Bassong planted a suicidal header back towards Gomes with Mamady Sidib?ying in wait.
But at the crucial moment, the substitute slipped and Tottenham cleared. On such margins will the battle for the Champions League ultimately be decided.
Source: Telegraph
Source: Telegraph