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AS IT HAPPENED

As it happened: Tottenham v Swansea, Premier League

After all the drama in the North-East, we headed down to London as Spurs looked to get their quest for third place back on track against Swansea.

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Full-Time: Tottenham 3-1 Swansea

Tottenham have missed Aaron Lennon and the England flyer returns to the bench. Louis Saha and Jermain Defoe are also named among the replacements.

Meanwhile, Steven Caulker is on loan at Swansea from Spurs so can’t play. Club captain Garry Monk comes back in, while Wayne Routledge – a former Tottenham player – keeps Nathan Dyer out of the team.

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Sandro, Parker, Modric, Van der Vaart, Adebayor, Bale

Subs: Cudicini, Lennon, Saha, Defoe, Rose, Livermore, Nelsen

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Taylor, Routledge, Britton, Sigurdsson, Allen, Sinclair, Graham

Subs: Tremmel, Tate, Dyer, McEachran, Lita, Moore, Gower

The match has kicked off. Nothing else has happened. Gary Neville sounds like he has a cold but Gary Neville always sounds like that.

A lovely spell of pressing, triangles, options from Swansea as Sigurdsson’s pass finds Angel Rangel. His cross is deflected out by Gareth Bale.

Tottenham’s first effort from Rafael van der Vaart goes wide. Good build-up play from Luka Modric and Emmanuel Adebayor, who lays it back to the Dutchman.

It seemed to go out off Neil Taylor but the ref didn’t spot it. Goal kick.

Swansea counter as Parker’s interception ends up with Routledge, who shoots wide.

Gareth Bale rampages down the left but Adebayor, under pressure, shoots wide. Spurs have started well here with Sandro, in particular, bossing the midfield.

Phenomenal work by Neil Taylor, who knocks the ball past William Gallas. All credit goes to the full-back because the centre-half was all over him there, had he gone down it would have been a penalty.

As it was, the ball ran out of play.

Tottenham 1-0 Swansea. The home side takes the lead and it’s Rafael van der Vaart - a sublime finish from the Dutchman.

Luka Modric set Bale free with an exquisitely weighted ball inside Rangel, with the Welshman’s cross diverted into the path of van der Vaart by Ashley Williams.

Bale beats Rangel again on the left but his cross fails to reach a team-mate.

Kyle Walker almost gets a dangerous cross in but Williams does well to intercept as Adebayor loomed. The ball ends up with Bale, who wins a corner.

Van der Vaart plants the corner on to the head of Younes Kaboul, but Vorm saves.

Harking back to earlier on

Meanwhile Modric, once again, finds Bale inside the box but the winger’s volley sails over the bar.

Swansea have given the ball away a lot in this half, which is something you can’t normally level at Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Scott Sinclair’s ridiculous haircut hasn’t done anything of note today.

Kaboul finds himself on the left wing but his cross is smothered by Vorm. He should leave that kind of thing to Bale, who slides in Modric for a shot that the Croat snatches at, drags it wide. It’s almost half-time.

And it is half-time.

Rafael van der Vaart’s goal separates the sides at the break. Spurs have been dominant, particularly Modric, Sandro and Bale. Some fine attacking play from Harry Redknapp’s men, who are showing the kind of form that saw them threaten the Manchester sides before falling away.

The teams are back, the match is back on, and neither side has made any changes.

Swansea have started the second half like a house on fire.

Hang on.

That saying makes absolutely no sense. Commentators – take note.

What a save from Friedel from the man who is quickly becoming our favourite Premier League footballer – Gylfi Sigurdsson. That was truly stunning, fingertip stuff on to the post.

Swansea’s best moment of the game, they clearly had their half-time PCP.

[caption id="attachment_403639" align="alignnone" width="630" caption="Scott Parker has been everywhere. As usual. "][/caption]

It’s a fine game, this. Nothing underhanded about the teams’ approach to the match, no needle, but lots of fine passing, efforts and saves. That Friedel stretch will be remembered long after the final whistle.

Tottenham 1-1 Swansea. It’s a scruffy one but they all count, apparently. Gylfi Sigurdsson has just scored his sixth goal for Swansea, hitting his shot into the ground and beyond the grasp of Friedel. It was all preceded by some fine work from Wayne Routledge, who held off Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

More nice work from the 22-year-old chairman of an Icelandic fishing company.

A bold prediction – before the end of this game, there will be a goal of the season contender. It’s coming… Don’t ask us how we know, we just know…

Good work from Gareth Bale, who gets in and ahead of Routledge. Bale crosses for van der Vaart but his header is saved easily enough by Vorm.

We’re 69 minutes and still haven’t seen a yellow card. Assou-Ekotto could have been booked for sliding in on Routledge, but the fact that the Cameroonian injured himself has saved him.

Meanwhile, Nathan Dyer is on for Routledge and Aaron Lennon has replaced Sandro for Spurs.

We have a goal and it’s Tottenham 2-1 Swansea. Van der Vaart’s corner goes sailing over the Swansea defence and on to the head of Abebayor, who just stands there and heads past Vorm. Poor defending from the Swans.

Bale feels he should have had a penalty.

He claims for it but Ashley Williams made a genuine attempt to block the pass, which found Modric anyway. Modric could do nothing with it.

Spurs are back in the ascendancy and seem unlikely to give away the lead again.

Luke Moore, who recently got the winner against Manchester City, is on for Swansea.

The visitors have a free-kick from Sigurdsson – can he produce the goods again? Almost! It’s just wide.

Jake Livermore is coming on for Tottenham. His hair is like Scott Sinclair’s was four weeks ago, at a guess.

Van der Vaart goes off.

Livermore immediately gives the ball away but Modric wins it back, feeds Bale, and the Welshman’s brilliant shot is saved by Vorm.

There’s no let-up, however, and in the next attack it becomes Tottenham 3-1 Swansea, and it’s Adebayor with his second headed goal. This time Lennon was the provider – how Spurs have missed the winger.

Elsewhere, Danny Rose comes on for Assou-Ekotto.

The man of the match award goes to Gareth Bale and it’s well deserved, he has been brilliant.

The final subtitution of the match and Joe Allen is replaced by Mark Gower, who made a couple of League Cup appearances for Spurs before joined Barnet in 2001.

That probably won’t come up in any table quizzes, mind you.

We’re nearly at full-time…

And it’s all over.

Tottenham were sent on their way by Rafael van der Vaart, only to see Gylfi Sigurdsson draw Swansea level.

Emmanuel Adebayor – who had had a quiet game – sprang into life late in the game and his two headers brought Spurs level on points with Arsenal, just one goal behind on goal difference with seven games remaining. It could not be closer.

Thanks for keeping up, it was a good one…

As it happened: Newcastle v Liverpool >