Salvation for Tottenham as Palhinha seals victory over Everton
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LONDON, May 24 : Tottenham Hotspur salvaged their Premier League status in the nick of time as Joao Palhinha's first-half goal earned a priceless 1-0 home victory over Everton on Sunday.
Only an 11th home league defeat of a miserable season could have sent Tottenham down for the first time since 1977, but Palhinha's 43rd-minute effort erased that nightmare scenario on a nervy afternoon in north London.
It meant West Ham United's 3-0 win over Leeds United was in vain as Tottenham finished 17th on 41 points, two points ahead of their London rivals who were relegated.
Tottenham's victory completed an escape mission led by Roberto de Zerbi who has rejuvenated the team since taking charge little more than a month ago with Spurs deep in trouble.
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After an afternoon of tension and 10 agonising minutes of stoppage time in which every Tottenham clearance was cheered, the final whistle was met by huge relief with several Spurs players collapsing to the turf.
"It's unacceptable that the last game we played this season was to avoid relegation," said Spurs defender Micky van de Ven. "It was embarrassing to let it come to the final day but we did it and that is what is important."
It was all smiles as the players took the customary end-of-season lap of honour, but once the dust settles Tottenham will realise just how close they came to calamity after a 15-game winless run at the start of the year.
The twice English champions have only spent one season outside the top flight since 1950 - the last occasion being 1977-78. But for much of this year they have been in a spiral towards relegation that would have resulted in a financial hit in the region of 150 million pounds ($201 million).
Italian De Zerbi has taken 11 points from his seven games in charge, although defeat at Chelsea in the penultimate game of the season took the relegation battle to the wire.
NERVOUS DAY
The tension ratcheted up as kickoff neared with the spectre of Everton boss David Moyes saving his old club West Ham once again, this time while not even being their manager, a dark thought lurking in the back of fans' minds.
A sea of white filled the stadium and a loud rendition of the club's anthem "When the Spurs go marching in" was belted out as the teams made their way out. Even injured club captain Cristian Romero, whose decision to go back to Argentina for treatment had caused outrage, was back in the stands.
Desperate for an early goal to settle the nerves, Tottenham began strongly with Conor Gallagher smashing a shot into the side netting and Palhinha scooping a chance over.
Tottenham's initial burst of energy dissipated as the 31 degrees Celsius heat began to take a toll, but there was an explosion of relief as the hosts scored close to halftime.
Mathys Tel swung in a corner and Palhinha, a key figure since joining on loan from Bayern Munich, headed against the upright but reacted well to prod the rebound over the line.
With West Ham drawing 0-0 it meant Tottenham were four points clear of the trap door at the interval.
It was never going to be a straightforward final day, though, and word of West Ham scoring twice against Leeds prompted an outbreak of nail biting, especially with Everton finally showing some ambition.
The tension was suffocating as the minutes ticked down and Spurs retreated deeper and deeper. Had Antonin Kinsky not made a stunning save to keep out a stinging shot from Tyrique George, who knows what might have happened.
Tottenham live to fight another day but chants against the club's owners after the game offered a sober reality check for a proud club that has finished 17th for consecutive seasons.
($1 = 0.7448 pounds)
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