Wednesday’s match pitted two of the top teams in the Barclays Premier League against each other at the iconic White Hart Lane, and we were lucky enough to be a mere six rows from the field. Seated directly on the touch line, we had a great view to experience the speed of play and quality of touch on the field. The match was a replay of last Sunday’s third round FA CUP match pitting top of the table Leicester City against 4th place Tottenham Hotspurs. Despite the recentness of their previous match, the two teams played energetic football and there were many dangerous chances throughout the game, before Robert Huth, a center back, scored a late corner in the 83rd minute to give Leicester City the victory.
After the ball found the back of the net, Huth went to straight to our corner as he was mobbed by teammates and wildly cheered on by the Leicester City fans, who were seated directly to the right of us. The Leicester City fans created a tremendous atmosphere all night as they chanted in support of their own players, while jeering the referee and even some of the Tottenham fans in our section. The good nature jawing between fans was an experience unseen in American sports and honestly quite humorous. Thankfully, it remained good natured and did not revert back to the hooliganism that cast a black eye on the Premier League for decades.
In my opinion, Tottenham was unlucky on the night after deserving to come away with at least a point for their effort. Below is a video of one such chance, a corner in the 11th minute that was saved off of the goal line by Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Nonetheless, the Spurs had many other quality chances: including a second half strike that was deflected by Schmeichel before hitting the cross bar and bouncing away from goal.
To see a corner kick from our seats:
We sat right next to the Leicester fans. Here’s a clip of them singing:
-Acer, Maggie, Stephen, Ethan, and Nick
