Kevin Wimmer and Tottenham Hotspur Pass FA Cup Tests at Colchester United
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino will hope all his team's upcoming back-to-back tests are passed as comfortably as this.
Saturday's 4-1 win over Colchester United secured the north Londoners progression to the FA Cup fifth round for the first time since 2012. Goals from Nacer Chadli (two), Eric Dier and Tom Carroll ensured the League 1 outfit's late reply—a Ben Davies own goal—was merely a consolation.
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An unfortunate moment for Davies, fellow defender Kevin Wimmer will not have welcomed it, either. It denied him a clean sheet on a day that was also serving as an evaluation of his credentials covering for the injured Jan Vertonghen.
Only Wimmer's seventh appearance since joining Tottenham last summer, the logical presumption is he will receive more starting opportunities in the coming weeks. Tasked with helping to maintain the club's strong defensive record this season (still the best in the Premier League with just 19 goals conceded) while he attempts to prove himself a legitimate alternative to Vertonghen.
Being left-footed, he is a more natural fit beside the right-sided Toby Alderweireld than Dier—this season's defensive-midfield choice occupying his alternative position as the Austrian's partner in the preceding round against Leicester City and against Colchester.
Speaking ahead of the game, Pochettino indicated the former pairing is indeed what he intends to proceed with.
"We are sure that Kevin can do well," said Pochettino, per ESPN FC's Dan Kilpatrick. "He had the possibility to play in different games—maybe not as much as he expected—and he was good."
Wimmer was good against Colchester too, albeit leaving room for improvement.
As has been the case in his previous matches, the defender was largely composed. Bar one errant look out toward Davies, his passing was sound while he played comfortably under pressure. Whether connecting with goalkeeper Michel Vorm or bringing the ball down in tight confines.
Spurs players wore black armbands in memory of former player Peter Baker, who died on Wednesday. Wimmer's efforts to engage the opposition—if not always the execution—would not have disgraced the 1960-61 double-winning defender (see the 11-second mark on the above video for an example of his own tough-tackling).
On several occasions, he pushed forward to meet advancing Colchester attacks. A couple of times in their own half it successfully caught them by surprise. In Spurs territory he was not so effective, but he avoided getting punished after being bypassed—leaving the lively and tricky George Moncur to his own devices in these areas would probably not have been wise.
Wimmer had the better of the U's in the air and, just prior to the hour mark, delivered in his one big individual moment on the ground.
Though failing to control the ball heading into the box, he recovered well to prod it back to Vorm before Chris Porter could nip in. It was a risky sliding tackle but a brave and well-timed one.
Pochettino's decision to rest Alderweireld denied Wimmer potentially crucial minutes alongside his prospective partner—a tough but understandable decision with Norwich City awaiting on Tuesday as a packed February commences.
Wimmer worked hard to show his ability to maintain shape alongside Dier, though the inferiority of the opponents allowed a little more looseness than usual. Shortly before half-time, they notably combined well to constrict and narrow the route for a possible Moncur ball through to Porter.
Though not severely scrutinised by Colchester, the one big lingering question mark over the Spurs defence without Vertonghen is their ability to stay organised. Particularly at crosses and set plays.
The latter were dealt with, but one cross from right-back Richard Brindley saw Wimmer acknowledge then leave Darren Ambrose unmarked in the area. Even accounting for his likely inclination to keep his near-post presence, it was a risky call. Fortunately, the delivery was too high and Dier cleared from the threatening Porter.
In an analysis of Wimmer last March, ESPN FC's Nick Dorrington identified the centre-back's concentration as an area of weakness. This has been evident in Spurs starts against Arsenal, Monaco and Leicester (the initial game, not the replay) and was also an issue when he replaced the injured Vertonghen during the win over Crystal Palace on Jan. 23.
Ensuring his defence remains shipshape will be vital to maintaining the momentum Pochettino spoke of post-match (above).
Elsewhere against Colchester, his attack again produced some lovely football—if nothing quite as eye-pleasing as Dele Alli's terrific goal against Palace the preceding week—and probably should have delivered more than eight shots on target from their 27 altogether, per BBC Sport.
If their periods of dominance preceded a little complacency in places against the third-tier side, the team were cognisant enough to know when to exert force and wrest back control. Strong showings from Carroll, Chadli and Kieran Trippier in particular again emphasised the general depth of this squad.
Wimmer will now be trying to prove he deserves a regular spot in Pochettino's rotation too, that he is good for more than just a bit-part role in continuing their advances domestically and in Europe.
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