West Bromwich Albion vs. Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs win 1-0 thanks to Bale wonderstrike

A frustrating first half gave way to a straightforward second half for Tottenham Hotspur at The Hawthorns, as Goran Popov seriously hindered West Bromwich Albion's chances of grabbing a result. He spat at Kyle Walker in the opening minutes of the second half, for which he was handed a red card. Spurs went on to defeat 10-man WBA, 1-0, thanks to a great strike by Gareth Bale.

Though the result was a very positive one, the game also featured one massive negative. Jermain Defoe, the only true center forward in Tottenham's 18-man squad on Sunday, picked up an ankle injury and had to be substituted. Clint Dempsey played the remainder of the game at center forward, while Lewis Holtby came on for Defoe and slotted into Dempsey's old position. Holtby had another extremely impressive performance, completing 97 percent of his passes.

Bale's breakthrough came at the end of a patient passing move, and Kyle Walker will get credit for the assist. The goal was all Bale, however. He made space for himself at the top of the box before striking a powerful left-footed effort that swerved around the hand of Ben Foster, into the back of the net in the 67th minute.

West Brom put Tottenham under a bit of pressure at the end of the match, but never really looked like scoring as Spurs held on for a comfortable victory.

Tottenham Hotspur have lost just once in their last 13 Premier League games. Think about that. Think about how awesome that is.