Soldado sets Spurs on the high road

Spain striker Roberto Soldado's penalty on his Premier League debut gave Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in their opening match of the season yesterday.

Spurs, who were not awarded a single penalty last season, were given the spot kick early in the second half for an unfortunate handball by Palace defender Dean Moxey as he tried to block a dangerous Aaron Lennon cross.

Soldado, a £26 million (HK$$314 million) signing from Valencia, then coolly slotted his effort inside Julian Speroni's right-hand post. "Roberto's a real out-and-out striker. He's not been here a lot because of the Confederations Cup but he'll get fitter and sharper and will be even better," Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas said.

Argentine Speroni was the busier keeper helping to keep Spurs at bay especially with a brilliant leap to tip over a shot from midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson in the first half.

Tottenham, without injured forward Gareth Bale who scored 21 league goals last season and has been a transfer target of Real Madrid's for most of the off-season, were guilty of missing more chances that could have settled the match long before the end.

"It's very important to open with a win. [Palace manager] Ian Holloway really puts his team together very well. They were very narrow and there was some unpredictability," said Villas-Boas. "We should have put the game to bed but I'm generally very pleased to come to a difficult ground and get the three points."