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Tottenham booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup but needed extra time to beat National League side Tamworth on Sunday afternoon.
Spurs were overwhelming favorites for the tie, but Andy Peake’s underdogs proved to be strong and stubborn opponents. The hosts were happy with the set-piece and were buoyed by it TottenhamFrustration as the competition continues.
However, they were made to pay for some missed chances late on as the Premier League side eventually pulled away in extra time.
How the game unfolded
There was time for some gentle theatrics before kick-off, which was delayed by a few minutes as a result of a problem with one of the nets. The sellotape was brought out and Zara sales assistant (and Tamworth winger) Bec-Rae Anoru was on hand to complete the DIY job that led to the cup tie.
Anoru was an early on-pitch hero, with his lively bounce giving Pedro Poro something to think about. He forced a very early save from Antonin Kinski, with Spurs enjoying their first Tommy Tonks long-throw experience within five minutes.
This Premier League The visitors initially struggled to cope with Tamworth’s sloping astroturf which never allowed the ball to settle. The surface exposed the technical limitations within Spurs’ rotating XI, although James Maddison and Yves Bissoma were two who quickly adapted and ensured the visitors settled down.
Maddison twice came close to breaking the deadlock and certainly looked a cut above the rest, but Jas Singh was on hand to deny the Tottenham skipper. Tamworth, meanwhile, continued to threaten through Enoru down the left, while Tonks’ circus act-like throws were a feature of the first half – even if Kinski dealt with them well.
Tamworth’s hard work meant that there were no early goals from the visitors in the opening period, and the game began in ‘bring on your big guns’. Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham’s frustration spilled over into the second half as Singh again eluded Maddison. Spurs moved through the gears, however, and began to create through the trickery of Mickey Moore on the left, but Tamworth almost held firm as Haddin Hollis denied a Timo Werner header on the line before Singh saved well from a German one-on-one. -one.
The hosts had their moments from set-pieces, but could not quite pounce on the second and third balls in the box following a sequence of brief chaos. Crucially, they stayed well in the game entering the final 20 minutes. Substitute Andy Peake provided a second wind, and it was the underdog hosts who twice came close to completing a historic upset in second-half stoppage time.
However, Tottenham lived to see extra time.
The extended period proved a bridge too far for the non-leaguers as Spurs slipped away. The opener was as lackluster as the visitors’ display, but that was coming after Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min and DJ Spence had joined the action. Kulusevski soon sent over a clinical second before Brennan Johnson added some gloss to the scoreline.
Check out player ratings for Tamworth vs Tottenham here.
Tottenham in Sunday’s match a 1-0 victory Above the best team in the country. 96 league places separated these two teams in what was a proper David v Goliath FA Cup tie that did its best to evoke the magic of a competition that is believed to be fading.
We’re all aware of ‘Spersy’ and its connotations, and the latest iteration of Ange Postecoglou’s side has hardly done enough to dispel that notion. They were heavy favorites here, but the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Angie’s squad meant their struggles against National League opposition were predictable.
The surface was not easy to play on and they created enough to win the game in 90 minutes. However, his performance may have drawn more concerns than positives with the ‘big guns’ needed to fend off opposition from the National League.
Yves Bissauma had a fantastic performance and the substitutes eventually made the difference, but most Spurs players struggled to adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings, leaving them vulnerable to major upsets.
Tottenham were sub-par at Tamworth, but they should probably have got the job done before extra time.
Madison’s efforts, of which there were few, did not break the threshold of ‘half a chance’, but Werner Brennan was guilty of wasting a golden opportunity when tackled by Johnson. The German, who was struggling at the top before breaking out on the left, went low with his shot which allowed Jas Singh to save.
The confidence with which he is currently operating means very few will have backed him as he languished on the Tamworth goal. Earlier, Werner had a good effort cleared off the line by the impressive Hayden Hollis.
Werner’s troubles were not limited to his depression. On the testing pitch, the forward failed to provide technical protection in the frontline. England’s decision to withdraw the exciting Mickey Moore on the hour left Spurs with two straight-line runners for the final third of the opening 90, and the hosts struggled to probe and create as a result.
When they don’t outshine each other in the back post, Brennan Johnson and Werner’s contributions always come under scrutiny.
Huddersfield and Burton Albion have already felt the wrath of Andy Peake’s super-team and it was Tottenham’s turn to suffer.
Perhaps the biggest event in Tamworth’s history, there was excitement but low expectations. Anyone associated with the club will have bitten your arm for extra time before kick-off, and they’ve come so close to completing the all-time all-timer. Only two National League sides have ever destroyed Premier League opposition in the competition, and they have come this close to becoming the third.
While the foreign surface and Werner’s woes helped the hosts, Tamworth deserve plenty of credit for their application. Hayden Hollis was brilliant at the back, while EFL scouts will no doubt conduct their due diligence on back-ray Enoru. Jas Singh may have been tested less than he might have anticipated, but still made a number of big stops to ensure a long-lasting cup tie.
Extra time was a bridge away, but the city of Tamworth will long remember the occasion fondly. They have taken one of the biggest clubs in the country as a whole.
