Ange Postecoglou sees his blushes spared as Tottenham's late, late show sees off Coventry
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou guaranteed a trophy this season after defeat in Sunday's North London derby, but his side were fortunate to get past Coventry City in the third round of the Carabao Cup
by Mike Walters · The MirrorAnge Postecoglou can remove his highwayman’s mask and release the stage coach.
In football’s twisting kaleidoscope, hard-luck stories and burglaries are two-a-penny - but this was robbery. Not quite Hatton Garden, the Great Train Robbery or the disappearance of Shergar, but mighty close.
Tottenham’s pickpockets deserve credit for perseverance after goals inside the last three minutes from substitutes Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson turned the mood from militant to joyous among the travelling disciples from north London. But come on, Big Ange - you’re a fair dinkum Aussie and you got away with one there, mate.
Feckless, complacent and second-best all over the park, Spurs were booed off at the break, away fans booed Postecoglou’s decision to hook their best player, Lucas Bergvall, and they were lucky to survive the whitest of white-knuckle rides at a disbelieving CBS Arena.
For 87 minutes, Postecoglou’s reminder that he always comes up trumps in his second season looked a forlorn boast. Tottenham were awful. At least they kept fighting to the end, even if heartbroken Coventry could hardly believe their cruel fate.
In a tie with faint echoes of the 1987 FA Cup final - Keith Houchen’s diving header, Clive Allen’s 49th goal of the season and all that - both managers rang the changes like happy hour at the belfry.
While Sky Blues boss Mark Robins, or The Man Who Saved Fergie’s Job (as he has been known since 1990), brought in seven new personnel, Big Ange was at it again.
Last season Postecoglou made nine changes at Fulham, Spurs played like they couldn’t see the coffee for the beans in a hazy cappuccino kit and they went out at the first hurdle on penalties.
This time, he made eight changes, the away strip was a hangover shade of green - and apart from the dramatic finale, they made another right horlicks of it.
Apart from Spence and Bergvall, none of the fringe cast given a chance to shine pressed his claims for a place in the starting XI in the Premier League.
Up front, Timo Werner ran up blind alleys, Johnson looked drained of confidence until his heist in stoppage time and £65 million record signing Dominic Solanke was so anonymous he should have been reported to Scotland Yard’s missing persons bureau.
Postecoglou wore the look of a reprieved man afterwards and he warned: ”There is no easy quick fix to where we want to get to and one result doesn't change that.
“Tonight we showed what we have been missing the first four games - a little bit of spirit to fight and win. Credit to Coventry, I thought they were outstanding, they really took it to us.
“We had to hang in there somehow and we did. We weren't as fluid performance-wise as I would have liked, but some of that is down to Coventry.”
Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but in this instance it was 90 per cent of nothing - because Spurs dominated the ball but took 49 minutes to muster their first shot.
The Sky Blues - brave, blustering and magnificent - deservedly went ahead after 63 minutes when Norman. Bassette’s low cross from the left picked out the unmarked Brandon Thomas-Asante, and his cool finish from eight yards was a formality.
Coventry were only three minutes from a famous upset when Dejan Kulusevski slipped in fellow substitute Djed Spence to burgle an equaliser Spurs barely deserved.
Then, unbelievably, Rodrigo Bentancur sent Johnson clear of the tiring Sky Blues defence to clip the winner beyond Coventry keeper Wilson in the second minute of added time.
Devastated Sky Blues boss Robins said: “I’m going to try not to swear. I thought we were really good. We got most things right.
“But we still have to be more ruthless, let’s be honest. Life presents you with chances and we seem not to be able to take them at the moment.
“I look back to the play-off final and the Manchester United FA Cup semi-final, and the game was there for the taking. The game was there again tonight.
“If you look at it from a Tottenham perspective, you are probably relieved to go through at our expense.”
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