It was a day that most of the Tottenham Hotspur squad would likely have rather spent in bed eating chicken soup. Instead, it was Newcastle United who dined on cockerel, as Spurs fell at home 1-2 to the Magpies.
This match was always going to be a battle for Spurs, with a laundry list of players missing and suffering from illness. The Lilywhites were down to their third-choice goalkeeper with Brandon Austin making his first senior start, as well as three additional changes: captain Son Heung-min, Yves Bissouma (both rested), and Rodrigo Bentancur (suspended) all made way for Timo Werner, Lucas Bergvall, and Pape Matar Sarr.
Morale was low, but there was an instant of hope as Spurs struck first and early through Dominic Solanke. It started with a driving run from deep by Lucas Bergvall to get Spurs on the front foot, before Pedro Porro curled in an excellent cross between the Newcastle backline and goalkeeper that a diving Solanke headed into the bottom corner.
Unfortunately, Newcastle struck back immediately, with Bergvall involved on the other side of the ledger. The young Swede was put under pressure by a poor Pape Matar Sarr pass, and stretched to toe the ball on with Joelinton swiftly closing down the angle. Bergvall couldn’t get it past the Newcastle midfielder, and the Magpies were immediately on the front foot, with Anthony Gordon sweeping the ball into the net as the Spurs defense struggled to recover. There were strong protestations from the Tottenham players though, as Joelinton clearly handled the ball; an action VAR bizarrely ignored as the officials declared the goal stood.
Alarm bells would have been ringing later in the half, as Djed Spence was asleep to a ball threaded through to Jacob Murphy, who squared first time to Alexander Isak. The Swedish striker arguably should have done better, scuffing his shot narrowly past Spurs’ right-hand upright. Minutes later, Isak had the result he was after: the ball in the net, with the same players involved. Spence was unable to shut down Murphy, with Radu Dragusin also failing to clear, as Isak put himself in a position to knock the ricochet off the Spurs center back home as Newcastle took a 2-1 lead into the half.
A somewhat bizarre half-time change saw Sergio Reguilon make a rare appearance at left back as Radu Dragusin failed to make his way out of the changing rooms after the break. The Romanian likely succumbed to his struggles with sickness, and that meant a makeshift backline with Spence shifting into the middle, becoming the seventh player used in that position this season.
Following a number of half-chances for either side, Ange Postecoglou utilized a break in play thanks to a possible broken nose for Anthony Gordon and made a triple change with Spurs in search of goals: Son, Bissouma, and James Maddison entered the fray for Werner, Sarr, and Bergvall. The young Swede, one of Spurs’ better performers, was applauded off the pitch by the home crowd who initially booed when they realized he was being removed.
Spurs toiled hard, with a number of half-chances and some bright moments of play; while Newcastle looked to run down the clock. Though the effort was there and laudable from Spurs, the quality in the final third was not, and Tottenham were unable to find an elusive equalizer.
Reactions
- The team can be proud of that effort. Given the context going into this match, with reportedly only seven first-team players at training just a day or two ago, the fight shown from this embattled Spurs side was commendable.
- And honestly, Spurs played really well in the second half! The fact that Ange Postecoglou was able to get that performance out of this squad speaks volumes. Unfortunately, to many only the result will matter, and that just didn’t go Spurs’ way today.
- Speaking of not going Spurs’ way, what on God’s green earth was that refereeing in the first half? It was a clear handball from Joelinton. His arm is out from his body, makes himself bigger, and Newcastle score as a result. Speaking of Joelinton, his elbow to the head of Bergvall was dirty and somehow went unpunished, while Dan Burn arguably could have been sent off for multiple yellow card offences. Do better, Premier League referees.
- It was nice seeing Brandon Austin finally get a start today. It was a pretty uneventful match for him: he did well claiming a number of crosses and set pieces, was much more comfortable with the ball at his feet than Fraser Forster (to be fair, my nan is more comfortable with the ball at her feet than Fraser Forster), and made a couple of expected saves. He arguably should have done better on the first goal, and didn’t exactly exude confidence, but that’s to be expected.
- Djed Spence bounced back well after a pretty poor first half. He struggled in possession, and Jacob Murphy got past him too easily a couple of times, one that ended up in a goal and one that should have. In the second though, he made a great fist of an unfamiliar role, with his athleticism coming to the fore as he swept up all that Newcastle tried to throw at him (which admittedly wasn’t that much).
- Special mention to Lucas Bergvall – he got pretty unlucky on Newcastle’s first goal, honestly, and outside of that he was great. He’s becoming a real contributor right now, and just when Spurs need it the most.
- Time now for a League Cup semifinal against Liverpool in midweek. Are you nervous? I’m nervous. COYS!
