Ange Postecoglou handed double delight as Tottenham end 49-day wait with big win
BRENTFORD 0-2 TOTTENHAM: Ange Postecoglou's team won in the Premier League for the first time in seven weeks thanks to a Vitaly Janelt own goal and late finish from Pape Matar Sarr
by Alan Smith · The MirrorNo centre backs, no problem for Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange Postecoglou’s seven-week wait for a league win is over thanks to a performance that fused tonnes of spirit with a newfound sense of pragmatism.
Vitaly Janelt’s own goal carried more than an element of good luck - but sometimes that must be earned and despite no recognised central defender Spurs defended brilliantly against an aerial bombardment.
Much of the credit goes to stand-ins Archie Gray and Ben Davies, both of whom were unmovable in secondary roles as Tottenham recorded a first clean sheet since putting five past Southampton on December 15.
But equally the entire team dug deep to silence a Brentford side now without a win in six at home and the sight of Pape Matar Sarr rolling home a second goal late on even provided some moments for Postecoglou’s tired men to relax.
Until Janelt’s bit of misfortune it had been a desperately scrappy affair in which Brentford were just about on top. They certainly created more half chances with Kevin Schade twice blocked and Mikkel Damsgaard threading together a number of nice moves.
But the game’s first attempt on target did not actually arrive until two minutes before Spurs went in front. Damsgaard played a through ball for Bryan Mbeumo, who cut inside Djed Spence and drilled straight at Antonin Kinsky.
Tottenham’s keeper had been taking some flak from the home fans since struggling to deal with a straightforward Yves Bissouma backpass early on. But the Czech also did rather well to palm away a stinger from Christian Norgaard to preserve the advantage not long after Spurs’ goal.
Spence won the corner with a shot deflected off Sepp van den Berg and Son’s in-swinger was whipped with menace. Bissouma placed some good pressure on Janelt at the near post while also impeding Hakon Valdimarsson’s weak attempt to punch clear. And the ball simply came off Janelt’s right shoulder and diverted into the empty net.
With the advantage came a boost in confidence. Dejan Kulusevski became increasingly influential and Yves Bissouma launched their first attempt on target five minutes before the break with Valdimarsson getting down well to save.
Yet the most admirable element of Spurs’ performance was their defensive resilience and how everyone got stuck in - not least when Richarlison bravely stuck his head in front of a venomous Mbeumo half-volley approaching the interval.
Brentford resumed the better team. Kinsky saved from Norgaard again and Yoane Wissa grazed the bar after getting on the end of a Damsgaard delivery. Lucas Bergvall, introduced for Mikey Moore at the interval, shot narrowly wide on the hour mark with a rare Spurs foray forward.
Except the pressure kept on coming and Spurs kept on having to head crosses away.
And with Brentford growing frustrated by their lack of success, the introduction of new signing Michael Kayode offered another route to Kinsky’s goal. The long-throw specialist teed up Nathan Collins within seconds of coming on only for the Irishman to head straight at Spurs’ stopper.
Indeed Spurs’ second came at the end of a move that began with Spence being well positioned to hook a chance from Fabio Carvalho off the line. Rodrigo Bentancur advanced forward, found Son who in turn played a simple but swift pass for the onrushing Sarr, whose finish was calmly dispatched home.
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