A frustrating game in the first and second halves… 3-0 win with three goals in overtime
Yang Min-hyuk, who was highly anticipated before his debut, was excluded from the entry.
Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League (EPL) achieved a hard-fought victory against semi-professional 5th division team Tamworth.
Tottenham won 3-0 after extra time in the 2024-25 FA Cup third round away game against Tamworth, a 5th division team, held at the Durham Ground on the 12th (Korean time).
Tottenham, who implemented a partial rotation in a tight schedule, started off with key players such as Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, and Dominic Solanke on the bench. However, Yang Min-hyuk, who was expected to get a chance due to the rest of the starting players, was excluded from the entry, and his debut match was canceled.
The game, which was held at a small artificial turf stadium with a capacity of 5,000 people, kicked off six minutes late in a chaotic atmosphere, with a hole in the goal net and a player having to sew it up with tape himself.
The result was a 3-goal lead, but the game did not go as Tottenham wanted. Tamworth’s spirit stood out in the early stages.
In the first minute of the first half, Baekray Inoru threatened Tottenham with a surprise shot. In the 14th minute of the first half, Tom Tonks’ long throw-in hit the goalpost.
It was only after the middle of the first half that Tottenham took control of the midfield and took the lead. However, Tottenham also failed to take the lead amid frustrating decision-making.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Madison made the team’s first effective shot, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 37th minute of the first half, Madison again fired a curling shot, but it was caught by the goalkeeper again.
In the end, Tottenham finished the first half with a score of 0-0, despite having 80% possession.
Tottenham’s one-sided attack continued in the second half, but there was no final shot.
Maddison’s shot in the 4th minute of the second half was blocked by the goalkeeper, and Timo Werner’s decisive header in the 10th minute of the second half seemed to go into the goal, but Tamworth defender Haydn Hollis cleared it on the goal line.
In the 18th minute of the second half, Werner even had a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper, but this too was canceled out as the shot went directly towards the goalkeeper.
Tottenham increased their attack by bringing in Solanke and Lucas Beribal in the 19th minute of the second half, but were unable to break through Tamworth’s defensive organization and were struggling.
Rather, Tamworth chilled Tottenham with a counterattack led by Noru Ino. In the end, the two teams were unable to break the 0-0 balance even after 90 minutes.
As the team went into an unexpected overtime match, Tottenham brought in Son Heung-min, Kulusevski, and Jed Spence.
When Son Heung-min entered, a goal was finally scored.
In the 5th minute of extra time, Son Heung-min boldly ran about 30 meters below the halfway line and earned a free kick.
Tottenham quickly resumed this, and in a mixed situation, before Solanke shot, Tamworth defender Nation Chikuna cleared it and the ball was sucked into the goal. It was an own goal.
Tottenham, who took the lead, took more time and struck. Two minutes into the second half of extra time, Son Heung-min this time made an infiltration pass to Kulusevski from the left side. Kulusevski, who received this, scored an easy shot and scored an additional goal. Son Heung-min’s 7th assist of the season and 14th attack point achieved (7 goals, 7 assists).
As the final minutes approached, Tamworth’s concentration completely collapsed. In the 13th minute of the second half of extra time, when the Tamworth defense was unable to properly clear Spence’s cross, Johnson curled it into an empty spot and scored the key goal.
In the end, Tottenham put aside a frustrating 90 minutes in the first half and won 3-0 with three goals in overtime.
(Seoul = News 1)