For the second time within the house of 4 days, Tottenham got here again from 1-0 all the way down to win — and once more Brennan Johnson was on the scoresheet.
Ange Postecoglou’s workforce wanted added time to beat Coventry Metropolis of the Championship 2-1 within the Carabao Cup on Wednesday however it was simpler at residence within the Premier League on Saturday.
Bryan Mbeumo put Brentford forward after 23 seconds however Spurs hit again via Dominic Solanke seven minutes later. That was his first aim for the membership since becoming a member of from Bournemouth this summer time in a deal value £65million ($86.5m). Johnson put Tottenham in entrance simply earlier than the half-hour and James Maddison acquired the third late within the second half, securing their second win of the Premier League season.
Jay Harris runs via the important thing speaking factors…
Brennan Johnson is silencing his doubters
The final week has been a rollercoaster of feelings for Johnson. He deactivated his Instagram account after receiving abuse following Sunday’s 1-0 residence defeat in opposition to Arsenal.
The 23-year-old began on the bench in opposition to Coventry within the Carabao Cup however ended up being Tottenham’s hero by scoring the winner in second-half stoppage time. His muted celebrations prompt what occurred off the pitch had taken its toll.
He began on the appropriate wing in opposition to Brentford, who had tried to signal him from earlier membership Nottingham Forest on a number of events earlier than he moved to north London simply over a yr in the past, so was competing with Nathan Collins and Keane Lewis-Potter. Johnson’s first involvement within the sport was to foul Lewis-Potter and he was given a shove by Collins in response.
Then an attention-grabbing tactical tweak by Brentford coach Thomas Frank may need not directly led to Johnson scoring Spurs’ second aim: throughout a break in play, Frank instructed Collins to push up greater from his left centre-back position. Inside a few minutes, Son Heung-min launched Johnson into house on the appropriate wing. The Wales worldwide drove previous the backpedalling Collins and drilled a shot into the far nook.
Johnson scores his aim (Alex Pantling/Getty Photos)
The gang erupted in applause and Maddison whipped his arms up, urging them to make much more noise. When play restarted, the Spurs followers began chanting “There’s just one Brennan Johnson.” It was a healthful second which underlined their help for him.
Johnson will probably be annoyed he failed to attain one other aim within the second half. Son set him up for one more wonderful alternative however he dragged his shot large. He pulled his shirt up over his face whereas Postecoglou had his arms on his knees.
There was an enormous cheer from the Spurs followers when Johnson was changed by Pape Sarr with 20 minutes remaining.
Ought to Vicario and Spurs have been punished for handball?
There was a weird second within the 57th minute which had Brentford’s gamers screaming for a free kick and for the Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to be punished.
Mikkel Damsgaard earned a free kick on the sting of Tottenham’s field close to the left wing after being crunched by Johnson and Cristian Romero. The 24-year-old Dane’s effort was blocked however Sepp van den Berg reclaimed the ball from Future Udogie. Van den Berg handed it to Yehor Yarmoliuk, who pumped a cross excessive up within the air. It was floating in direction of the sting of the penalty space and Vicario tried to catch it however misjudged the flight. Vicario flapped on the ball a few extra instances and appeared to the touch it along with his hand outdoors the field.
Damsgaard and Lewis-Potter appealed for handball instantly. Brentford’s gamers had been livid as referee John Brooks allowed play to proceed earlier than he blew for a Tottenham free kick for a foul within the centre circle. Kristoffer Ajer acquired a yellow card for protesting and Brooks paused play for round a minute. After the delay, he strode over to the touchline and booked Frank, who couldn’t consider what had occurred.
Frank was livid Vicario acquired away with an obvious handball outdoors the field (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Photos)
The incident was not reviewed by the video assistant referee as they will solely intervene if the handball was the denial of a aim or a goalscoring alternative.
Frank had calmed down by the point the sport completed. He stated: “It wasn’t impacting the sport (the choice). It wasn’t a penalty, it wasn’t a pink card, it was only a free-kick outdoors the field which John (Brooks, the referee) ought to have seen. I feel he refereed an excellent sport, that was only a small little factor. For those who come right here you have to get every little thing with us to maximise our probabilities within the sport.”
Brentford rating inside 30 seconds for second week working… how?
In final weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester Metropolis, Ajer pushed excessive up the pitch and Lewis-Potter headed the defender’s cross again throughout the field for Yoane Wissa to attain a first-minute aim.
Ajer and Lewis-Potter had been concerned within the build-up once more for Mbeumo’s trendy volleyed opener as we speak.
Straight from the kick-off, the 6ft 6in (198cm) Ajer pushed up excessive on Udogie, seeking to capitalise on his five-inch peak benefit. Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken obtained the ball, and pumped a cross in direction of the Norway worldwide centre-back. It dropped for Tottenham ahead Dejan Kulusevski, however he was swarmed by Damsgaard and Yarmoliuk.
The ball was then labored out large to Lewis-Potter, who dropped his shoulder and burst previous Pedro Porro. The 23-year-old whipped a cross into the field and Mbeumo swivelled his hips earlier than firing a shot in off the bar. Vicario had no likelihood of stopping it however Porro ought to have achieved higher to stall Lewis-Potter, whereas centre-back Micky van de Ven wanted to be nearer to Mbeumo.
It was a nightmare begin for Tottenham in a sport they wanted to win after successive defeats in opposition to Newcastle and Arsenal within the Premier League.
The gang had been shocked into silence by the early breakthrough however Spurs’ intense excessive press rapidly suffocated Brentford and inside seven minutes Solanke had pulled them stage.
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
“It was win, efficiency. Our performances have been good all yr however as we speak we acquired the consequence as effectively which is probably the most pleasing bit. We should always have received by a good bit extra however we nonetheless acquired the job achieved.”
On Solanke getting his first aim: “Dom labored his socks off. He was gone on the finish. He’s nonetheless getting again to match health (after his early-season ankle harm), however I do know he’s going to offer a lot for us in that central place. All strikers love targets, so it will likely be a fantastic second for him, particularly at residence.”
What subsequent for Tottenham?
Thursday, September 26: Qarabag (H), Europa League, 8pm BST, 3pm ET
Sunday, September 29: Manchester United (A), Premier League, 4.30pm BST, 11.30am ET
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(High picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP through Getty Photos)