Photo: IMAGO/Paul Terry/Sportimage
Hello, loyal subscribers! Well, I suffered a bit of a head injury on the field last week and I'm supposed to avoid digital screens for a while. So I'm dictating this one into Microsoft Word. Any mistakes are the robot’s fault.
TOTTENAM 3, BRENTFORD 1
Spurs beat Brentford Saturday at the Stadium. Thomas Frank’s men played into our hands by going for it rather than sitting back in a low block like most teams do these days. After the Bees took a lead just 24 seconds in on Mbueno’s stunning volley, we responded with two first-half goals courtesy of Dom Solanke and that man Brenan Johnson again. James Madison, the Upstate Spurs Man of the Match, added a third to clinch it in the 85th minute.
Madders is back to peak form, and he sparked our first goal with a strike that was saved by Bee keeper Mark Flekken but knocked home for a poachers goal by Solanke. In the 28th minute, Madders was at it again, winning the ball back and passing to Son, who assisted Johnson's go-ahead strike, which the Welshman deposited deftly into the far corner.
In the second half, Vicario stood tall to deny a couple of Brentford chances, though he survived a Gomes-esque moment when he appeared to have handled a ball outside his own box but neither the onfield nor video-assisted referee saw it clearly and Venom avoided a red.
SPURS OF THE MOMENT
With the 90-minute mark looming and Brentford pulling out all the stops, Yves Bissouma won a key challenge which Cristian Romero stepped up to collect and sent Sonny on a counter. Our skipper fed Madders, who calmly chipped over Flekken to ice the affair.
One take away from the match is how Ange utilized Madders on the left, somewhat like Eriksen had been played under Pochettino. Afforded more space, he was allowed to do the things he can do while also avoiding being targeted with repeated fouls. (Since the referees won't do anything about it, I guess we have to.)
Amazingly, we split possession nearly 50/50 with Brentford who weren't content to sit back and let us play with the ball. The downside is teams will be all the more likely to revert to sitting back against us now.
TOTTENHAM 3, QARABAG 0
In Thursday's Europa League contest versus Qarabag, it looked as if we might have to sit back ourselves after Radu Dragusin was sent off early when he compounded a sloppy touch with an ill-advised tackle. But again, we responded with three goals and looked the better team on the day even down a man.
IS BRENNAN JOHNSON OUR PLAYER OF THE SEASON?
Well, no…but with three goals in his last three matches, he's doing his best to silence his doubters. Good for him. Johnson may not be the perfect player, and he remains reluctant to attempt dribbles in 1v1 situations. That said, he continues to be a productive player for this team and certainly has a role in our squad.
In the second half, Pape Matar Sarr tipped home a corner and Dom Solanke added a third. Going into this week, it had occurred to me that Solanke and Soldado begin with the same 3 letters…but with the former having opened his scoring accounts in both the Premier League and Europa League this week, it seems he's settling into a groove. And his hold up play was important as we played 10v11 for most of the match. Our number nine(teen) takes USMOTM honors from our first European match of the season.
I have yet to figure out the entire format of this year's Europa League. All I know right now is we won our first match, and if we play up to our potential, we should be contenders for the trophy.
Next up: Tomorrow at Old Trafford! COYS!