Match Report: Spurs 2 Brighton 1, and Son was back

 

Match Report: Spurs 2 Brighton 1, and Son was back

Yes, Son was back from international duty and apart from one or two injuries, we were basically back to normal strength, and it showed with a victory over a very good Brighton side. In fact, Brighton beat an injury-ravaged Spurs team 4-2 before Christmas (at their home ground). If they had beaten us at our stadium, they would have won the double over us for the first time in their history. So, another record Ange kept for us. But it wasn’t all one-sided.

Like all home games, the start of the fixture was introduced by a trumpet-blowing Spurs supporter while we – the crowd – joined in with our perfect pitch. And that is some sound echoing throughout the stadium. The Brighton supporters tried to fight back vocally but were intimidated by our unique vocals and just submitted to a superior sound boom.

Before Johnson’s goal went in, there was much criticism of him, both in the ground and on social media… but once the ball went in, people quickly changed their tune.

Yes, Brennan Johnson scored deep into additional time to deliver a stunning goal to give us victory.

Brighton's Pascal Gross opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Danny Welbeck had been fouled by Micky van de Ven, sending Guglielmo Vicario the wrong way. We then had to wait for the second half to equalise.

We didn’t like falling behind and responded well to their goal, even though we couldn’t find the back of the net. We created many chances; however, their Jason Stelle made serval good saves to deny the in-form Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski, while James Maddison curled narrowly wide.

In the second half, Rodrigo Bentancur, Maddison and Timo Werner attempted efforts at goal as the majority of the action took place deep in Brighton territory. We continued to probe, and that pressure eventually told when Sarr latched on to a lovely through ball from Kulusevski before finishing on the second attempt after his initial shot was deflected onto the post. The fans went wild, jumping up and down, back-slapping, kissing, jumping on each other… and even a few choruses of #The Seagulls are dropping shit on you… so stand up if you hate Arsenal…# Don’t ask…!

Then, there was another round of hysteria from the South Korean contingent of Son supporters when it was finally his big moment to come on after being away for a couple of weeks. I can’t quote what they were singing, but it felt like a lot of straining was involved.

Yes, it was just after the equaliser that Son made his first appearance of 2024 for us after returning from duty with South Korea at the Asian Cup, and he had a major hand in the winning goal as he laid the ball across the goal for Johnson to convert.

Thoughts…

It's fair to say that we are still a work in progress, but we had a world-class player in Son, who makes the most difficult ball look simple to set up for Brendan Johnson. It was a great finish.

This win moves us up to fourth and above Villa, who got beaten by United 2-1 on Sunday. We face Villa in the battle for the fourth spot in a couple of weeks.

Ironically, we have to go back to before Christmas – 28^th December – when we were last beaten, and that was away against, yes, you’ve guessed it, Brighton. The last time we were beaten at home was against the Spammers 2-1, who ironically were thrashed by Arsenic and Old Lace 6-0 this weekend.

Brighton stay 8th in the Premier League after succumbing to us.

I can’t see Liverpool, City, or Arsenic getting replaced from their top three spots. However, I believe the battle for the fourth spot will be between us, Villa, and United.

We’ve got a strong and healthy squad available for the first time in a while, with the likes of Son, Sarr, and Yves Bissouma returning from international commitments at the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations. Van de Ven made his fifth successive appearance after a 10-game absence due to injury.

We conceded our sixth penalty of the season - the most of any team in the league.

We were well clear on the shot count at half-time but lacked a clinical edge. We managed to correct this after the break, as Sarr and Johnson initially got the job done to keep the pressure on Villa in the race for a Champions League place.

Brighton was without manager Roberto de Zerbi for the game. He was suspended after being shown his third yellow card of the season and opted not to travel after dental surgery this week, so assistant Andrea Maldera was deputising.

After the final whistle, it was a mad rush to get out, with people crisscrossing each other to get to their destination. I saw a few people knocked over in the rush. There was no coordination, just Skittles diplomacy. A couple of people crashed into me, even though I had my walking stick… no apologies, just “fuck off and get out of the way you doughnut”. I remember the days when if you accidentally got knocked over, there was a mad rush to help pick you up, dust you down and check if you were ok. But not now… ladies are not even treated differently… as somebody so cruelly said, if they want equality, they must accept the bruises as well. My response was that manners trump ignorance and brute power, no matter what sex you are.

Finally, Mel and I got to my car and out the back way, and a smooth journey home.

The true supporters are dying out, but corporate financiers and rich supporters can buy themselves a seat, which trumps loyalty. The owners of football clubs want money, and loyalty is way down the list for them. So long as somebody’s cheeks are on their seats and cash is deposited in their tills… then we [they] are ok, Jack!  As for the staff, they treat everybody with respect and are true gentlemen and ladies, serving your interests with kindness. Anyway, next up is Wolves at home, and I’ll have Janette with me.

COYS!

Glenn