Brentford (Away) 02.02.2025

The sun was out as we made our way through the housing estate that the GTech is set in the middle of.  It hadn’t taken the chill out of the early frost, but the packed Spurs section was noisy and expectant as usual.  Lucas Bergvall was given a birthday rest, with Yves Bissouma taking his place, while Radu Dragusin’s injury and Micky van de Ven’s recovery from injury meant yet another chance for Djed Spence at left-back, with Archie Gray resuming his role in the middle of the defence.

An early ball into the box caused Spurs a few problems in clearing it and a shot was blocked from wide of Kinsky’s right hand post, but the closest any side came was in the sixth minute when Djed Spence burst forward and provided Dejan Kulusevski with the chance to shoot.  He dragged it across the goal from the right just inside the box, but Richarlison almost got onto the end of it at the far post.  The home crowd took against Archie Gray, because he chose not to sign for the Bees, booing his every touch, but he got a good block in for a corner when Schade got onto a ball over our high line.

Wissa headed over when Mbeumo crossed in a move that started when the press forced Kinsky to pass into space where the ball was picked off.  Spurs broke down a Brentford move and Kulusevski ran the ball over halfway, but his pass to Son was behind him and short and was easy for Brentford to cut out.  Brentford looked the more dangerous and Schade on the left was causing problems, stumbling through a couple of challenges to get into a shooting position in the box, but Archie Gray read it well and made another important block.  In fact, Spurs had a better chance when Son and Spence made space for Djed to put a low ball in, but Richarlison only got a flick on it and it went through to Mikey Moore, who laid it back for Dejan and he missed his kick allowing it to be cleared.

Porro, Moore and Davies did well in the air as the Bees buzzed around the Spurs box, but when Wissa got a head on one of the crosses, it was behind him and his header went wide.  It wasn’t quite end-to-end, but Spurs were moving forward and Moores’ cross for Richarlison was intercepted by Ajer and then Porro fired a shot from outside the box over the bar.  Then Mbeumo cut in from the right to fire a shot that Toni took diving forward in front of his line and then Son’s shot was blocked with Bissoma’s follow-up also deflected for a corner.  Son’s corner came in at the near post which ended up in the net with the last touch coming off Janelt’s back as the goalkeeper was weak in not getting near it.  Maybe the defender should have concentrated on the ball rather than holding Bissouma and facing the wrong way in doing it, so he didn’t know where the ball was coming into.

Crosses were still being flung into the Tottenham box but were defended well and when one dropped for Norgaard, his shot was well pushed away by Kinsky.  Aussie Rules applied as referee Gillett decided pushing Mikey Moore over in the box with two hands while making no attempt to go for the ball is a legitimate challenge.   Mikey linked with Kulusevski and he put a ball across the six-yard box but no-one was there to put it into an empty net, but it was put out for a corner on the far side.  Bissouma and Janelt got a talking to for wrestling before it came in, but when it did there was more than before and nothing like that will stop until referees give penalties for it.

Five minutes before half-time, Biss had a shot from 25 yards that dipped in front of the keeper as he dived to his right, but he held onto it and when the ball was played out, Son got a yellow card for a foul on Mbeumo.  Again, VAR did nothing when Richarlison went to get on the end of a Moore cross and was baulked in the box.  Funny that challenges like that were given as free-kicks outside the area, but then I guess the bar gets ever higher when you cross the 18 yard line.

Forcing a couple of corners before the break, the first was a free header for van den Berg, whose header took a touch off a defender on the way over, the second led to a shot from Wissa that Richarlison got his head in the way of, although he might not have known much about it and the third was cleared, that created a counter-attack that ended with Porro’s ball into the box that there were only red and white shirts around it.

Lucas Bergvall replaced Mikey Moore at the interval and Mbeumo had the first opportunity of the game, breaking into the right side of the Spurs box, but he tried to square the ball for a team-mate, but Bentancur cut it out.  Another ball into the Spurs box forced Kinsky to palm the ball away from Wissa and Porro cleared although VAR allegedly had a look for holding by Pedro on the Brentford striker.  Wissa was there again, a minute later when a cross in was touched on by Schade and Wissa scooped the ball over the bar from three yards out.

Dejan had a chance when Bentancur played him into the right channel in the box, but his right-footed effort hit the side-netting.  With the sun in his eyes, Brentford were testing Toni with cross after cross, but working the ball up the right wing, Porro recovered a ball that was behind him by hooking it back for Kulusevski and he laid the ball in front of his fellow Swede Bergvall, who hit a left foot shot that went a foot wide of the near post.

Pape Matar Sarr replaced Bissouma on 67 minutes, but it didn’t halt the flow of the game that was towards the Tottenham goal.  Lots of forward play for both sides was ended by over-weighted passes turning the ball over.  Djed Spence defended a cross well, but his header dropped to Mbeumo and he slashed at it off for a throw in on there left wing from inside the penalty area.  It was like playing Tamworth all over again when substitute Kayode in red and white striped shirt threw the ball into the middle of the box with Schade’s weak header claimed by Kinsky with ease.

With twelve minutes left, the tired Richarlison was taken off and Dane Scarlett brought on, with the hope that his hold-up play could keep the ball at the Brentford end.  It took a while, but Spurs did get the ball forward and Mbeumo pulled Spence back as he broke forward, but play went on and Son won a corner that he fizzed in to the near post, only to be cleared, although we won the ball back and Kulusevski also fizzed in a cross that was too powerful for Scarlett at the far post.

Another long throw brought an effort on goal from Carvalho that Djed Spence was in the right place to kick away from in front of goal and following some desperate stretching by Bergvall to reach a pass out from the back, the ball was played up to Kulusevski on the right, who passed inside to Bentancur allowing him to spread it left to Son.  The new Brentford man Kayode backed off him as Spence took him away with his run and Son’s pass into the box picked out Pape’s run with the Senegalese midfielder poking his shot under the keeper to make it 2-0.  The fresh legs that Ange introduced paid off !  The lumbering carthorse Nathan Collins had no chance of catching him.

The referee got mugged into allowing Mbeumo to foul Spence to win the ball and then run into Davies who stood his ground to win a free-kick on the very right edge of the penalty area.  Justice was done when Mbeumo blazed the free-kick over the top.

The home fans started to stream out before the match reached the 90^th minute and those that were left were still ready to cheer an offside decision against Scarlett.  When Schade put a header over the top, the game didn’t get to restart.

One of the problems we have at the moment isn’t at the back but holding the ball up front.  Too often we surrender possession too cheaply and the pressure builds on the back four, which needs to be avoided as it is difficult for us to keep sides out for the whole game.  It also leaves players up-field and leaves us more open to being attacked.  Better ball retention would help our game no end.

The two full backs stuck to their defensive task and weren’t so ready to go forward, which perhaps stifled our attacking game, but a resolute performance was required today.  Defending the crosses that rained in on the Tottenham box was staunch, when it is often a weakness, although Brentford’s tactics were a little confusing.  Wissa won a couple of headers even though he is not the tallest and the home side seemed to forget that Ivan Toney is no longer in the middle to get on the end of the balls coming in.  The Bees didn’t really offer much more in breaking down the Spurs defence, but with Bissouma and Bentancur offering protection to the full-backs, it left Kinsky with little to do apart from a save from Norgaard in the closing stages of the first half.

While it wasn’t quite a reversal of Postecoglou’s tactics, but the transitions were still there to a certain extent, but the final ball was lacking to make something of them until Pape popped up in the box four minutes from time.  The first goal might have looked fortunate, but work had gone in to getting Son’s corner being played into the near post and with the Brentford keeper making his debut Tottenham made the most of any nervousness that was there and Sarr’s goal showed some naivety on the goalkeeper’s part as he rushed out allowing the ball to go through his legs.

Two clean sheets and two wins might be seen as a turning point, but Tottenham have to battle on with the current players available for selection until the injured return in the next couple of weeks to bolster the options.  This performance shows that they can do it, but as always, consistency will be the key.

The Heathrow Spur

• Pape Matar Sarr’s goal was Tottenham’s 150th against Brentford in competitive matches.
• This was Tottenham’s first victory away to Brentford in the Premier League .
• Hakon Valdimarsson makes his Brentford debut.