ASTON VILLA 2-1 TOTTENHAM: Spurs have been dumped out of a cup competition for the second time in just four days and their latest showing only raises more questions about Ange Postecoglou’s future
When Antonin Kinsky helped Jacob Ramsey’s first-minute hit into his own net, Ange Postecoglou, almost quizzically, raised his eyebrows.
It was as if he was wondering what else could go wrong for a team in disarray, wondering if goalkeeping calamity was some new form of torture. Most of the travelling supporters appeared to have given Postecoglou a free pass, preferring to focus their displeasure on Daniel Levy, but the Spurs manager is cutting an increasingly forlorn figure with each passing, dispiriting defeat.
To be fair to the young Czech keeper, Kinsky subsequently amassed a collection of commendable saves but his early troubles were typical of Tottenham’s current fortunes. Credit was due to the always-impressive Morgan Rogers for his work ahead of the Kinsky mistake but there was an alarming lack of intensity about Tottenham’s early work.
And on the theme of everything going wrong for Ange, Spurs should have been level midway through the opening half but Son Heung-min’s struggles saw him strike a sitter straight at Emi Martinez. At least Spurs did show increasing tenacity as the game went on and only a very good block by substitute Lamare Bogarde – on for the injured Ezri Konsa – denied Son early in the second half.
But the slump in Son’s confidence was evident when he chose to pass to Yves Bissouma when presented with an eminently convertible opportunity soon after. Still, at least Spurs were on the front foot, prompting personnel changes from Unai Emery.
But as Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio stood stripped and ready for action, Villa doubled their lead, Rogers pouncing after Bissouma and Pedro Porro had made a hash of dealing with Donyell Malen’s drilled cross. Emery still made the switches and Malen was one of those withdrawn but the Villa boss will surely have been pleased with the Dutch striker’s performance.
And he will probably have been equally pleased with the cameos from a classy-looking Asensio and from Rashford, who showed sharpness and intelligence in his half an hour’s work. One Rashford flick was at the heart of a beautiful length-of-the-field move that ended with Kinsky denying Ramsey a second.
By that time, Spurs looked resigned to a familiar fate and even their fantastic following faltered in their urgings to Levy, a glum presence in the stands. At least Mathys Tel kept going to the end and, early in five minutes of added time, thoroughly deserved his first Tottenham goal, coming via a neat finish from a Dejan Kulusevski cross.
But it was too little too late and while Levy will still take the majority of flak, there simply has to be more scrutiny on the job being done by Postecoglou. Yes, the injury list is horrendous but the Tottenham boss has slumped into a losing habit.
It is now eight losses in 14 matches, with only four wins in that period. Manchester United are the Premier League opponents in London on Sunday, with a trip to Ipswich after that. It goes without saying that Postecoglou needs a win.
As for Emery, who is also dealing with some injury issues, this was an encouraging display from his team after their Premier League defeat at Molineux. With Rashford and Asensio on board, Emery can look forward to the final few months of the season.
Ange probably can’t wait for it to end.
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