Ange Postecoglou praised his Tottenham players for “staying calm and being persistent” during their FA Cup scare against non-league Tamworth.
Spurs were taken all the way to extra time by their feisty National League opponents, holding out a goalless draw after 90 minutes at the Lamb Ground.
But in the end the qualities of the Premier League team clearly came to the fore.
Nathan Tshikuna's unfortunate own goal broke the deadlock, while Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson eventually took the tie beyond Tamworth.
And Postecoglou was happy with the attitude of his players under testing conditions.
“It was a challenging match as we expected,” he told ITV. “They made it difficult for us. On the surface it was about us staying calm and being persistent with our football. In the end we got the job done.”
“We knew we would finish strong and you could see they were a bit tired [heading into extra-time]. It's a football match that you start with excitement, even though you know you can't handle the challenges.
“[In] In most cases the boys kept their wits about them. I thought they stayed calm and held on and got through it.
“We've made it to the next round and that was the target for today. Tamworth did really well and can be proud of their efforts. For us, we'll move on.”
On to the next round! pic.twitter.com/KNKG3zuAyh
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 12, 2025
Meanwhile, defender Archie Gray acknowledged Tottenham had done the job 'the hard way'.
“I think the most important thing is that we won,” he added. “Credit to them, they got us to extra time where they are in the league, and credit to them. We weren't good enough for 90 minutes – quite a few of us weren't at the races today.”
“We've all played on these pitches when we were younger so it's no different for us. Sometimes it happens in football that these games aren't going to be easy – the fans were brilliant.”
“The quality really showed in the last 15 minutes. Our fitness showed and nothing could take away from what they did in 90 minutes.
“This is what the FA Cup is all about. Seeing all the clubs in English football is fun, and the fans have been brilliant. It was tough, but I loved every minute of it. We like to do it in such a tough way.”
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