Brennan hits bullseye to silence mouthy Maupay
ANGE Postecoglou produced an instant remedy as Tottenham repelled Brentford’s poison arrows and landed back in the top four.
Tensions simmered from the moment Neal Maupay fired Brentford into a first-half lead and celebrated by copying James Maddison’s darts celebration in front of the home end. Some players were still bickering at the final whistle although Maddison and Maupay made their peace
Asked what he had said to Maupay, the Spurs midfielder replied: ‘I said to him, he probably hasn’t scored enough goals of his own in the last few years, so he had to copy my celebration.’
Spurs boss Postecoglou made two key changes at the interval, reshuffled his team and they exploded into life with three goals in 10 minutes at the start of the second half.
Destiny Udgoie equalised and Brennan Johnson made it 2-1 within seconds before Richarlison added the third.
Ivan Toney pulled one back to spark a nervous finish but Tottenham climbed above Aston Villa into fourth. Out of all cup competitions, they have only the Premier League campaign to focus on.
Tottenham had problems from the outset with Brentford’s energy and aggression out of possession, the visitors winning the ball regularly in the opening exchanges and breaking into the inviting spaces behind the high defensive line deployed by Postecoglou.
Even before Maupay’s opener, there were warnings. First, Keane Lewis-Potter broke down the left but Spurs quelled the danger. Then Mads Roerslev galloped forward on the right and found the net with an angled drive only to see a flag raised and the goal ruled out for offside against Mathias Jensen, who made the final pass.
Three minutes later and Brentford were ahead, a goal started and finished by Maupay, who pounced to intercept a pass by Udogie on halfway. Christian Norgaard released Toney and he looked certain to score but could not beat Guglielmo Vicario.
The Spurs goalkeeper held his nerve and stood firm, making a fine save. Maupay had continued his run in support of his strike partner, however, and bundled the rebound into the net from six yards, with a deflection off Cristian Romero on the way.
Maupay and Toney performed a cheeky darts celebration in front of Tottenham’s South Stand, which provoked a fair amount of agitation because Maddison, making his first start since November, likes to throw pretend darts when he scores.
Maupay could not resist adding a word in Maddison’s ear and the pair became locked in an argument. All of which brought an element of needle to the contest and this, while wholly preposterous, worked in Brentford’s favour.
Tottenham struggled for any rhythm. They dominated possession and created a couple of firsthalf chances. Timo Werner forced a strong save from Mark Flekken then headed feebly wide at the back post from a corner.
Richarlison unleashed a brilliant curling effort which flashed wide and had a goal ruled out for a foul on Ireland ace Nathan Collins.
Thomas Frank’s team were also dangerous from set-pieces and might have extended the lead before the interval. Ethan Pinnock went close with an audacious back heel and Vicario saved again from Toney, who probably should have scored with a header.
Postecoglou enjoyed instant reward for two changes at halftime with three goals in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
Udogie levelled, linking up with Werner on the left. Pinnock blocked his first effort but Udogie forced the rebound past Flekken at the near post.
Seconds later, Johnson fired Tottenham ahead after another explosive burst of pace by Werner, who tore down the left and served up an open goal for the substitute. Johnson had the darts out to celebrate as he goaded the visitors. So did Richarlison when he made it 3-1. Udogie disturbed the Bees with a powerful run and Maddison had a shot blocked before Richarlison found the net through the legs of Collins. It was a seventh goal in seven Premier League games for the Brazilian.
Brentford seemed overwhelmed. They wobbled momentarily but then summoned an impressive response. Toney went close with a fierce drive from distance and then missed an excellent chance. There was only the goalkeeper to beat when he received the ball but he twisted left and right but eventually dragged his shot wide.
But he made no mistake when Udogie suffered an inexplicable lapse in concentration. Toney was trudging back from an offside position when Udogie gave him the ball. On this occasion, with all the time in the world, he beat Vicario.
The goal added jeopardy but the closing stages were untidy, littered with stoppages and Toney was unable to finish on a double.
Shandon Baptiste came closest to an equaliser, a volley that drew a save from Vicario and Spurs took the points.
Brentford can still take positives from their performance and the way they made life uncomfortable for their hosts but they have slipped close to danger, only four points clear of the drop zone and with Manchester City next.
TOTTENHAM (4-3-3): Vicario 7; Porro 7, Romero 6.5, Van de Ven 6.5, Udogie 7; Skipp 6 (Hojberg 46min, 7) , Bentancur 6 (Johnson 46, 7), Maddison 6.5 (Dragusin 88); Kulusevski 7, Richarlison 7, WERNER 8 (Donley 90+2). Scorers: Udogie 48, Johnson 49, Richarlison 56. Booked: Kulusevski, Donley. Manager: Ange Postecoglou 7.5. BRENTFORD (3-5-2): Flekken 6.5; Collins 6 (Ajer 78, 5), Pinnock 6.5, Mee 6; Roerslev 6.5 (Dasilva 78, 5), Jensen 7 (Yarmolyuk 58, 6), Norgaard 7, Janelt 6.5 (Damsgaard 88), Lewis-Potter 6.5 (Baptiste 89); Toney 7, Maupay 7. Scorer: Maupay 15, Toney 67. Booked: Norgaard, Maupay, Yarmolyuk. Manager: Thomas Frank 7. Referee: David Coote 6.5. Attendance: 61,210.