Ndombele dominates cup tie
Late flurry spares Spurs’ blushes with Everton next
TANGUY Ndombele scored twice as Tottenham needed three goals in the final five minutes to finally see off a spirited Wycombe 4-1 in the FA Cup fourth round.
Ndombele was one of four big hitters called off the bench at Adams Park as Spurs struggled to get the job done against the Sky Bet Championship strugglers playing their first game since a coronavirus outbreak.
A shock was on the cards in the first half when Fred Onyedinma put the Chairboys ahead, but Gareth Bale, playing his first 90 minutes of the season, levelled before the break.
With extra-time on the cards, Harry Winks broke Wycombe hearts with an 86th-minute curler before two Ndombele goals at the death gave Spurs a deserved win.
It means Jose Mourinho’s men, who play Liverpool in the Premier League on Thursday, are still challenging on all four fronts this season and they head to Everton in the fifth round.
Mourinho named a strong team, which Gareth Bale and this was a chance for him to show why he should be in the team more often. But he fluffed the first line when he missed a golden chance inside the opening five minutes.
Spurs forced a corner and Lucas Moura’s floated delivery landed straight on Bale’s head six yards out but the Wales international criminally headed wide.
The miss proved costly as Wycombe took the lead in the 25th minute.
Uche Ikpeazu got the better of Toby Alderweireld down the right and his cross was not cleared by Davinson Sanchez, who could only divert it into the path of Onyedinma to fire home.
Spurs finally levelled in first-half stoppage time. Lucas Moura found space on the left and Bale broke the offside trap to hook home from close range.
Mourinho was not prepared to risk anything in the second half so sent on Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son, but they too were equally wasteful.
It looked like extra time would be needed before Spurs won it with a two-goal salvo in the space of 72 seconds.
After Kane spurned another chance at the far post, the ball fell to Winks 20 yards out and the midfielder sent a curling effort into the top corner to break Wycombe hearts.
Immediately from kick-off Spurs got in down the left, Son’s shot was deflected into the path of Ndombele and the Frenchman diverted into the bottom corner and he scored a second in stoppage time when he superbly cut inside and fired in at the near post.