NOTHING IS EASY AT SPURS, ANTONIO
A flying start, a comeback, three red cards... but new boss seals win
Antonio Conte paced the touchline, fiddled with his belt, gesticulated like a man possessed. Above, Daniel Levy shifted nervously in his seat.
And so the bold new era at tottenham begins. Clinging on from 3-0 up, at home, to a team sitting fifth in the Dutch league. Conte is the second title-winning Chelsea manager charged with restoring pride to tottenham, meaning there is only Carlo Ancelotti left, ted Drake having passed in 1995.
this is Levy’s last and biggest gamble. if appointing the serial winner Conte does not work, where does he go? there can be no illusions for either man, after this chaotic start. Conte had perilously little time to prepare but, even so, this will have acquainted the manager with the size of the task. this is a far bigger job than the one he took on at Stamford Bridge.
tottenham raced to a 3-0 lead, were hauled back to 3-2, went down to 10 men and only regained some semblance of control very late in the game when Vitesse were twice-reduced. First when captain Danilho Doekhi was sent off for a second bookable offence, clumsily manhandling Harry Kane, then when goalkeeper Markus Schubert was judged to have handled outside the area, charging down an attack by emerson Royal.
it looked a little unfortunate, as if he had been flinching more than saving, but there is no VAR in UeFA’s least special club competition, so referee Marco Di Bello’s decision was final. Schubert’s replacement, Jeroen Houwen, made a good injury-time save from Giovani Lo Celso, but that’s not the point. Vitesse had the momentum until the dismissals, so it was a good break for the home side.
Meaning tottenham passed their first test under Conte’s management, just. Hugo Lloris — equalling Steve Perryman’s club appearance record in european competition — was forced to make more good saves than should have been necessary and the defence looks as vulnerable as ever.
Blame, however, could hardly be laid at Conte’s door. He has only been able to observe training all week due to work permit complications and is inheriting a mess not of his making.
Bigger challenges lie ahead, too, starting Sunday at everton. Conte put a full starting Xi out because a first win was important, and Spurs are now second in Conference League Group G, but nobody believes this competition is their priority. Conte is in at enormous expense because tottenham cannot afford to lose touch with the battle for the Champions League places and if they are playing on thursday nights next season it will be a disappointment. So everton away is the biggest match of Conte’s first week, and he has to think quick. even a team in poor form will fancy this defence.
on the top tier, meanwhile, the absence of fans told its own story. not even Conte’s unveiling could sell out this stadium to the disillusioned masses and, comparatively, the first home game for the new manager was a low-key affair. A shy wave from the touchline and grateful applause before he disappeared down the tunnel.
At least some elements of this club are reliable, though. Son Heung-min has now played under three newly-appointed managers at tottenham, and scored the first goal for each one of them. no wonder Conte played him.
Son was first off the mark for Jose Mourinho and nuno espirito Santo, too, and when he struck here, Levy’s beam in the directors’ box was almost as bright as the floodlights. Here it was, a new era. A world-class manager and a team with its swagger back. that was the plan, anyway.
And it started so well. not just Son’s goal, but the two that swiftly followed. tottenham raced to a 3-0 lead within 30 minutes, but after 39, it was 3-2 and the mood in the arena had changed from untrammelled optimism to stunned mullet. Still, it wouldn’t be tottenham without a bit of drama.
of course, even as tottenham were in the ascendancy, there were warning signals. Vitesse didn’t start badly at all. nikolai Baden Frederiksen got into a fabulous position but shot wide after 11 minutes; Maximilian Wittek cut inside from the left and powered a long range shot into the side-netting. inadvertently, his inaccuracy set up tottenham’s opening goal.
Lloris began the counter-attack with a quick-thinking delivery and tottenham were away. Lucas Moura forced a good save from Schubert, who then pushed the loose ball out to the left, with Kane lurking. it found Son instead, sending it back the way it came, past a despairing defender and into the net. the Conte era was off to a flier, just 14 minutes gone.
Soon, tottenham were two up. it was a sweet through ball from Kane that saw Moura sprint clear of the Vitesse defence, smartly beating the offside trap. Schubert came out but Moura’s finish was cool. this could be a rout. A third did little to diminish that feelgood factor, even if it had an element of fortune. Ben Davies’s shot from inside the area was, frankly, horrible. He was in a good position, but it was a mis-kick, skewed across the six-yard box and becoming a wobbly square pass for Kane.
Jacob Rasmussen got there first but succeeded only in carrying the ball into his own net, having been wrong-footed by two ricochets, including one off Schubert.
Yet lads — Antonio — it’s tottenham. So nothing is easy, or lasts for very long. Barely had the crowing begun when the stadium fell into uncertain silence, becuase Vitesse were no mugs. in the 32nd minute, Sondre tronstad had a 25-yarder tipped over by Lloris but from the resulting corner, the usual defensive failings. Wittek curled it in and Rasmussen made swift amends, beating eric Dier and heading past Lloris. Spurs are easily rattled, and it showed.
With 39 minutes gone, Yann Gboho switched the ball inside to Matus Bero whose low shot defeated Lloris. now it was the Dutch in confident ascendancy.
if Conte hoped to settle his new charges during half-time, any
words did not go down as hoped — the first two goalscoring opportunities after the restart belonged to Vitesse. Substitute Lois Openda dragged a shot wide, but his next effort was much better and forced a fine save from Lloris.
It got worse. With 59 minutes gone, Cristian Romero clumsily took out Openda who had turned him. He had already been booked for a first-half foul on Gboho and the Italian official showed a second yellow. Romero, who was writhing on the ground injured, perhaps as a diversionary tactic, had to be informed his return was not permitted. Tottenham held despite this, but can only improve. At least, that’s the hope.