SON BURST KEEPS SPURS IN THE HUNT
Late strike lifts Jose’s men to fifth
BY the time Son heungmin disappeared down the tunnel, the rain had ceased, the clouds had parted, the skies were blue and his name was ringing in the air.
tottenham supporters hailed their two-goal hero and decisive factor in this turbulent and windswept affair which was littered with contradictions and another outbreak of VAR fury.
Son, who had a penalty saved at the end of the first half only to squeeze in the rebound, missed three wonderful chances as Spurs pursued a third goal. to his credit, he refused to abandon hope and there he was, ready to pounce when the final opportunity came his way to settle the game.
It arrived in the fourth minute of stoppage time, courtesy of a mistake by Villa centre-half Bjorn engels.
engels conceded a penalty at the end of the first half with an ill-judged slide on Steven Bergwijn, from which Son indirectly gave the visitors a 2-1 lead.
then Villa’s Belgian defender conjured up an equaliser, towering above toby Alderweireld to head in his first goal for the club.
Dean Smith’s team resisted stoically and Pepe Reina made a series of fine saves as they tried to protect what would have been a valuable point. But it escaped their grasp with the error by engels in the final seconds.
Davinson Sanchez launched the ball forward and the Belgian cocked his foot as he prepared to trap it beneath his studs, only for the ball to skid under his boot. Son was on to it in a flash, beating Reina with a low side-footer.
Alderweireld, excused from training last Friday after the birth of daughter Jace, had gifted Villa the lead with an own goal in the ninth minute.
Anwar el Ghazi delivered a cross from the right and Alderweireld, under pressure from Mbwana Samatta, turned the ball into his own net.
Villa limited Jose Mourinho’s side to little more than the occasional counterattack but Spurs improved and forced an equaliser in 27 minutes.
Son’s corner wasn’t cleared and when it spun towards Alderweireld, he smashed a half volley past Reina.
hugo Lloris saved from el Ghazi but tottenham were on top as the first half ended. Kortney hause denied Dele Alli, engels blocked the follow-up from Bergwijn and there was a pause as VAR Jon Moss checked for a handball.
that decision went Villa’s way but Moss ruled against them when he overturned Martin Atkinson’s decision after a sliding tackle by engels on Bergwijn.
Smith branded it a ‘farcical decision’ and fumed: ‘I don’t get it. Martin gives a goal kick and everyone in the stadium thinks it’s a goal kick, even their player.’
the holte end chorused: ‘It’s not football any more’ as Son prepared to take the penalty. Reina saved, but Son won the race to the rebound and poked the ball past the 37-year-old keeper.
the second half unfolded in a similar frantic fashion. engels ended a dangerous run by Bergwijn at one end and el Ghazi volleyed straight at Lloris at the other.
engels hauled his team level and Reina kept Spurs at bay with a sequence of saves to frustrate Alli and Son before the Korean pounced to settle the game.
‘It was a sore one,’ said Smith. ‘tough to take because there was a lot of personality in that performance. We didn’t deserve to lose.’