Hope isn’t misplaced for Ange Postecoglou. On one other night time, the Tottenham supervisor might need been celebrating a surprise purpose from the excellent Lucas Bergvall as his facet regarded ahead to subsequent week’s second leg in Germany with a wholesome benefit.
However it’s a reflection of how issues have been going for Postecoglou that by some means Spurs didn’t handle to win this sport after conceding an early purpose to Hugo Ekitiké. Regardless of Bergvall’s finest efforts because the 19-year-old lined each blade of grass for the trigger in a efficiency that belied his age, they might not construct on Pedro Porro’s well-taken equaliser as Eintracht Frankfurt held on for a draw that can in all probability make them favourites to progress to the semi-finals.
But after all of the bitterness of latest weeks, a minimum of this was a optimistic efficiency from Tottenham that retains alive their supervisor’s hopes of ending the season with silverware and retaining his job.
Postecoglou had bristled at solutions that he may very well be sacked even when Spurs find yourself profitable this competitors for the third time of their historical past and insisted that his gamers would have the correct mindset to face difficult opponents regardless of the strain on his shoulders. However there was nonetheless not a lot optimism to be discovered amongst a fanbase that has develop into so used to disappointment in recent times.
Frankfurt had been crushed by Werder Bremen on the weekend however – thanks largely to Omar Marmoush’s 15 targets earlier than he joined Manchester Metropolis in January – they’re third within the Bundesliga and nonetheless look set to qualify for the Champions League subsequent season. Whereas Tottenham’s successes in 1972 and 1984 date again to its predecessor the Uefa Cup, Dino Toppmöller’s facet even have severe pedigree at this degree having triumphed underneath Oliver Glasner – who was linked to a possible transfer throughout London to exchange Postecoglou this week – in 2022.
Their vociferous travelling help didn’t have to attend lengthy for one thing to rejoice. A lot has been made from Tottenham’s accidents on the again this season however with their first-choice defence accessible once more and Rodrigo Bentancur again to bolster midfield after suspension, it was all too straightforward for Frankfurt to chop by way of within the sixth minute when Ellyes Skhiri received the ball from James Maddison. Ekitiké scored a superb hat-trick for France in opposition to England’s Underneath-21s final month and is anticipated to draw curiosity from Arsenal and Liverpool amongst others in the summertime. On this proof, the 22-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain striker may very well be a shrewd funding as he minimize in from the left flank and shrugged off challenges from Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero earlier than capturing into the nook.
Maddison made up for his discretion by supplying the move that arrange Porro for his equaliser after Spurs had initially struggled to mount a response. The Spaniard’s improvised backheel after good work from Dominic Solanke within the buildup lastly introduced the house followers to life. Frankfurt’s low block made it onerous to penetrate additional, nevertheless, and Ekitiké may simply have scored his second of the night time had he capitalised on a slip from Porro on the stroke of half-time, solely to shoot straight at Guglielmo Vicario.
The Tottenham defence had been nearly caught napping once more firstly of the second half when Frankfurt discovered house down the correct after a flowing transfer involving Germany’s 2014 World Cup hero Mario Götze. However the energetic Bergvall – 13 years his junior – sprinted again to clear the hazard simply in time. The Swedish teenager had been by far Tottenham’s most artistic participant and he was desperately unfortunate to see his shot from 30 yards swerve on to the angle of crossbar and publish.
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That proved to be the spark for Spurs as Son Heung-min compelled Kauã Santos into his first important save of the night earlier than Bentancur’s header from the ensuing nook got here again off the woodwork. The Frankfurt goalkeeper then did nicely to maintain out Maddison’s effort following a swivel inside the world. Jean-Mattéo Bahoya spooned over on the different finish after a fast break from Ekitiké once more induced alarm within the Spurs ranks.
Postecoglou prowled his technical space as Tottenham went searching for a winner, though it was a shock to see him wait till the 79th minute earlier than making a triple substitution. A mixture of Mathys Tel and Djed Spence arrange Brennan Johnson for his or her finest probability however his effort was approach off track and Postecoglou couldn’t disguise his disappointment, whereas Micky van de Ven additionally noticed his header strike the crossbar in damage time. It simply wasn’t fairly Postecoglou’s night time.
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