Sun 29 July 2018, 10:14
Tottenham HotspurMauricio Pochettino felt disappointed for Moussa Sissoko but was determined to ‘take the positives from a negative’ and pointed to the performances of Luke Amos and Oliver Skipp in the 2-2 draw against Barcelona in the Rose Bowl, Los Angeles in the early hours of Sunday, UK time.
Moussa departed on 35 minutes with what Mauricio hopes is a minor hamstring injury.
Luke, 21, made it two starts out of two on Tour against AS Roma and Barca and Oliver, 17, made quite an impact off the bench in the second half, injecting the team with energy as we started to dominate.
Indeed, we came from 2-0 down in the first half to level with two goals in as many minutes (73, 75 minutes) only to lose 5-3 in the penalty shoot-out.
Mauricio’s first thoughts were for Moussa but what an experience for Luke, Oliver, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kyle Walker-Peters and Anthony Georgiou to play against the La Liga champions in front of 66,805 fans at the world-famous Rose Bowl.
We need to take positive things in a negative period with some injuries to players
“I’m disappointed for Moussa, but it’s amazing to give the possibility to players like Luke Amos or Oliver Skipp, and they were fantastic,” said Mauricio.
“We need to take positive things. Luke and Oliver are having time in competition with the first team and I think that is an amazing experience and it’s fantastic for our youngsters to live that experience. We need to take positive things in a negative period with some injuries to players.
🗣️ Mauricio: "It's fantastic for our youngsters to live that experience." #SpursInUSA 🇺🇸 #ICC2018 pic.twitter.com/jQaDlL8gCm
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 29, 2018
“The reality is that they’ve played against Roma and again tonight, fantastic. Luke has played the most, Oliver, Cameron, Anthony… they now have the chance to show their quality. I’m so happy with them."
As for the game, Mauricio added: “Yes, okay it’s Barcelona, a lot of youngsters too. I’m happy. The result is not the most important, it’s important to work and prepare for the tough competition like the Premier League, Champions League and the two cups.”
Up next...
Our 2018 Tour now moves from LA to Minneapolis and our final ICC match against AC Milan at the US Bank Stadium - home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings and the most recent Super Bowl in January - on Tuesday (7.35pm local/1.35am Wednesday UK).
