Sun 05 January 2020, 17:31
Tottenham HotspurJose Mourinho was pleased with how the players reacted to going 1-0 down in a tricky FA Cup third round test against Middlesbrough as it ended 1-1 at the Riverside on Sunday.
We’d controlled the game for the most part but went behind when Ashley Fletcher raced through to finish past Paulo Gazzaniga on 50 minutes.
That was a jolt, but we responded. Jose soon made two changes – Giovani Lo Celso and Erik Lamela on for Harry Winks and Ryan Sessegnon – switched system and we equalised within five minutes when Lucas Moura headed home Serge Aurier’s cross.
We pinned Boro back for long periods from there, but the team managed by Jonathan Woodgate and Robbie Keane defended well. Heung-Min Son, Christian Eriksen and Lucas all tested Tomas Mejias with the Spanish goalkeeper’s save from Lucas particularly impressive. Serge then blasted the last chance over.
The great thing for me after conceding the goal, everybody reacted. I reacted on the bench, the players reacted on the pitch, the fans were amazing.
We go into the fourth round draw on Monday evening with the replay to take place the week after next.
Jose said: “Honestly, when you are losing 1-0 away against these strong Championship teams – very physical, well organised – you have a risk of losing the game.
“The great thing for me after conceding the goal, everybody reacted. I reacted on the bench, the players reacted on the pitch, the fans were amazing, losing, they stayed behind the team until the end.
“By what we did in the last part of the game we deserved to win it, but it’s not just about arriving in scoring positions or in assisting positions or crossing positions, which we did magnificently, it’s about putting the ball in the net and we did that only once.
“The substitutes did very well and everyone accepted the risk, a big risk. We played with six attacking players – Eriksen, Dele, Lucas, Son, Lamela and Giovani. We took our risk and we were unlucky because we deserved to win.
“We’re in the draw, okay, we have to win the third round (replay) before that, but this is the kind of match that, as a Premier League team, you can lose if you don’t face the game seriously, if you don’t react to being 1-0 down, if you don’t show your pride, your commitment – it’s the kind of match you lose and then you are out. We are not out. We have to play again against Middlesbrough and let’s see if we can go to the fourth round.”
