Spurs 2-0 United | Ange’s verdict: “Second half will fuel the belief”
Sat 19 August 2023, 22:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
Ange Postecoglou described the second half performance as ‘outstanding’ as we overpowered Manchester United to secure a 2-0 win in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Speaking on SPURSPLAY’s Review Show afterwards, Ange told us how he felt we needed to settle into the game and that we had the ability to ‘wear them down’ in the second half.
That’s how it panned out. An even first half edged by United saw chances at both ends and we struck the woodwork twice in a matter of seconds towards the end of the half, first as Pedro Porro’s shot smacked the crossbar, then Pape Sarr’s follow up cross deflected off Luke Shaw onto the post.
That was the message at half-time, just to settle down, we could play through their press and as long as we stayed up-tempo in our movement, we’d wear them down
We dominated the second half and took just four minutes to open the scoring when Deki Kulusevski got away down the right and his cross was planted home by Sarr, his first goal in his 16th appearance for us. Antony immediately struck the post for United and Guglielmo Vicario made a fine save to deny Casemiro before we wrapped up the win on 83 minutes when Ivan Perisic slid through to Ben Davies and his effort deflected home Lisandro Martinez.
Ange said: “I thought we just looked a little nervous in the first half, gave the ball away, not moving it quickly, and that’s only natural. It’s all new to these guys, to some of them, the Premier League is new, playing a team like Manchester United is new to them.
“I thought I saw elements towards the end of the first half that we’d settled down a bit, moving the ball a bit quicker and that gave them the encouragement.
“That was the message at half-time, just to settle down, we could play through their press and as long as we stayed up-tempo in our movement, we’d wear them down.
“To be fair, the lads were great, dominated most of the second half, we had to do some defending, Vic made a couple of excellent saves, ideally you don’t want to see, but it’s brilliant for him, because it gives him confidence as well.
“We’ve had major changes, not just in the way we play, but even in personnel, and we’re going to hit some bumps in the road and what you want to see is the resilience they’ve showed in both games.
“They had to hang in there first half, but when you have a second half like we did today, that fuels the belief that the players will come into training and say, ‘we want more of this’. Now it’s up to me and the other coaches to keep encouraging them that this is the way forward for us, knowing that there will still be challenges and stumbles along the way, but that they keep that courage and bravery, because you have to be brave to play that way.”
