Madders: “There’s a beauty to winning late”
Tue 13 February 2024, 15:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
James Maddison quickly turned to the influence of the fans and the strength of the support in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after another late, late show to beat Brighton on Saturday.
‘Madders’ was involved in our brilliant winner in added time that ended with Richarlison releasing Heung-Min Son and the skipper delivering the perfect pass for Brennan Johnson to crash home at the far post.
That was the third time we’ve hit winners deep in added time in front of the South Stand after Liverpool and Sheffield United and Madders pointed to the power of our 17,500 fans behind that goal almost sucking in those late goals.
I couldn’t make it to the celebrations, my legs were too goosed! I had to just fall to the floor
“We seem to do that a lot, don’t we?” James told us on The Review Show. “I’m dying for a comfortable 3-0 win! There’s a beauty to winning late and scoring goals at the death like that, having to show real character and mentality to keep going like that, a wonderful feeling again.
“That stand as well... the whole stadium was brilliant today and pushed us all the way, but that stand, that goal, all the late goals seem to come at that end, as well. So, a big thanks to the fans as well. They keep us going. You don’t realise sometimes, if you’re in one of those games and you’re starting to think, ‘is it going to be one of those days?’, they keep us going, and that one per cent can help, so thank you.”
"We knew it was going to be tough and in the second half, we were much better, once we sorted out our build up. They press man to man all over the pitch, they leave a lot of space in behind, but if you can’t get a half a yard from the man to play a pass with quality, then you can struggle. We found that early on."
As for the winner - the move started by Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies in the left-back position that swept the length of the pitch - Madders added: “Like I said, we kept going, and the winning goal was a really nice goal. The build up, all the way, exactly how the gaffer wants us to play. I couldn’t make it to the celebrations, my legs were too goosed! I had to just fall to the floor.”
