Vissel Kobe 2-3 Spurs | Ange on ‘lots of positives’ in Tokyo win and a ‘good week’ in Japan

Ange Postecoglou felt the players took ‘a positive step’ in pre-season with victory over J League champions Vissel Kobe in Tokyo on Saturday.

Goals from Pedro Porro, Heung-Min Son and Mikey Moore’s late winner saw us home at the Japan National Stadium, making it three wins in three so far in pre-season.

This was a different test though, played out in 30-degree heat and humidity against a team 24 games into their domestic season. We also went behind early, but it mattered little as we clicked into gear and produced three goals of the highest order.

Speaking to SPURSPLAY afterwards, here’s what Ange had to say...

Overall...

Ange: “I thought it was good. Look, everyone can feel what the conditions are like, especially if you are here, and the boys have had a really strong week of training, to say the least, so I was really pleased with the way they went about things tonight. It wasn’t easy, but we played some good football, scored some really nice goals, probably could have had a couple more, overall, pleased with the effort. It was always going to be a good test for us, and that’s the challenge - the conditions, the opposition, as I said to the boys before the game, this is an opportunity for us to keep developing and improving to be ready for the start of the season, and I thought it was a positive step tonight.”

Great goals - and we left some out there!

Ange: “There were some really nice goals, we butchered a couple as well, which would have been nice as well. I thought for the most part the lads were trying... in these conditions you’re going to make mistakes sometimes, and it is difficult, but the intent was there and that’s what we’re looking for.”

Mikey and the younger lads...

“Mikey, he should have had three! But, yes, the lads in the second half did really well. They were really bright, and they are trying to implement the stuff we’re putting into them. I thought all the young boys who came on in the second half, even the first half, Archie’s only 18 and we shouldn’t lose sight of that, I thought he did really well playing in an unfamiliar position. It was good to get Vic back, good to get Ben Davies back, overall, a lot of positives for us.”

A week in Japan...

Ange: “I’ve enjoyed it, great to be back. I’ve connected with some people from my old club, and from football in general, great to catch up with them. It’s been a good week, hard work, challenging conditions… and no respite for the lads, they’ve rolled their sleeves up and got on with it, all the staff are doing an outstanding job and now we move on to Korea, Sonny country!”