Son's double secures vital win in Germany

Two goals from Heung-Min Son helped us take a huge step towards automatic qualification for the last 16 of the Europa League as we defeated Hoffenheim 3-2 in Germany on Thursday evening.

Our skipper struck once in each half, his second proving to be the winner, as we survived a late onslaught from the hosts but ground out an important victory at the Rhein-Neckar Arena, meaning a win over Elfsborg in N17 in a week’s time will book our place in the last 16 without the need for a play-off.

James Maddison fired us ahead in the third minute and Son made it 2-0 before the break, however we allowed Hoffenheim back into it as Anton Stach poked home in the 68th minute. Son added our third nine minutes later, but David Mokwa netted for the home side in the final minutes to ensure a tense ending, although we held on for three points to move us up to fourth in the league phase before the rest of the evening’s matches.

Despite missing 10 players through injury and another four ineligible for the competition, we made the perfect start with the opener after just three minutes, Pedro Porro picking out Maddison with a wonderful pass and the midfielder controlled the ball before lashing it past Oliver Baumann.

That settled us into the game and we were full of attacking threat in the early stages. Richarlison forced Baumann into a good save in the 12th minute and shortly after played in Porro but he slid his effort just wide of the post. Our skipper was next to have a good sight of goal, coming in off the left flank but blazed over the bar from just inside the area, however we added to our tally after 22 minutes, Maddison this time the creator as he found Son racing through and his left-footed shot flicked off Pavel Kaderabek, beat Baumann and bounced across the line.

Hoffenheim, 17th in the Bundesliga with just four wins from 18 games and only six points in the Europa League table after six matches, certainly carried a threat going forwards and we needed two smart saves from Brandon Austin on his European debut – and only his second appearance for us overall – to maintain our clean sheet. The first was low down to stop Max Moerstedt’s prod goalwards while the second was a superb diving save at full-stretch to get a strong hand on Tom Bischof’s drive in the 33rd minute.

It was almost 3-0 on the stroke of half-time when Lucas Bergvall got on the end of Maddison’s free-kick from the left but Baumann pushed away his header, although we almost conceded too when the ball came to Finn Ole Becker 12 yards out but his shot was blocked by Radu Dragusin and Austin gathered the rebound.

The hosts came out fighting at the start of the second period and we struggled to get out of our half although we dealt well with a series of crosses that came into the box. There was one moment of danger though, former Leicester City striker Andrej Kramaric heading against the crossbar in the 55th minute. There was another concern just after the hour when a cross came into the box and Austin went up to punch clear with Moerstedt, both players falling to the ground and Danish referee Morten Krogh pointing to the penalty spot, suggesting our goalkeeper had connected with the Hoffenheim striker. However, after a VAR review, the decision was overturned but it wasn’t long before the home side did get on the scoresheet, Stach getting the merest of touches on David Jurasek’s cross to divert it into the back of the net.

We were rocking a little at this stage but that goal sparked us back into life and when Hoffenheim gifted possession to Rodrigo Bentancur on halfway, he found substitute Mikey Moore who in turn moved the ball on to Son and the forward advanced into the box before drilling a wonderful left-footed angled shot into the far corner.

That should have been it but the home side ensured a nervy finish when they added a second in the 88th minute, Mokwa unmarked at the far post to head home Kramaric’s cross. We brought on Callum Olusesi for his first-ever senior appearance, while five minutes of added time meant we had to stay resolute and vigilant for a bit longer, but we did just that for a vital victory.

Match data

Goals: Hoffenheim – Stach 68, Mokwa 88; Spurs - Maddison 3, Son 22, 77.

Yellow card: Hoffenheim – Akpoguma.

Referee: Morten Krogh (Denmark).

Venue: Rhein-Neckar Arena.

Weather: Light rain, gentle breeze, three degrees.

Attendance: 30,150.