Spurs 1-0 Liverpool, Carabao Cup | Ange's verdict

Ange Postecoglou spoke with pride on how the players 'dealt with adversity' again on the way to a 1-0 win in the Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg against Liverpool on Wednesday evening.

Lucas Bergvall lit up N17 with his first Spurs goal, the 18-year-old timing his run to perfection to finish clinically from Dominic Solanke's brilliant assist on 86 minutes.

That reward came after the team recovered from the early blow of losing Rodrigo Bentancur to injury to get stronger and stronger in this first leg. Indeed, we'd had a goal ruled out just before Bergvall's strike when Solanke's cool one-on-one finish past Alisson Becker was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.

It was then left to debutant goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky to make his second superb save to deny Darwin Nunez late on to preserve our 1-0 advantage ahead of the second leg at Anfield on 6 February.

Here's what Ange had to say on our Review Show, with legendary former striker Clive Allen part of the team...

There were so many brilliant performances, Ange, what pleased you the most?

Ange: "The ability of this group to deal with adversity. We’ve two 18-year-olds in there, a goalkeeper making his debut, Djed playing left-back and, through this whole period, they’ve just given everything they possibly can, without getting the rewards of a victory. I’ve said all along, it’s been tough for us, it’s been poor form, but I really feel I’ve seen growth in some of our players and when we get our other players back, we’ll have a really good foundation for the team we want to be."

How important was it for the group to get that reward?

Ange: "It’s important for them, important for everyone at the club, everyone works hard on and off the field, and everyone wants that feeling of winning a game of football. Our fans… I thought they were brilliant tonight, they’ve been through a tough time, it’s important, it really is, because you remember why all that effort goes in and that reward will fuel them to keep going now. You don’t want to lose this feeling, if you can do it against the best team in the country, there is no fear moving forward."

Clive: "The way we worked, the way we frustrated them, it was fantastic from the whole group..."

Ange: "Absolutely. The players are really committed to the way we want to play. They haven’t wavered for one minute. People keep asking me to change what I do, I just see players believing in the team we want to be. You saw tonight, Liverpool, they put some significant talent on the pitch in the second half, some of the best players in the country came on. We can’t do that at the moment. We’re relying on players who every three days are putting in massive effort physically and mentally, and through that whole time they haven’t wavered, still trying to play our football, being aggressive in everything we do."

Clive: "Toni showed amazing confidence and ability..."

Ange: "He’s got a real assuredness about him, really clear-headed in what he wants to achieve. Credit to Johan(Lange)  and his team, they really thought he was going to be an exciting signing for us, and you can see why, the way he handled everything tonight. This is as big a game as anyone could have for a debut, especially a goalkeeper,  you know the spotlight is going to be on you and the way he handled it was outstanding."

We now go from Liverpool to Tamworth in the FA Cup on Sunday - what are your thoughts on that?

Ange: "That’s the beauty of the FA Cup. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s where I started my football, a smaller club, small fanbase but really passionate, looking to be giant-killers. That’s the story of the FA Cup – we have to make sure we’re not another story."