Tamworth 0-3 Spurs (AET) | Ange's verdict

Ange Postecoglou was pleased with how the players stayed calm as we were pushed all the way by Tamworth in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

It was the classic FA Cup scenario as non-league hosted Premier League and Tamworth fought tooth and nail to take the tie to extra time, where an own goal and strikes from Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson saw us home 3-0 at The Lamb Ground.

Always a threat with Tom Tonks’ long throws landing in our area from all angles – a threat dealt with well by goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, on his FA Cup debut, and his defence - the National League side created chances in the first and last minutes of normal time, forcing ‘Toni’ into action. In between those chances, home goalkeeper Jasbir Singh, one of the heroes of Tamworth’s run in the competition, kept us at bay by denying James Maddison on three occasions and Timo Werner one-on-one - Werner and Pape Matar Sarr also seeing efforts cleared off the line.

Eventually we broke through via an own goal from a free-kick routine 11 minutes into the first half of extra time with Deki’s low strike for 2-0 on 107 and Brennan sweeping home on 118 to send us into the fourth round and a trip to Aston Villa.

Speaking pitchside afterwards, Ange told us: “It was always going to be a challenge, credit to Tamworth, they made it tough for us and with the (artificial) surface, it was pretty tough for us to get a real foothold. I thought for the most part the lads stayed calm, didn’t get frustrated... it’s very easy to get frustrated on a day like this. We kept persisting and eventually got the job done.”

Ange on the specific challenges on the day...

“It’s mainly around the surface. The boys found it really hard to move the ball around quickly, the way we want to. It slows the game, which doesn’t suit the way we want to play but, as I said, also credit to Tamworth, they made it difficult for us, they’ve got long throws that pretty much any time in their half they launch into the box, which means you have to defend your box just about every time the ball is in your half. Again, I thought the boys handled it really well.”

On another assured display from Toni Kinsky...

“Yes, he did really well again. It was a different experience for us, but I thought he handled it well.”

On feeling part of something special on FA Cup third round weekend...

“It’s the beauty of the FA Cup. It’s another experience, one I’m sure all of Tamworth will remember. They are the kind of games that make this tournament so special.”

On Mikey Moore’s return and first start since late October...

“He played for an hour, which was good, probably a little more than I thought we’d needed to, but he was going well, so I kept him on, but mindful he hadn’t played for at least a couple of months. I thought he was probably a bit rusty at the beginning, only fair, but definitely grew into the game.”