Pape Sarr and Brennan Johnson on Target Again as Tottenham Hotspur Clinch Their Fifth Straight Win

Tottenham Hotspur maintained their red-hot form with another professional display against Ferencvaros last night. Goals from Pape Matar Sarr and Brennan Johnson secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Hungarian champions in the Europa League.

Following their impressive 3-0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Ange Postecoglou made wholesale changes for their midweek tie in Hungary. He benched eight players who starred against the Red Devils. Instead, the Aussie head coach handed four teenagers – Mikey Moore, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Will Lankshear – a chance to impress on the European stage. However, this inexperienced Tottenham side were overwhelmed by the raucous home support during the early exchanges of the game. But as the game went on, Spurs started to find their rhythm, and soon started to take control of the proceedings. 

The first big chance that Spurs created came in the 11th minute, when Pape Sarr’s thunderous strike from the edge of the box was saved by Ferencvaros’ goalkeeper. But just four minutes later, it was the home team who opened the scoring thanks to a Barnabas Varga header. However, the goal was ruled out for offside. Buoyed by the lucky break, Ange Postecoglou’s men scored the first goal of the night in the 22nd minute. Academy graduates Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear combined to set up Pape Sarr’s opener. The 22-year-old midfielder took advantage of a defensive mix-up to hand Tottenham a crucial lead. 

The Lilywhites continued to create chance, and it was Pedro Porro who came the closest to double Spurs’ advantage. The fullback unleashed a curling effort from a tight angle that rattled off the post. Despite that, Tottenham held a slender one-goal advantage at the halftime break. After the break, Spurs came out firing, determined to kill off the game with a second goal. Timo Werner had a golden chance to put the game to bed after being played through by Moore, but with only the keeper to beat, he fluffed his lines. Shortly after, he was replaced by Brennan Johnson. Ange Postecoglou also brought on James Maddison, Dom Solanke, and Dejan Kulusevski to keep the pressure on with just a slim one-goal lead. 

The substitutions paid off, as Johnson rattled the post in the 80th minute. However, the Welshman wasn’t to be denied in the 85th minute, as his left-footed strike crept into the bottom left corner. This meant that Brennan Johnson had scored a goal in each of his last five appearances for Spurs. With a comfortable two-goal cushion, a Tottenham victory seemed inevitable. However, Ferencvaros gave the Lilywhites a late scare when Barnabas Varga netted in the 90th minute. After five tense minutes of stoppage time, Spurs held on to claim their second Europa League win and their fifth consecutive victory in all competitions. Tottenham are finding their rhythm at the perfect time, and few teams in Europe are riding the same hot streak. Next up, they face Brighton on Sunday before their players head off for international duty. 

Also Read: Harry Maguire Rescues a Late Point as Manchester United Stumble Once Again on the European Stage