Non-league Tamworth produced a heroic display to take Tottenham to extra time before the Premier League club limped into the FA Cup fourth round with a 3-0 win. Andy Peaks’ National League outfit pushed Spurs all the way at a buoyant Lambs Ground, before Nathan Tshikuna’s own goal finally put the visitors ahead after 101 minutes.
Tamworth had threatened to win the tie in second-half stoppage time before Ange Postecoglou watched two of his substitutes help them progress. Dominic Solanke’s effort – via Tshikuna’s final touch – broke the deadlock, before Dejan Kulusevski clinched the hard-fought victory with a second, six minutes later. Brennan Johnson added unjust gloss to the score with a third late on, but it failed to sour a memorable occasion for the hosts, who received a standing ovation after extra time.
Tamworth had asked for volunteers to help clear the ground on Saturday morning to ensure the biggest match in the club’s history could go ahead 24 hours later and Postecoglou showed plenty of respect with his starting lineup.
James Maddison captained a Spurs side which contained five players from the midweek victory over Liverpool, but kick-off was delayed due to an issue with the net in one of the goals.
Play eventually got under way five minutes later after Tamworth’s Beck-Ray Enoru got on the shoulders of the goalkeeper Jas Singh to help fix the net – and he almost stunned the visitors inside 25 seconds. Enoru raced past Pedro Porro on the left but his rasping cross-shot was tipped over by Tottenham’s January recruit Antonin Kinsky.
Tamworth’s long-throw specialist Tom Tonks was required after four minutes and yet Spurs dealt with it comfortably to briefly quieten a partisan home crowd. It was not the case with the next one as Tonks’ arrowed long throw beat Kinsky and hit a post, although the referee, Peter Bankes, had already awarded a foul.
Tottenham had struggled to get to grips with the artificial surface at the Lamb Ground until Maddison started to dictate play midway through the first half. He had tried his luck twice early on to no avail but went close in the 31st minute with a superb curled effort, which Singh parried wide.
Pape Sarr had a shot blocked moments later and Maddison should have scored after 38 minutes. Timo Werner found Maddison inside the area, but the Spurs playmaker could only fire straight at Singh in the Tamworth goal, which ensured it was goalless at the break.
A raucous cheer greeted the return of the Tamworth players for the second half as the sun started to break out in a frosty Staffordshire. The breakthrough almost arrived in the 55th minute when Mikey Moore picked out Werner, but his header was cleared off the line by Haydn Hollis.
Three minutes later and Tamworth went agonisingly close as Enoru had a shot blocked before Callum Cockerill-Mollett’s follow-up was deflected wide. Chances were being created more frequently now and Johnson played in Werner, but Singh got out quickly to deny the Germany forward and Jordan Cullinane-Liburd produced an equally fine block to thwart Werner again.
It was almost followed by a sensational breakthrough for the non-league side when Ben Milnes’ corner was headed off target by Cullinane-Liburd with 22 minutes of normal time left.
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Postecoglou had seen enough and introduced Solanke and Lucas Bergvall, which failed to spark a dramatic swing in momentum. As the seconds ticked away, the frustration of the Premier League side started to grow with Porro booked before six minutes were added on at the end of normal time.
Tamworth dug into their energy reserves to keep going and were almost rewarded with a dramatic stoppage-time winner. A slip by Solanke presented a chance for Tom McGlinchey but Yves Bissouma got across to block and Kinsky gratefully gathered the loose ball after Cullinane-Linurd threatened again.
It was a scoreline to be proud of for Tamworth, yet they unfortunately saw Son Heung-min and Kulusevski ready to go for extra time. As the part-time outfit started to fatigue, quick-thinking helped create the opener as Son found Johnson from a free-kick and his cross found Solanke, before the unfortunate Tshikuna turned the ball in.
Kulusevski made it 2-0 in the 107th minute with a fine finish after Son’s pass and Johnson wrapped up the scoring with two minutes left as Tottenham reached round four after an almighty scare.
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Jonathan Liew’s report from the Lamb Ground to follow.
Source: theguardian.com
