After Harry, waiting for Ivan? Over 105 minutes, here was a chance for Brentford and Tottenham to prove there is much more to them than that. James Maddison wearing Harry Kane’s No 10 shirt was a pointed kiss-off to the one-of-their-own all-time club goalscorer last seen collecting a German Super Cup loser’s medal, to answer Brentford fans questions of “where’s your Harry gone?”
Ivan Toney’s absence until January leaves Brentford’s forward line in the more than capable hands of Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo, tricky, zesty opponents sorely testing Spurs’ reversion to a back four under Ange Postecoglou. Destiny Udogie at left-back and Micky van de Ven partnering Cristian Romero ahead of the new goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario added further unfamiliarity.
With David Raya Arsenal-bound, Mark Flekken, the Dutchman, was another keeper making a Premier League debut but Thomas Frank’s Brentford selection was far more recognisable than Postecoglou’s. As was Brentford’s style of play when compared to the remodelled Tottenham, work with continuing progress to make but with signs of traditional Tottenham values as opposed to the doggerel of Antonio Conte. With the new club captain Son Heung-min off the left, Richarlison stepped from Kane’s shadow as a lone striker, Maddison’s shirt number suggesting him as the creator in the Hoddle/Sheringham mould. Central but drifting, hailed by Tottenham fans, booed by Brentford’s, Maddison has the stage his talents have long suggested.
His dead-ball proficiency has never been in question, and his whipped cross from the left-hand corner of Brentford’s box supplied the first goal of the Postecoglou era, Romero and Richarlison queueing to score. The Argentinian got there first but on-field celebrations were delayed by a lengthy VAR call before Romero immediately left the field with a concussion suffered during an earlier clash of heads with Mbeumo. On came Davinson Sánchez, a pariah last season to a section of Spurs fans but having received rave reviews in pre-season. One of Postecoglou’s tasks is to polish the faded jewels he inherited, Yves Bissouma, who showed flashes of his Brighton self, in midfield being another.
In pre-match, Spurs’s players formed a Celtic-style huddle. Then came a delay in kick-off, blamed on “sanitation issues” that briefly threatened the game taking place at all, the Community Stadium’s toilets flush out of water until an emergency plumber answered the call. When the start eventually came, Brentford straight away swarmed at Tottenham, Wissa and Mbeumo giving frenzied chase to Vicario, testing his one-touch passing skills.
After that, Spurs played a few, concerted minutes of the creative, passing football promised by the new manager and scored their opener, only for Brentford to find a second wind. The unfortunate Son found himself on the end of VAR’s all-seeing eye, a slight trip on Mathias Jensen punished as Mbeumo sent Vicario the wrong way from the spot.
The Italian was left equally helpless by Brentford’s second after Rico Henry blazed past an idling Emerson Royal and cut back for Wissa’s shot to rattle off Van de Ven’s trailing leg. Emerson, though, within the 11 minutes added on to the first 45, made swift amends, the ball breaking from Maddison for the Brazilian to lash in. The PA announcement of those 11 minutes seemed to take the wind from Brentford’s sails; added football is asking different questions of teams and their planning. Still, Henry, again leaving Royal for dead, supplied Mbeumo a chance shanked over in the closing seconds of the elongated half.
Mikkel Damsgaard, an early second-half substitute, should have done better than weakly shooting after Vicario had palmed Vitaly Janelt’s shot into danger. Brentford’s main creative outlet remained their hard press of Tottenham’s high line while Maddison’s free-kicks and corners remained their main danger.
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Richarlison’s first-half lack of movement, chastised by Son at one point, had been unhelpful to Spurs though he began the half looking more interested, perhaps having received some Melburnian invective during the break. Maddison’s angled pass gave the Brazilian chance to shoot but Flekken had narrowed the angles and he was unable to equal last season’s total of one Premier League goal.
As 90 minutes closed out, two very different sides began to nullify each other, with Tottenham calmer on the ball and Brentford understandably less energetic. Vicario’s wobbles continued as Zanka’s attempted cross almost drifted in and Brentford called for a penalty after he clattered into Kevin Schade but both scares were survived before what seemed a short four minutes of injury time was called. Spurs closed those out passing the ball, pinning back Brentford but unable to find their goal, settling for the same scoreline as last season, when Kane was still around to save them.
