Tottenham Hotspur have one of their own, as you might have heard their supporters sing. Harry Kane has emerged as the club’s homegrown hero. But the broader picture is that they have four. It was a remarkable but prominent subplot of this Capital One Cup final that Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI contained not only Kane but Ryan Mason, Andros Townsend and Nabil Bentaleb – a quartet who have come up through the Tottenham academy.
It added a layer of romance to the occasion – the band of brothers who are living the dream, and the thought occurred that any Tottenham triumph might feel even sweeter because of it. This, however, was not an occasion for the fairytale; rather Chelsea’s ruthless savvy, as epitomised by the captain, John Terry, Diego Costa and, of course, José Mourinho.
Tottenham’s progress to Wembley had been marked by a slightly fortunate draw – all of their ties had been at White Hart Lane and Newcastle United were their only Premier League opponents. When they came up against the country’s biggest fish, they could not find the answers. It might have been different had Christian Eriksen’s 10th-minute free-kick been six inches lower but Chelsea forced the breaks for themselves and they got the job done.
Tottenham simply had to hope that their young players would learn from the experience and that the disappointment might fire them in the future. This has to be a platform, rather than a trap door – the like of which the club fell through after they won this tournament against Chelsea in 2008 under Juande Ramos.
In the end, though, the hurt was etched on their faces. Bentaleb was the first player off the field at full time, looking as if he wanted to keep on marching a very long way from Wembley, while none of them stuck around to watch Terry and Didier Drogba lift the trophy. Most of their fans were already on Wembley Way when Hugo Lloris led the team up for their runners-up medals.
Tottenham had started with five English players in the 2008 final but Ledley King, the captain, had been the only homegrown product. This was different. There were six Englishman in Pochettino’s team, including Kane, Mason and Townsend while Bentaleb, the France-born Algeria international, represented the fourth academy graduate.
It was worth taking a moment to remember who the quartet had kept out of the team. In midfield, Mason and Bentaleb were in on merit ahead of Paulinho, Benjamin Stambouli and Étienne Capoue; Townsend was preferred to Érik Lamela; Kane to Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor. In other words, the club had four homegrown players ahead of a group that had cost them more than £100m on the market.
Pochettino has shown his faith in young, English players since he arrived in England – at Southampton in January 2013 – and this was an illustration of his philosophy on a grand scale. The inexperience of those he selected mattered not to him.
There was a fearlessness about them at the outset – they were not cowed by the stage – and there were plenty of markers of it, from Townsend’s desire to carry the ball, to Bentaleb’s shoulder drop on Ramires in the 21st minute, when he had precious little cover behind him. Bentaleb accelerated away and he was fouled by Ramires. His performance was marked by maturity. Mason’s passing was typically tidy while Kane flickered – he had two fine runs early on. But they faded. The second half belonged to Chelsea.
Tottenham could make a case for having been the more pleasing team in the first half and Terry’s goal was a sickener for them, and not only because of its timing. Nacer Chadli did put his hand on Branislav Ivanovic but the free-kick award felt a little soft while the subsequent series of flick, ricochet and deflection was not a part of any Tottenham script.
Pochettino’s team showed heart and spirit, even in their dealings with the colossus that is Costa. It looked as though Eric Dier had set out to needle him – he left his boot in on the Chelsea striker in the early running – but, in truth, Tottenham had nobody as streetwise as Costa. He incensed Bentaleb by pushing his palm into his face, and Mason was quickly on the scene to support his team-mate. Costa faced them down.
Dier was fortunate to stay on the field. After a booking for a challenge on Costa, he caught him late in first-half injury time while he also delivered a knee to the back of César Azpilicueta’s head, as he jumped for a second-half free-kick. Azpilicueta was bloodied.
Tottenham felt the thumbscrews turn when Costa’s shot was deflected past Lloris. It was another unfortunate moment for those in white. Pochettino threw his head back up at the heavens and he cursed in Spanish. At that moment, the tie felt over.
Tottenham pushed at the bitter end, as they have done all season and they hinted at a consolation, when Kane tricked his way through only to be denied by a shuddering challenge from Terry – the game’s outstanding individual. The old order held sway.
