David Hytner was in N17 to see Spurs sneak past Southampton, and keep their dream of a first FA Cup since 1991 alive. Here’s his verdict. Enjoy, enjoy ... and thanks so much for reading this MBM. Congratulations to Tottenham; commiserations to the Saints. Nighty night!
A disappointed Ralph Hasenhüttl responds. “The worst thing to happen is to be out of the FA Cup with James Ward-Prowse injured, but it’s good that he has only a cut. That is what I was worried the most about, because that would have had a massive impact. But I can hope that he is not long injured. It is not enough to dominate, we have to use our changes. We stuck to our gameplan, but in the last 15 minutes gave it away too easy. We didn’t defend well. Against such an opponent this is not possible. They showed their quality and we lost the game. It is only about winning and losing, it’s not about getting warm words. We must quickly turn the behaviour of getting the results back, this is what we are playing for. I am not happy.”
Jose, with many perfectly timed pauses, delivers a bravura post-match soliloquy. “I have to be honest. I think the best team lost. The best team on the pitch lost. But the team with more heart ... the team with the players who went to their limits ... the team who had so many difficulties, even to build a team ... the team who, on the bench, had options that were not options to change the game ... even Dele was in so difficult condition ... so my team deserved to win! The best team lost, but my team deserved to win. From the beginning I could feel immediately that the intensity level, conditions and freshness, they were much stronger than us. We tried to organise the team with the players we had available. We tried to build the puzzle, but some pieces were missing. We fought to our limit.” [applause, bouquets]
Here’s the revised fifth-round draw. Ties will be played the week commencing March 2.
- Chelsea v Liverpool
- Leicester City v Birmingham City
- Portsmouth v Arsenal
- Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
- Derby County v Manchester United
- Reading v Sheffield United
- Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
- West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United
As for Saints, who were less than a quarter-of-an-hour away from the fifth round? It’ll hurt for a while, of course. But tonight’s performance was more proof that Ralph Hasenhüttl has Southampton moving in the right direction. They dominated possession for the most part, at the home of last year’s Champions League runners-up, and on another night would be celebrating victory. Spurs needed to dig deep to see them off. Once the pain subsides, they’ll begin to feel good about themselves going forward. Even if their wait for a second FA Cup will stretch to at least 45 years.
Spurs celebrate more in relief than joy. For long stretches tonight, they weren’t very good at all. But they kept battling, and the introduction of Dele Alli brought a little class to their play. He was involved in Lucas Moura’s fine equaliser, then set up Son Heung-min for the winning penalty with a stunning pass. “It says a lot about the character we have in this team,” a content but determined Dele tells BT Sport. “It was such a big game at the weekend [against Manchester City] that you can lose the momentum, and we didn’t play our best. But it takes one little switch, and our second goal did that. I think we deserve a trophy but nobody is going to give it to us. We have to keep this momentum in all competitions, and we need to win something.”
FULL TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Southampton
Southampton were the best team for 75 minutes, but Spurs floored the accelerator at the business end of the match and somehow prevailed. A sign that it could be their year? It could be their year, you know. They host Norwich City in the fifth round.
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90 min +4: Spurs take their own sweet time over a throw deep in Southampton territory. On the touchline, Mourinho throws frantic semaphore shapes, ordering his charges to keep concentrating. A place in the fifth round, which looked so far away 20 minutes ago, is so close now!
90 min +3: Ings sends a shot screaming over the Spurs bar, but it’s an act of frustration, the offside flag having pinged up seconds before, putting a stop to Southampton’s gallop.
90 min +1: Oh When The Spurs Go Marching In rings around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. For the first time this evening, the home fans are winning the spiritual-off.
90 min: Alli glides down the inside left, thinks about shooting, then tees up Moura, who can’t quite get a shot away. Spurs are suddenly swarming all over Saints. Can the visitors force extra time? They’ve got five extra minutes to find something.
89 min: Breaking clock-management news: Sessegnon is replaced by Sanchez.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Southampton (Son 88 pen)
Son whip-cracks the penalty into the bottom left, and Spurs get their reward for finally waking up in the last 15 minutes of this match! Saints must wonder what’s happened to them.
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86 min: PENALTY FOR SPURS! Fine work by Alli, who slips a diagonal pass in from the right. Son is free, and tries to round Gunn on the penalty spot. He goes left. Gunn sticks out an arm, and down Son goes. There wasn’t much contact, but enough for the referee to point to the spot!
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85 min: Adams is booked for a crude bodycheck on Aurier. Saints are rocking. Spurs have enjoyed 68% during the last five minutes.
84 min: Moura’s bustle down the right wins a corner for Spurs. Alderweireld heads it harmlessly over the bar. Spurs have stepped it up in these closing stages, the first time in the evening they’ve looked in control.
83 min: Romeu bumbles into Moura, and is booked for a second foul in 30 seconds. The first, on Son, saw the Spurs striker gesticulating for a card, which was a bit saucy of him. But this is the heat of battle, to be fair, so anything goes.
82 min: This match has descended into high-octane nonsense. Marvellous. Both teams seem hell bent on finding a late winner. The atmosphere crackles accordingly.
81 min: Long has picked up a minor knock and is replaced by Che Adams.
79 min: What a great cup tie this has been. Not entirely sure how Spurs have managed to keep up with Saints, but they’ve stuck at it, despite being second best in midfield all evening.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Southampton (Moura 77)
Out of nowhere, Spurs equalise! Moura and Alli one-two down the middle. Moura takes a touch to the right, sending Vestergaard the wrong way, and whipping a wonderful shot into the bottom left, past the outstretched arm of Gunn. The home fans explode in relief. Hopes of a first FA Cup since 1991 are still alive!
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75 min: Redmond skitters down the inside left channel and nearly gets to the ball ahead of Lloris. Redmond goes over, Lloris draws his arm back. No contact, they say, though it wasn’t 100 percent clear. Still, the officials are convinced that it wasn’t a penalty, and in VAR we trust, right kids?
74 min: Saints deserve their lead. They’ve been marvellous. Spurs have been all over the shop, mind, but take nothing away.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Southampton (Ings 72)
A length-of-the-pitch move gives Saints the lead. Redmond races up the right from deep. He cuts inside adroitly, passing Winks with ease, and raking a sensational pass wide left for Ings, who drifts infield past Tanganga and plants a curler into the bottom right! Lloris had no chance. Ings is such a fine striker, though that goal was as much about Redmond.
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71 min: Dier takes a speculative whack from distance. It’s deflected out for a corner. Easily cleared. But Spurs come again through Son, who earns another and takes it himself from the left. Gunn comes off his line to punch clear semi-confidently.
70 min: A sore one for Son, as Stephens tries to kick the ball from under the prone striker but catches his arm. Neither referee nor VAR see any foul play, and Son’s quickly up and running again, so all’s well.
68 min: Long whips a cross in from the right. Lloris claims well with Ings lurking. Spurs go up the other end, Aurier sending a ball in from the right. His cross hits Vestergaard’s arm, but the pair were standing right next to each other, and he’ll not be getting the penalty he claims.
67 min: Yep, here comes Armstrong. He replaces Boufal, who has put in a shift, and receives a warm ovation from the travelling Saints fans for his efforts.
66 min: Spurs are struggling to get out of their own half. They’ll not be pleased to see Stuart Armstrong pulling on his boots, a sign that Saints intend to go for this in the final stages. They’ve been well on top pretty much from the get-go.
64 min: Now it’s Alderweireld’s turn to explode in anger, as Redmond wins a corner off him down the right. The defender’s claiming no touch. From the set piece, Vestergaard is found free, six yards out, but heads straight at Lloris, who tips over. Goodness knows what Alderweireld’s mood would be like had Lloris not made that save. The second corner comes to nothing.
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62 min: Saints have enjoyed 63% possession since the restart. The home fans don’t sound particularly enamoured with the fare on display, though a goal would of course change everything, if only for a night. “If Messi’s looking for a new challenge may I humbly suggest he gives the Scottish Premiership a go, which is where Dundee United will be playing next season?” Yes, folks, it’s Simon McMahon. “A swap deal with Lawrence Shankland (plus, say, 50 million euros to United) should see a deal completed.”
61 min: Alli replaces Ndombele. Spurs, having made two quickfire changes in midfield, are momentarily all over the shop, allowing Redmond to skitter down the left into a lot of space. He’s got options in the middle, but his cross is too close to Lloris, who gathers.
59 min: Spurs’ new boy Fernandes is booked for a late clip on Boufal, who has diddled him out on the right flank. No complaints. In the dugout, Vertonghen continues to seethe and smoulder like a 1940s movie star.
58 min: ... but Saints aren’t awarded it. Long descends into a wild fury. Spurs tear up the other end, Son seeing a shot deflected wide right for a corner that is given. Happily for the karmic order, nothing comes of the Spurs set piece.
57 min: Stephens finds some space down the right and whips low towards the near post. Long tries to turn the ball goalwards. Alderweireld blocks out for a corner ...
55 min: Moura spins in the midfield, away from Bednarek, who pulls him back. That’s a deserved booking. Meanwhile Vertonghen reaches the dugout, and pointedly looks away as Mourinho gives him a consoling tap on the shoulder. He sits on the bench, chin balanced on fist. A deep funk.
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54 min: Spurs make the first tactical change of the evening. Vertonghen is replaced by the new boy Gelson Fernandes. The big defender trudges around the perimeter with head bowed, deep in thought. He’s not happy.
52 min: And now it’s Spurs who pass up a great opportunity to take the lead. Sessegnon rolls a pass down the left, the ball rolling along the white line and somehow staying in play. Son crosses gorgeously towards the far post. Moura has to score, but plants a header wide right from six yards. How on earth is this game still only 1-1?
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50 min: Saints should be leading. Ings and Redmond combine crisply down the left. Ings again can’t quite get a shot away, so rolls a pass wide right for Boufal, free in the area! Boufal opens his body and tries to pop a sidefoot into the bottom left, but sends it well wide. Boufal holds his head in his hands, a fine chance spurned.
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49 min: The early signs: it’s as-you-were. Saints continue to stroke it around in the midfield, with Spurs often chasing shadows. Redmond rakes a ball down the left for Ings, who can’t quite find the space to shoot. Then Romeu hoicks a cross in from the left, Hojbjerg heading harmlessly over from six yards.
47 min: An update on James Ward-Prowse: he may have suffered knee ligament damage, though it’ll be hard to say for sure until some swelling goes down. Here’s hoping for a positive outcome and a swift recovery; he’s been excellent for Saints this season, and will be sorely missed.
And we’re off again. Spurs get the ball rolling for the second half. You’d expect them to have had the riot act read to them during the break; they had one shot on target during that first half, and that wasn’t even their goal. Let’s see if it’s had any effect.
Half-time paranormal activity. “I was just scanning back through today’s MBM, when your line for the first goal (‘Saints have been the better side, so of course it’s the home side who take the lead’) gave me a sense of deja vu,” writes Sarah Rothwell, and not just because I clumsily used the word ‘side’ twice in the same sentence. “I quickly brought up last Saturday’s Clockwatch and found the following line for Liverpool’s second goal: ‘Southampton have been much the better team, so they probably knew this was coming.’ I’d feel sorry for the Saints if I weren’t such a dyed-in-the-wool Liverpool supporter.”
Half-time entertainment. Some news that may cheer Jose up: Barcelona are in disarray. Sid Lowe has the latest!
HALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Southampton
Saints have been by far the better team. Spurs will be much happier with the scoreline. Mourinho stomps off with not too many cheers ringing in his ears. We could be in for quite the second half ... and perhaps extra-time and penalties to come.
45 min +3: Son and Aurier one-two crisply down the inside-right channel. Both have chances to shoot, but both hesitate, and Bednarek slides in to block and clear. Great defending, ponderous attacking.
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45 min +1: In the first of four added minutes, Redmond spins Winks with great ease, 20 yards out, and blazes over the bar.
45 min: And now Son bustles down the middle, but with options at either side and Saints extremely light at the back, the striker loses control and there goes the chance to set someone clear. So much for waiting for the half-time whistle, eh. Pulitzer, please!
44 min: Actually, scrub that. First Bertrand powers down the left to win a Saints corner. Then from the set piece, Spurs break upfield, Moura nearly wriggling his way clear on the left.
42 min: That unpleasant accident has understandably taken the wind out of Southampton’s sail, and most of the energy from what had been a very entertaining, if slightly lop-sided, game. Both sides could probably do with hearing the half-time whistle.
40 min: Poor Ward-Prowse is taken off on a stretcher. It might be an injury to his right knee, his leg planted upon taking a kick. Sessegnon looks concerned and not a little shaken; the incident certainly looked accidental. Vestergaard comes on to replace the stricken Saint. God speed, James Ward-Prowse.
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38 min: Uh-oh, this doesn’t look good. Sessegnon and Ward-Prowse come together out on the Saints right. It’s a 50-50 ball. At first glance, it looked like a kick on the shin, no more, but it might be worse than that, sadly. Ward-Prowse holds his head and he’s in some distress. The oxygen mask comes out as his team-mates comfort him. Fingers crossed this looks worse than it is.
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36 min: On the touchline, Mourinho frowns and pouts, harrumphs and emotes. And no wonder. Saints have made 209 passes to the home side’s 102. His side have been very much second best.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Southampton (Long 34)
This is no more than Saints deserve. Boufal slips Redmond into space down the inside right. Redmond looks to have made the wrong choice, spinning to his right, away from goal, seemingly the wrong way. But he turns and threads a shot towards the bottom left. Lloris parries weakly, into the path of Long, who makes no mistake from six yards.
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32 min: Moura romps down the left, checks, then u-turns and nearly breaks clear into the Saints box. He’s crowded out by three Saints players, but it’s a fine run that almost bears fruit.
30 min: Aurier creams a lovely pass down the right for Son, who can’t turn Bertrand as he enters the box. Saints clear, but for a split second there it looked as though Spurs had opened them up. A better period for the home side.
29 min: Boufal and Bertrand combine nicely down the left, the latter whipping a low ball towards the near post. Ings attempts to trap and turn past Tanganga by the near post, but the full-back is wise to the grift and holds his ground before shepherding both ball and Ings out of play.
28 min: Even so, Spurs look dangerous when they do piece an attack together. Moura zips down the left, twisting, turning and nearly earning space to shoot. He settles for a corner, from which very little occurs.
26 min: Corner for Saints down the right, Ward-Prowse swinging a low cross in that Vertonghen is forced to slice clear. Ward-Prowse gets two goes at delivering the corner, but neither effort is all that. But Spurs continue to look second best, and Ward-Prowse is usually the thorn in their side.
24 min: Spurs are struggling to string more than a couple of passes together. The home support has been pretty quiet from the get-go, one obvious moment apart. The travelling fans currently in better voice, winning the battle of the US spiritual both claim as their own.
22 min: Saints are stroking the ball around delightfully. A PlayStation move involving Ward-Prowse, Boufal and Ings nearly comes off down the right. Not quite. The admittedly important matter of the scoreline apart, they’ll be very pleased with their performance so far. They’ve been the better team.
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20 min: Redmond sends a low drive towards the bottom right from 20 yards. Lloris parries, and is pretty fortunate not to tee up the lurking Ings. Spurs get away with it again. Not entirely sure how they’re leading, but here we are.
19 min: Southampton hit the crossbar! Ward-Prowse exchanges passes with Hojbjerg out on the right, and curls a glorious defence-splitting pass down the line. Ings is clear, and enters the box. Lloris hesitates, and Ings must surely score. He gets the ball past the keeper, but with far too much force, leaning back and blootering it off the bar. The ball twangs miles back upfield. Ings will consider that a bad miss.
17 min: Another cute Ndombele spin. His dragback foxes Romeu, who might have gone in the book for his clumsy clatter had there been a few more minutes on the clock. But it’s still early enough, and we all play on.
16 min: Saints continue to enjoy the lion’s share of possession. Spurs seem quite happy to sit back and see what they can do on the break. And it’s working so far. Textbook Joseball.
14 min: A bit of space for Long down the inside-left channel. He cushions a pass back to Ings, who has plenty of space and time to size up a shot from distance. But the flag goes up for offside, Long the transgressor, and there goes a chance for Saints to hit back immediately.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Southampton (Stephens 12 og)
Saints have been the better side, so of course it’s the home side who take the lead. Winks hooks a ball down the inside-left channel for Sessegnon, who can’t get a shot away. The ball breaks back to Ndombele, who whacks a first-time shot goalwards. It’s heading wide left, but cannons off Stephens and into the bottom right, an outrageous deflection that wrong-foots Gunn.
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10 min: Redmond skitters down the inside left and enters the Spurs box, using Vertonghen as a shield and sending a shot towards the bottom left. Lloris, partially unsighted, does very well to hack clear with his legs. Spurs are living dangerously.
9 min: Saints continue to stroke it around. Spurs eventually break up their pretty midfield patterns, Moura tearing down the middle and slipping the ball wide right for Aurier, but the Spurs wing-back is forced to turn tail. Saints held their shape very nicely.
7 min: Boufal turns on the burners and blazes down the left. He eases past Tanganga, as if the young full-back wasn’t there, and fizzes a stunning low cross through the six-yard box. Long hopes to toe-poke home, but Lloris diverts it out for a corner with a crucial fingertip. The resulting set piece comes to nothing, but Saints could easily have had a couple of goals already. The home fans have fallen a little quiet as a result.
5 min: And now it’s Southampton’s turn to have a whack on goal. Romeu drifts down the inside left and rakes a diagonal pass towards the in-form Ings, who takes a touch inside, bypassing Alderweireld, but sending a weak volley down the throat of Lloris. Somewhere, in a parallel universe with better finishing, it’s 1-1.
3 min: Saints ping it around in a confident style, befitting a team with such a good record on the road. But then the play’s broken up, and Son chases after a long pass down the Spurs left. He cuts into the area but can’t work space for a shot. He pulls back for Sessegnon, who sidefoots lamely towards Gunn. A nice open start to the match.
2 min: Sessegnon passes in from the left for Ndombele, who spins away from trouble and into acres of space. A lovely pirouette. But he can’t find Son with a pass down the inside-right channel. Saints clear their lines.
And we’re off! Saints, who have won four of their last five away matches, get the party started. Spurs have won their last seven home FA Cup ties. Within nine seconds, Stephens has launched the ball long and out of play for a goal kick.
The teams are out! A rare old atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the players take to the pitch. Spurs fans are looking to scratch a 29-year itch in this competition; Saints supporters have been waiting 44 years for the soothing balm of Wembley victory. Both sets giving it plenty accordingly. We’ll be off in a minute!
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And now a word from Mourinho’s opposite number, Ralph Hasenhüttl: “We play against a very, very strong side. The Liverpool game was an important experience for us, and in the end the result was not a surprise. But it was an important experience. We have won the FA Cup once, so we are focused on this competition. It is an important signal to show how far we are in our development, because to win here, and go to the next round, will not be so easy. So it will be a massive signal and we want to win.”
Here’s Jose! “We have the happiness of the victory over Manchester City, but also the consequences. We have injured players, we are very short of attacking options. I look forward to the game. It is a good opportunity for Eric Dier, who is working so hard to get back to the team, but has not had many opportunities to play. And Tanguy Ndombele, let’s see him finally start after his difficult period. Ryan Sessegnon is a kid who I am always happy to give an opportunity to.”
EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS: Spurs will be playing in white shirts tonight. Yes, it’s a fairly transparent excuse to whack up some pictures of classic kit of yore. Here are Tottenham in their double-winning glory, glory days.
Southampton are forced out of their first-choice red and white stripes, and into grey and highlighter-pen yellow. Huh. As change strips go, it’s not a patch on the glorious Admiral threads they wore when turning Manchester United over in the 1976 final. But to be fair, that’s a pretty high bar.
A bonus sprinkling of team news, because the FA Cup is special, isn’t it. Giovani Lo Celso misses out through injury, as does Erik Lamela. Dele Alli was only fit enough for the bench after picking up a knock at the weekend. Stuart Armstrong wasn’t expected to make it at all, thanks to a hip problem, but like Dele he’s in the dugouts tonight.
Tottenham make four changes to the team selected for the original tie at St Mary’s. Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier, Tanguy Ndombele and Ryan Sessegnon are in; Dele Alli, Davison Sanchez and Gedson Fernandes drop to the bench, while Giovani Lo Celso misses out altogether.
Saints make three changes to the side named for that match. Oriol Romeu, Sofiane Boufal and Shane Long step up; Stuart Armstrong and Michael Obafemi drop to the bench, while Kevin Danso is left out altogether.
The teams
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Tanganga, Dier, Winks, Ndombele, Sessegnon, Lucas, Son.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Sanchez, Cirkin, Skipp, Gedson, Dele, Parrott.
Southampton: Gunn, Ward-Prowse, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Boufal, Redmond, Ings, Long.
Subs: Lewis, Vokins, Vestergaard, Smallbone, Armstrong, Obafemi, Adams.
Preamble
Since Southampton returned to the Premier League in 2012, they haven’t enjoyed travelling to Tottenham Hotspur very much. There have been eight matches between the clubs in N17, and Spurs have won seven of them. If this recent history is any guide, then tonight’s FA Cup fourth-round replay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a shoo-in for the eponymous hosts.
But not all recent history is against the Saints. Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side may have depended on a late Sofiane Boufal equaliser at St Mary’s to force this replay, but they beat Jose Mourinho’s men down by the Solent in the league on New Year’s Day. They asked Spurs a few questions in defeat here back in September. And they’ve scored in each of their last ten matches against Spurs. The top-line stats may not make for great reading for today’s visitors, but all is not yet lost.
There’s also the historical FA Cup record between these two clubs. They’re level at three wins apiece, a story that stretches all the way back to 1902, when both teams were members of the Southern League. Saints won that tie after two replays, and went on to reach the final, where they lost to Sheffield United. They’re still the last non-league side to reach the final. (For the sake of completion, Spurs were the holders that year, and they’re still the last non-league side since the foundation of the Football League in 1888 to win the cup. Both records are likely to stand for a few years yet.)
Fast forward, and the last two FA Cup meetings between the teams have ended in routs. Ronnie Rosenthal smashing in a hat-trick in a 6-2 win for Spurs at the Dell in 1995; Gordon Strachan’s side, spearheaded by James Beattie, humiliating former manager Glenn Hoddle’s team 4-0 at St Mary’s in 2003.
All of which is a roundabout way of saying: this could be great fun! Spurs are favourites, but these two have history, so anything could happen. Including extra-time and penalty kicks. One way or another, we’ll have a blast finding out who’ll host Norwich City in the fifth round. It’s on!
Kick-off: 7.45pm GMT.
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