Carrying our attribute tenacity into 2026 earned us a hard-earned level towards Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on New Year’s Day – proving as soon as once more that we might maintain our personal towards the best sides in world soccer.
Thursday’s outcome was a super launchpad for the 12 months forward and for our journey to London, with a faltering Tottenham Hotspur the subsequent cease for our travelling devoted – our first away recreation of the 12 months… and it actually didn’t disappoint.
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A story of two halves: a languidly disjointed first was adopted by a spirited, gutsy second as Régis Le Bris’ males dug their heels in to say a share of the spoils.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was one of many newly erected grounds but to be frequented by the red-and-white military, and whereas their house type has been patchy of late, the opening exchanges failed to supply us with the nice and cozy welcome we’d have been hoping for.
Thursday’s exploits seemed to have taken their toll on the Lads, with Le Bris opting for a similar beginning XI this time spherical. We have been leggy and a yard off the tempo as Nordi Mukiele crucially blocked Richarlison’s goal-bound header within the opening half-hour. We have been being out-worked and undone by an unrelenting Spurs excessive press.
Afforded valuable little time in possession, we have been pegged again and compelled to resort to hoofball as our defensive unit plundered numerous unanswered lengthy balls as much as Brian Brobbey, who lower a pissed off and remoted determine.
The North Londoners finally made their higher depth depend as a defensive lapse from a nook allowed Ben Davies to poke house.
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Le Bris’ substitutions and Spurs’ perceptible drop-off in vigour have been the catalysts for our second-half resurgence. Dan Ballard’s introduction noticed Mukiele change to right-back and Trai Hume transfer to the left, and from then on we seemed like a extra cohesive and threatening unit.
As we pursued an equaliser, Simon Adingra and Brobbey each noticed pictures fly vast of both publish, with Enzo Le Fée going closest from a cute header solely to be denied by the woodwork.
We probed and pressed, with our efforts lastly bearing fruit within the eightieth minute.
With 10 minutes to spare, an excellent pass-and-move assault was completed off emphatically by Brobbey as our Dutch centre-forward struck past a helpless Guglielmo Vicario to ship our away nook into raptures.
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After we restored parity, the one aspect that seemed like profitable was us. Hume examined Vicario with an audacious curling effort, forcing the Italian into an acrobatic cease denying us what certainly would have been a memorable winner.
Sunday’s outcome and second-half efficiency have been indicative of a aspect that embody combat and a self-belief that continues to galvanise us even with out a number of key gamers.
I for one will proceed to embrace self-congratulation. Sitting on 30 factors, on the cusp of the European spots with simply shy of half the season remaining, is nothing wanting exceptional.