Tottenham Hotspur are struggling to be inside ‘the Top Four’ in Premier League and their title hope, for now, remains only in the Emirates FA Cup. It seems that the FA Cup is taken seriously by boss Mauricio Pochettinho who fielded a strong side against League Two minnows Newport County in the FA Cup 4th Round tie. Spurs have been thoroughly dominant over lower league sides in cup competitions and were expected to snatch another comfortable win at Rodney Parade. But it proved to be a dramatic encounter as the hosts earned a surprise lead and almost held it until hitman Harry Kane pulled a late equalizer and earned his side a rematch at Wembley.
Below are the Tottenham Hotspur players rated in their dramatic 1-1 draw against the Exiles.
Michel Vorm: 6
Vorm was handed another start due to Hugo Lloris’ injury and despite making a few routine stops the custodian could not stop his side from conceding in the first-half.
Kieran Trippier: 6.5
Mostly spent his time in opponent’s box, kept on whipping in crosses that were mostly dealt well by Newport defence.
Juan Foyth: 7.5
The young Argentine was confident with the ball, kept his head cool and didn’t make any error despite Newport pressing high off the pitch at times.
Jan Vertonghen: 7
A strong defensive display by the Premier League veteran who led the backline and pulled off some crucial blocks, tackles, clearances and anticipations. His clearance, however, fell in the path of Robbie Willmot who found Padraig Amond inside the box to earn his side a first-half lead.
Kyle Walker-Peters: 6
The Exiles tried to put pressure on the youngster and force him to make mistake. He, however, stood strong and maintained his composure before being replaced at half-time in a tactical move that saw Heung-Min Son coming on.
Victor Wanyama: 6
Was dispossessed a few times but impressed with his forward passes, key balls and dribbling skills. Didn’t have much to offer defensively but performed when it required screening the backline.
Eric Dier: 6.5
Was combative, won back possession on many occasions and did a fair job in the deep defensive role. However, struggled aerially at times and mostly spent his time in opponent’s half in search of an equalizer.
Moussa Sissoko: 6
Tried to combine upfront and use his physicality to beat past the resilient Newport defence. But the Frenchman lacked creativity and was easily contained by the backline.
Mousa Dembele: 7
His dribbling and holding traits caught the eyes yet again, but the Belgian could not earn his side an equalizer as long as he was on the pitch and the visitors scored the much-needed goal seconds after he came off to be replaced by Ben Davies.
Fernando Llorente: 5.5
Tried to feed the ball to Harry Kane and kept on operating from little behind. But the Spaniard couldn’t test the opponent custodian and was eventually replaced by Dele Alli.
Harry Kane: 8
Missed ample of opportunities but came to rescue once again when he pulled off a late equalizer for his side and saved them from a shocking knockout.
Substitutes
Heung Min-Son: 7
Son was a massive influence in attack as his pace and tricky runs created much trouble in Newport defence. It was him who set the ball up for Harry Kane for the late equalizer.
Dele Alli: 6.5
His movements and runs created more opportunities and opened the game up a bit more for the visitors.
Ben Davies: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
