Lucas Bergvall made his first start for Tottenham Hotspur as they just about edged past Coventry City in the Carabao Cup third round.
Brennan Johnson’s 92-minute winner against the Championship side saved Ange Postecoglou’s blushes on a tricky evening in the Midlands.
For most of the game, Spurs looked thoroughly underwhelming as they failed to muster a single shot in the first half. Coventry took the lead just after the hour mark as the Lilywhites looked set for another shocking cup exit to lower-league opposition.
But on came the cavalry, as Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench to set up Djed Spence to score the equaliser before Johnson stole the win late on with a beautiful finish.
However, for Bergvall, it wasn’t a debut to remember. His substitution caused a fair bit of controversy as the 18-year-old was one of Spurs’ best performers against Coventry and after the game, Postecoglou was questioned about his decision.
Why Postecoglou took of Bergvall vs Coventry
As Postecoglou withdrew Bergvall on his debut just after the hour mark, his decision to do so was met by a chorus of boos from the away end. They were unhappy that their most creative player was being withdrawn.
The 59-year-old has hit back at the jeers, however, stating that he did not want to push the teenager too much given it was his first significant minutes of the season.
Speaking after the game the Carabao Cup match, Postecoglou said in his press conference: “I don’t make substitutions by poll, mate. I’m sure the fans have got their own opinions, but Lucas, that’s his first sort of significant game time for quite a while. What I didn’t want was us pushing guys over the edge today, that’s why we took Destiny [Udogie] off at half-time as well.
“We already had a couple of injuries, and I had some pretty good players on the bench that I thought could make an impact, but it doesn’t take away from Lucas’s performance.”
Postecoglou impressed by Bergvall vs Coventry
The Aussie coach revealed that he was impressed by the youngster’s display at the Coventry Building Society Arena despite bringing him off.
“I thought he was outstanding tonight. They’re going to play a lot of football for us and hopefully getting through tonight, whether it’s 90 minutes for Archie or you know, 60, 70 for Lucas, will put them in a good space.”
The Swedish international looked lively against Coventry managing 47 touches, an 87 per cent pass accuracy and one key pass.
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