By Gareth James
Brennan Johnson and his Tottenham teammates earned the praise of manager Ange Postecoglou after the Wales striker struck with a 93rd minute winner to avoid an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit at Coventry City.
The Wales striker delivered just a day after his manager had defended him in the wake of social media abuse over recent performances.
Postecoglou was pleased with his team’s spirit and character shown after a nervy 2-1 victory.
Spurs were set to follow up Sunday’s painful derby defeat to Arsenal with another loss after Brandon Thomas-Asante fired the Sky Bet Championship club into a deserved lead after 63 minutes.
It would have put Postecoglou’s post-match comments last weekend about always winning silverware in his second season into sharp focus, but Djed Spence spared his blushes when he levelled with two minutes left.
Brennan Johnson came in clutch #Spurs pic.twitter.com/AgfajGurBy
— Jse_Code❄™️ (@JesseBCode) September 18, 2024
Spot-kicks were still on the cards until Rodrigo Bentancur played through to Johnson, who chipped home in the 92nd minute to send Tottenham through and leave their travelling support singing about Wembley.
“We had to hang in there. We had to work really, really hard just to stay in the game and obviously going a goal behind makes it even more challenging,” Postecoglou said.
“At the end there, we showed some real spirit and character, which is probably what’s been missing in the first four games.
“We’ve had the performance, but we haven’t had that relentlessness to get a result. You sense that in the last 10 minutes, we got real belief out of that and hopefully that’s a good sign moving forward.”
It could end up being a pivotal victory for Postecoglou, but it was an overall poor night for a much-changed Spurs team.
Coventry almost scored inside 60 seconds but Fraser Forster atoned for a misplaced pass with a fine save to deny Jack Rudoni.
Tottenham dominated possession but failed to create chances and Rudoni had another effort blocked by Destiny Udogie before Norman Bassette fired over.
After no first half shot and a smattering of boos at the break, Postecoglou sent on Spence and Johnson did have a shot deflected wide but Forster had to deny Bassette before Coventry called for a penalty.
Jake Bidwell collided with Forster and as play continued Wales defender Ben Davies had to slide in to thwart Haji Wright’s goalbound effort.
Brennan Johnson showing resilience in the face of adversity! To bounce back and score the winner for Spurs after all that criticism and abuse on social media is a testament to his mental strength. That goal must feel extra special tonight.
— ASHUTOSH KUMAR JOURNALIST (@ASHUTOS37990103) September 18, 2024
Boos greeted Postecoglou’s decision to take off the lively Lucas Bergvall in the 62nd minute before seconds later Thomas-Asante slotted home from a sumptuous Bassette cross.
Further chances were fashioned for the hosts as Ephron Mason-Clark failed to get a sufficient touch at the back post.
The Sky Blues would pay the price for their profligacy as Dejan Kulusevski combined brilliantly with fellow substitute Spence, who prodded home with two minutes left.
It was Spurs who scented blood and Bentancur threaded a pass through to Johnson, who dinked past Wilson to spark wild away celebrations half an hour after they booed the decision to take off Bergvall.
Postecoglou added: “I don’t make substitutions by poll, mate.
“I’m sure the fans have got their own opinions, but yeah, Lucas, like I said that’s his first sort of significant game time for quite a while.”
Coventry boss Mark Robins said: “Life presents you with chances and we seem to not take them in this moment in time.
“I look back to the (2023) play-off final, the game against Manchester United and it was there. The game was there tonight and we just didn’t manage to take it.
“There is the disappointment, but there were so many positives.”
Never give up on yourself, for every setback is a setup for a stronger comeback.
After facing heavy criticism, online abuse, and deactivating his Instagram account, Brennan Johnson responds by scoring the match-winning goal for Spurs tonight. #ChampionsLeague #Chess #Spurs pic.twitter.com/Sa8RJYE43k
— SuperFM 96.3 (@Superfm963) September 18, 2024
Only 24 hours before Postecoglou felt forced to defend Johnson after the 23-year-old – who moved from Nottingham Forest for £45m last summer – was the target for abuse online.
Postecoglou said: “I hate how we’ve just normalised all that stuff.
“I’ve been around long enough and even when I was playing, I copped a fair bit. But it was usually on the terraces and then the game was over and you’d go home.
“You’re talking about a young guy who is probably lacking a bit of confidence at the moment. Things haven’t gone his way.
“But he comes here every day, he’s working his backside off, he’s asking for feedback, he’s doing everything right, he’s trying so hard to become the player he wants to be. It’s hurting him a lot.
“It’s not like he’s out on the town and he doesn’t care and he rolls up late. So what’s his crime? His crime is he isn’t performing at the level that people expect of him.”
#THFC Extra sweet that it was Brennan Johnson with the winner tonight for Spurs after the embarrassing amount of verbal abuse he'd received online from some of our fans.
Seems whenever people begin to doubt him he swiftly silences the criticism with a goal contribution.#COVTOT https://t.co/RLbDgbyMri
— Stephen THFC ⚪⚪ (@theStephenJKD) September 18, 2024
