By David Williams
Brennan Johnson was given another vote of confidence by Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou after the Wales striker maintained his rich scoring streak.
Johnson scored the crucial second goal for Spurs as they beat Hungarians Ferencvaros 2-1, in the Europa League at the Groupama Arena.
It was Johnson’s fifth goal in five games and came after he had earlier hit the bar.
“He’s in a great vein of form right now,” said Postecoglou.
“He’s really confident. They thrive on that sort of stuff, but his numbers have always been good.
“I was always curious as to why he was singled out because his numbers were always good when stacked up against the other wingers. Now he’s probably ahead of them with his numbers.
“I never doubted he would make a massive impact for us and now he’s changing games for us.”
https://twitter.com/thfcsxtra/status/1841914134180282720
Since deactivating his social media accounts to avoid online abuse, Johnson’s performances have gone from strength to strength.
Wales manager Craig Bellamy will be hoping his striker keeps up his hot streak in front of goal when Johnson joins up for next week’s Europa League matches against Iceland and Montenegro.
Four players aged 19 or under were named in the Spurs line-up in Budapest with full debuts handed to academy graduates Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear, but the duo brushed off their inexperience to combine to set up Pape Sarr’s 23rd-minute opener.
Sarr scored amid a ferocious white-hot atmosphere and while Ferencvaros pushed the visitors, Tottenham substitute Johnson wrapped up the points with a smart finish in the 86th-minute to score for a fifth consecutive game.
Barnabas Varga reduced the deficit at the start of stoppage-time, but Postecoglou’s side, which had an average age of 23 after teenage pair Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall also started, held on.
Brennan Johnson. Again and again and again and again and again. pic.twitter.com/F7kJOwCP8s
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 3, 2024
Asked if his youngsters could be called Ange’s Angels in reference to the Busby Babes and Fergie’s Fledglings, Postecoglou laughed: “Nah, nah, nah, nah, you’ve got to do better than that. No, no chance.
“The first thing is that they’re part of our first team squad, not because I want some young players, it’s because they’ve earned that spot.
“Then it’s about how to help them develop and the moments we need to put them in there, the moments we need to hold off. And we can’t discount the fact that Archie is 18, Lucas is 18.
“I thought Archie was brilliant. We asked him to play in two different positions and it’s incredible how he just adjusts and he’s able to bring his game to wherever he put him.
“Lucas worked hard and Will was unlucky with a couple of moments when we could have got a goal.
“These guys are there because they’ve earned their spot but they’re an important part of our development.
“Whilst we want to be a team that has an impact this year, it’s like I said before, it’s important we’re developing players along the way so that whatever sort of period of potential for success or opportunity for success exists, it’s elongated because of the young players you got through.”
Ange Postecoglou leading Spurs' training session here in the Budapest rain. pic.twitter.com/mPdlG8XTbm
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) October 2, 2024
Moore has been a name on the lips of Tottenham fans for more than 12 months and in May become the club’s youngest player to appear in the Premier League when introduced late on against Manchester City.
The recently-turned 17-year-old has kicked on since with a strong pre-season followed by this first start, where his driving run helped create Sarr’s opener and the Spurs academy graduate produced a number of other decisive passes, including to set up Timo Werner for a golden second-half chance.
“I thought Mikey was outstanding. It’s brilliant for a 17-year-old to play 90-plus minutes in a European away tie,” Postecoglou reflected.
“He just handled it superbly, I kind of knew he would and I think it’ll help his growth as a footballer once you get through an experience like that.”
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