Nine minutes were remaining of normal time when Antonio Conte decided to roll the dice for the first time in Tottenham's FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough.
Poor on the evening against the Championship side and struggling to find the breakthrough with Joe Lumley having little to do in the Boro goal, the head coach had to make a change if his side were to progress without going to extra time.
Steven Bergwijn and Emerson Royal were the first two players to be introduced as they replaced wing-backs Ryan Sessegnon and Matt Doherty for what remained of the 90 minutes.
The Dutchman made an immediate impact after coming off the bench with a positive run into the Boro box but he couldn't get his shot away and help Spurs avoid an additional 30 minutes.
The midway point of extra time then saw Sergio Reguilon take Dejan Kulusevski's place, before youngster Dane Scarlett was called upon to help Spurs try and salvage a draw after Josh Coburn's 107th minute strike.
Coburn's goal had actually come 11 minutes after entering the fray in place of Andraz Sporar, with Chris Wilder's introduction of the youngster and Marc Bola on 96 minutes, as well as Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun with 15 minutes remaining in normal time, helping swing the game in the hosts' favour.
Speaking on BBC One's coverage of the FA Cup clash, Alan Shearer praised Middlesbrough for their 1-0 victory and stated that the Championship outfit had made the better substitutions to help them progress through to the quarter-finals.
"This was no fluke, they were the better team from start to finish. They were first to every tackle, they created chances, and had more energy," said the Premier League's all-time top goalscorer.
"Certainly in extra-time, they made the better substitutions and Chris Wilder can be extremely proud of what his team has achieved tonight.
"What a night for Middlesbrough and their fans, he (Wilder) was up for it, the players were up for it, it’s a shame the Tottenham players weren’t up for it.
"Typical Tottenham, Middlesbrough thoroughly deserved to be in the quarter-finals."
Having limited options on the bench with Japhet Tanganga, Oliver Skipp, Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Moura all missing once again, Conte kept faith with 19 of the 20-man squad he took to Leeds United last Saturday, with Pierluigi Gollini the only change as he replaced Brandon Austin following his recent illness.
That meant youngsters Scarlett, Harvey White and Alfie Devine remained in Conte's plans for the cup game due to the current low numbers in N17.
Allowing Tanguy Ndombele, Bryan Gil and Giovani Lo Celso to depart on loan on deadline day, as well as Dele Alli's permanent move to Everton, Conte has spoken about Tottenham's numerical disadvantage a number of times in press conferences since after only two new additions came through the door in January.
The three who departed on loan may have struggled to make an impact on the pitch this season, hence the reason why they were allowed to depart, but their exits have severely limited Conte's attacking options off the bench since.
Bergwijn was Conte's only real experienced attacking option on the bench at the Riverside Stadium as youngsters Devine and Scarlett only have a handful of appearances between them.
Tottenham fans had wanted a substitution against Middlesbrough long before the Dutchman's entrance in the 81st minute as it was quite clear that the Lilywhites needed something different to help turn the game in their favour and progress in normal time.
Mauricio Pochettino was previously criticised by some for making his substitutions too late in the day and now a few have said the same in recent weeks about Conte.
Perhaps not helped by a lack of choice on the bench following their January dealings, you could maybe also say the Italian has also not helped himself at times.
While he did make a very quick change in the 2-0 defeat against Wolves with Kulusevski taking Sessegnon's place in the 28th minute with the visitors in total control, his following two changes came in the 71st and 82nd minute respectively.
Conte did try and change things at 0-0 midway through the second half at Burnley with an attacking change as Lucas replaced Emerson, with Bergwijn then getting the nod eight minutes after Ben Mee's header as they tried to salvage a point with 11 minutes remaining.
The head coach's substitutions against Leeds even came late on despite leading 3-0 until Son Heung-min netted a fourth with five minutes to go.
Perhaps then having the perfect opportunity to rest some of his key players and give those on the periphery a chance, he made a double substitution on 78 minutes before Scarlett took Son's place in the 87th minute.
Middlesbrough's changes on Tuesday evening at the Riverside Stadium worked but the same cannot be said about Tottenham's.
Conte will have more choice once his injured quartet returns and he needs that to happen sooner rather than later as Spurs look to finally find some consistency in what remains of the season.
