Late goals from substitutes Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson spared Tottenham’s blushes as they progressed to the Carabao Cup fourth round with an unconvincing 2-1 win over Coventry.
Brandon Thomas-Asante’s goal shortly after the hour looked to be sending Spurs out at the first hurdle for the second season running but Spence poked home in the 88th minute before Johnson ran clear in stoppage time to net the winner.
Head coach Ange Postecoglou made eight changes from the north London derby defeat to Arsenal on Sunday and will be relieved at his side’s late show.
Here’s how we rated the Spurs players…
Fraser Forster 4
Gifted Coventry a chance with a loose pass after just 44 seconds and was jittery all night.
Nearly cost a goal when he raced off his line but was beaten to the ball by Jake Bidwell, only for Ben Davies to block a certain goal.
Archie Gray 6
Comfortable in possession and looked dangerous when he burst inside, while his long passing was brave. But caught up the pitch for the Coventry goal, which came down his flank.
Radu Dragusin 5
Occasionally shaky in possession in the face of Coventry’s press and looked rusty.
Ben Davies 5
Saved a certain goal when he blocked Haji Wright’s shot with Forster stranded but Thomas-Asante drifted behind him far too easily for the Coventry goal.
Destiny Udogie 6
Denied Jack Rudoni with a crucial block at the far post. Hooked at half-time in what was presumably a pre-planned change.
Rodrigo Bentancur 6
Made little impact at the base of midfield before he set up Johnson’s winner with an inch-perfect through ball.
Pape Sarr 5
The energetic midfielder is short of the levels he reached last season and struggled for influence in the middle of the park.
Lucas Bergvall 6
Eye-catching on his first competitive start. Always made himself available but final ball was lacking.
Wilson Odobert 5
Lasted just 15 minutes before he was forced off clutching the back of his thigh.
Timo Werner 3
Desperately rusty on his first start of the season and largely abject.
Dominic Solanke 4
Barely had a sniff in an anonymous and presumably hugely frustrating night.
Subs
Brennan Johnson (Odobert 18’) 7
Took his goal calmly with a cute finish in what could be a big moment for his confidence and Postecoglou.
Djed Spence (Udogie 45’) 7
Showed great desire to score his first Spurs goal. Raced back to make a crucial tackle on Norman Bassette and was feisty on a rare appearance.
Heung-min Son (Solanke 63’) 5
Well-marshalled and made relatively little impression up front.
James Maddison (Bergvall 63’) 6
Fired just wide of the post in a lively cameo against his former club.
Dejan Kulusevski (Werner 74’) 8
Had a goal-bound effort blocked and set up the equaliser for Spence. Looked far more purposeful than any of the starters.
