A Dedicated Win

Spurs Men come together after a club tragedy to beat Brighton | Previewing Frankfurt part two | Spurs news roundup

Tottenham Hotspur is mourning the loss of Gian Piero Ventrone, Spurs' fitness coach and longtime colleague of Antonio Conte, to cancer. He passed away at the age of 62.

It's easy to understand how respected and beloved he was at the club by reading the many tributes to him from the players and other coaches. He'd only been on the coaching staff at Tottenham for less than a year but had already left his stamp on the team by improving the squad's conditioning and giving them the physical edge to grind out results in tough matches. It must have taken incredible mental strength for the players to compete just days after his passing, but it was a fitting win against Brighton to memorialize Gian Piero. We've seen other Tottenham players be inspired to great performances by grief in the past (Serge Aurier, Ashleigh Neville), and I'm sure everyone on the pitch at Brighton was determined to play in a way that would make the "Prof" proud.

Brighton 0 - 1 Tottenham

Ahead of kickoff, Spurs fans everywhere were thrilled to see Conte had opted for a 3-5-2 lineup from the start—finally! It was also exciting to see Matt Doherty return to the starting lineup for the first time since last season, replacing the suspended Emerson Royal at right wingback. Ryan Sessegnon got the nod at the left wingback spot. Ben Davies regained his starting left center-back spot from Clément Lenglet, despite Lenglet playing well in Davies' injury absence. To supplement the usual midfield pairing for the new formation, Yves Bissouma got his second start in the PL. Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, predictably, made up the front-two.

I will keep my recap of the game somewhat brief because I have family visiting (which made for a slightly more distracted viewing experience than usual). There are just a few takeaways I want to highlight:

• The wingbacks were both very strong, with Sessegnon earning Player of the Match for his efforts. It was comforting to see Doherty nearly back to his previous level of performance, albeit a tad rusty at times due to a lack of recent playing time. The important thing is that he was getting into the right positions and contributing a lot to the attack, which has notably been a weakness for the more defensive-minded Royal. Doherty even had a decent chance of his own to score. Hopefully, Royal's period of suspension will be a golden opportunity for Doherty to continue getting minutes in his legs and create some competition for the RWB spot, which will benefit them both.

• I have decided that we need a special term for the sequence of play where Son assists off a recycled corner attempt, and I am dubbing it the "Double Sonny Corner." Son sends in the corner, it ends up back at his feet for a second cross and suddenly the ball is in the net. This time the goal came courtesy of Kane thanks to a twisting header in the 22nd minute. Those two just can't stop combining for goals, and long may it continue—keeping their PL record safe.

• Hugo Lloris had another very strong game and fully deserved his clean sheet. I thought the whole defense was pretty solid overall, considering how much defending we ended up doing in the second half, but Hugo had to make a few key saves. After the match, Hugo held up a shirt with Gian Piero's name on it to display in front of the away fans.

• I think I expected a little more from Bissouma against his old team, but he was once again hampered by an early yellow card. I know a lot of people are really high on him, but so far he hasn't done enough to convince me, with the caveat that he still hasn't had that many opportunities yet. This was just his second start, and his total minutes only amount to 2.5 games worth. With Oliver Skipp seemingly back in the rotation for good after his injury, there should be some interesting competition for that third midfield spot—if Conte continues to utilize the 3-5-2 formation, that is. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur have proven themselves undroppable; PEH was a candidate for Player of the Match against Brighton as far as I'm concerned, and Bentancur rarely puts a foot wrong.

• The substitutes (Richarlison, Ivan Perišić, and Skipp) didn't necessarily make us look more likely to find a second goal, but did help us hold onto the lead fairly comfortably until the final whistle. Skipp only came on at the very end because Kane had a knock, which luckily doesn't sound like it was anything serious.

It was a valuable three points away in the league, and Spurs are just four points off the top of the table (I won't mention who is currently in 1st place). The next PL match is a home game against Everton, but first, there is another Champions League match to take care of.

If at first you don't succeed...

The beauty of the Champions League group stage is that you get a second chance at each team. Of course, if it's a team you're hopelessly outmatched against that's a rather depressing prospect, but in the case of Eintracht Frankfurt, it's fair to say that we should have beaten them the first time and definitely should win in the home leg.

If we play like we did in the first half of the away leg and actually finish our chances, it could very well be a dominant performance. The Frankfurt defense is not particularly strong, and they have a tendency to crumble after conceding a couple of goals. Goal difference has already been important in the group stage thus far (we are currently poised to exit the group above Frankfurt on GD), so I would love to see a multiple-goal win margin.

Why not try the 3-5-2 again? (No seriously, I'm asking.) Until Kulusevski returns from injury, it makes more sense than not to continue with the front-two and rotate between Kane, Son, and Richarlison as needed. Plus, it would give players like Bissouma and Skipp more game time to work their way into form. Elsewhere in the lineup, another start from Lenglet would not be unwelcome (don't worry, I am still a Gentle Ben stan). It sure would be nice if we had a legitimate rotation option for Eric Dier, because I live in fear of him getting injured.

It's possible that the famous Frankfurt stadium atmosphere had an effect on Spurs last week, but they will get a taste of their own medicine at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The home fans always seem to show up in a big way when it matters most, and with the combination of the tributes to Gian Piero Ventrone that are planned and knowing the importance of gaining a stronger foothold in our CL group, I have no doubt it will be a lively crowd.

Elsewhere in Spurs

A few tidbits from across the world of Spurs:

• Harry Kane is the only player in PL history to score 100+ away goals. Interestingly, he has 191 PL goals total—so more away goals than home goals.

• Celin Bizet scored for Norway, but they lost 1-4 to Brazil.

• Nikola Karczewska scored in Poland's 4-0 win over Morocco.

• Shelina Zadorsky started and contributed to a clean sheet for Canada in their 2-0 win over Argentina.

• Angharad James started in Wales' World Cup Qualifier win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Game-winner Jess Fishlock doesn't have any connection to Spurs, but how can you not love her? Good luck to Wales in their playoff final.

Speaking of Spurs Women, we finally have the first home match at Brisbane Road coming up on the 16th. If you're local and attending the game, the THWFC Supporters Club has some helpful info on parking, as well as a pub to meet up at before the match to get to know other Spurs Women fans. I hope y'all have a wonderful first experience at the new stadium!

I'll have a preview for that game (vs. Liverpool) in the next issue. Until then, try to enjoy the rest of the women's international break, even if we're all bracing ourselves for further bad injury news.

COYS

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