Verklempt over Bodø/Glimt

(Please let me have this slant rhyme, okay? It was an emotional game! Also, this late in the season my issue title well is running very dry.)

Well! Spurs Men survived the semi-final home leg. I would even say we were minutes away from fully dominating the home leg, but alas, a goal concession and a couple of fresh injury concerns put a slight damper on what was shaping up to be a statement win. I suppose you could still consider it a statement win after the lackluster loss to Liverpool, I just don't want to feel too overconfident ahead of the away leg. Expectations management, you know. I'll get carried away when we're safely into the Europa League final.

In this issue: Bodø/Glimt recap | Previewing the weekend fixtures | News from around the Lane

We have another Premier League punishment game to get through before then, as well as Spurs Women's penultimate Women's Super League fixture—a derby matchup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

There's also some fairly surprising manager news to discuss (not that kind... yet, anyway). Perhaps a precursor to further changes in the off-season? Time will tell.

Europa League Semi-final Home Leg recap | Tottenham 3 - 1 Bodø/Glimt

Johnson 1', Maddison 34', Solanke (Pen) 61' | Saltnes 83'

It seemed like the team had done enough to take a comfortable lead up to Norway on Thursday, until a late goal concession made the prospect of the away leg slightly more worrisome. This match was also bookended by fresh injury concerns that complicate the rotation calculus over the final stretch of the season.

As usual, I want to push back against the idea that fans have to feel only one way about this result, whether positive or negative. I enjoyed the hell out of all three Spurs goals (even if Solanke's penalty technique continues to make me nervous, however much it clearly works for him!), but I'd be lying if I said the goal we gave up in the final ten minutes didn't deflate my spirits a bit. It is what it is, and I don't think any of us would be sports fans if we couldn't handle a little tension now and then—although it does feel like Spurs are taking on more than our fair share of tension and strife this season, to be fair. Will the two-goal aggregate advantage be enough to outlast Bodø/Glimt next week? We'll find out!

Starting XI:

I already alluded to it, so let's get the bad news out of the way first: Lucas Bergvall picked up an ankle strain in training and will likely miss the remainder of the season. If we feel this crushed as fans, imagine how he feels not getting to play a further part in the journey to the final. It's a cruel sport.

It was somewhat surprising that Yves Bissouma was selected in his place rather than Pape Sarr, especially since Bissouma has had scant playing time in recent weeks. The other interesting choice from Ange Postecoglou was starting Richarlison over Mathys Tel on the left wing. It's not that Richarlison is incapable of playing as a winger, but we tend to see him at striker more often.

Son Heung-min had already been ruled out of the game, but he was there supporting, naturally.

Top three things:

1. Lineup risks paid off. Both of Ange's big lineup choices made an impact on the first (very early) goal. Bissouma showed a bit of physicality to muscle a Bodø/Glimt player off the ball and lay the ball off to Pedro Porro, whose looping cross met Richarlison for the headed assist to Brennan Johnson's scoring header. Besides a wild shot from #8 and a possible injury risk from our favorite pigeon, the two didn't really put a foot wrong the rest of the game—though Richarlison was pulled off at halftime in a tactical substitution.
2. Maddison made for Europe. Maddison has six goal contributions in the Europa League campaign so far, not to mention that he won the penalty against Frankfurt (at great physical expense). But beyond his literal contributions, it's clear that when he leaves the game, we're a weaker team. In this instance, that was partially down to Dejan Kulusevski's rusty form, but even if he were at full fitness, there are plays Maddison can complete that Deki just doesn't have in his locker. The same goes for vice versa, of course.
3. Another penalty won. This was two Europa League games in a row with a penalty won for Spurs, and that's largely down to the players being aggressive in the attack and not leaving any opportunities on the table. In this case, Cristian Romero had been active in the opponent's box in the second half and didn't give up on a ball that would have been difficult to claim, drawing a foul instead.

And a few honorable mentions:

• Micky van de Ven was back to his imperious best in the backline. His calmness under pressure directly led to the second goal.

• Rodrigo Bentancur was unlucky to have the ball deflect off him for Bodø/Glimt's late goal, but otherwise, he put in a pretty shrewd performance. He was integral to ball recovery in the midfield.

• Maybe this is a dishonorable mention, but I didn't feel like any of the substitutes moved the needle for Spurs; rather, the level dropped fairly significantly with all three on the pitch. That could be down to lack of chemistry, particularly because of Kulusevski and Wilson Odobert's lengthy injury periods and Tel still being so new to the team.

SAtP Player of the Match: Pedro Porro

Sometimes in a game with this many goals (and assists), it can be difficult to choose a player of the match, but this one was easy for me.

Porro was involved in the buildup to both of the first two goals, getting the pre-assist for the first and the direct assist for the second. It still required a precise touch from Maddison to bring down the latter pass, but that's a testament to Porro's unique pass selection all the same.

Porro on Maddison's goal:

He’s unbelievable, a top player. I have an understanding with him on the pitch, also in training, and when you have confidence in your team-mates, when you have confidence for the players on the pitch, that’s so important. That goal is about the control from Madders. The control is perfect. Yes, the pass is good, but the control is amazing.

Taking bold risks was a theme in this game, and Porro embodied that mentality better than perhaps anyone else on the pitch.

Notable & quotable:

• All right, Brennan Johnson's 1st-minute goal deserves a stats list all of its own.

• The official time was 39 seconds.
• It was the earliest goal for Spurs in European competition since 1971, and only the second time we've scored in the 1st minute of a European match.
• It's the fastest goal ever scored in a Europa League semi-final.
• It's also the earliest ever competitive goal scored at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

• Sticking with Johnson, he has now reached 17 goals in all competitions this season, a mark not achieved by any Spurs player besides Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, or Dele since the 2016/17 season (h/t FotMob).

• This win marked the 100th win for Spurs in all competitions at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with a win rate of 63%. We also remain unbeaten at home in the Europa League and Europa Conference League at the new stadium.

• Maddison and Solanke joined Odobert in having netted two goals in the knockout stage so far.

• Porro provided a colorful quote about watching Solanke convert the penalty:

My heart is like "boom, boom, boom, boom."

• Solanke on the importance of gaining the aggregate advantage in the home leg:

We know how good they are at home, we knew that from the second they got through and that we were going to play them. We knew it was going to be tough, but we wanted to use that home advantage today, which we did. Conditions over there will be different to what we're used to, but we’ll prepare just as hard.

• Postecoglou on Solanke's work-rate and penalty goal:

He works so hard for the team, sometimes selflessly, sometimes with very little reward, so for him to get a goal is credit for all the work he does for us.

Previewing PL Matchday 35 — West Ham United

Thank god this match doesn't matter, eh?

I'm being tongue-in-cheek, of course, because there's still no getting around how disappointing it is to be in a six-pointer for 16th place in the table near the end of the season. The fact that we're fighting to avoid being the last team to escape relegation with one of our London rivals makes it even more frustrating.

Unfortunately, I don't think Ange Postecoglou can afford to put full effort into this match, as far as team selection goes. We can't risk many of the usual starters getting hurt ahead of the Europa League semi-final away leg, which in and of itself represents an injury risk due to Bodø/Glimt's artificial turf. So it's kind of a lose-lose situation for the manager. Let's try to keep that in mind when something inevitably goes awry with the second string.

I don't think Dominic Solanke or James Maddison would be likely to play even if they didn't need protection, since both are doubts after picking up knocks on Thursday, with the latter getting a knee scan. Son Heung-min is also still out with his foot injury.

Personally, I would be happy to see Antonín Kinský get another game in between the sticks, if only to avoid Guglielmo Vicario having another lackluster PL performance and going into the midweek game in a bad headspace. There's also an argument to be made for giving a few of the standout U21s players another run out since their PL2 season is already over, and Dane Scarlett could certainly use a start. Perhaps one last hurrah for Sergio Reguilón?

From the West Ham perspective, we at least can't be terrorized by Michail Antonio, who is currently recovering from a broken leg. Crysencio Summerville is also out, and Edson Álvarez is a doubt with a back injury. Loan player Evan Ferguson will be available after missing West Ham's last game against his parent club, Brighton.

So the main strategy for this derby at the London Stadium is to get in and get out unscathed. I'd settle for a scoreless draw, to be honest, but will be rooting for a Scarlett hat trick.

Previewing WSL Matchday 21 — Chelsea

The good news is that Chelsea already clinched the WSL title, so we only have to provide a guard of honor, not the result that hands them the trophy. This was Chelsea's sixth league title in a row.

On a positive note, our Academy U16s will be doing a pitch walk with their own trophy at halftime, celebrating their win as the PGA Champions.

This is our last home game of the season, and it's taking place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

We have no new injuries (Luana Bühler and Hayley Raso are both still out, alongside long-term absentee Kit Graham), and both Drew Spence and Eveliina Summanen will be available for selection again after serving their one-game suspensions for yellow card accumulation.

Robert Vilahamn spoke on our approach to the difficult matchup against Chelsea in his recent press conference:

I want to see us show the Club and the fans that we’re doing everything we can to finish on a high. I want to see the commitment to take the duels, defend, run back, the attitude to wear the Spurs shirt, to make sure we’re proud of that. I want us to be brave enough to make sure we dare, even if we’re not winning games right now.

To be fair, I do think we've seen improved mentality from the squad in the last few games, even if we've remained winless. But beating the reigning champions is obviously a tall ask, especially now that they have been knocked out of the Champions League and won't be holding anything in reserve for that competition. On the flip side, having already clinched the WSL title, maybe they won't be going full out. And they do still have the FA Cup final after the conclusion of the WSL season.

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has already confirmed that there will be significant rotation to her team, including Mayra Ramírez sitting out to recover from a knock to her knee in their game against Manchester United midweek.

Here's to at least seeing a positive showing from Spurs at the big stadium, if not a historic result.

News from around the Lane

Just two news items this week, both from Spurs Women. I'll start with the bad news first.

• Senior Assistant Coach Vicky Jepson is departing the club to become head coach of the USWYNT U20s. While this is a great opportunity for Jepson and we should all wish her well, it's undeniably a loss for the club. She's been a source of continuity between the Rehanne Skinner and Robert Vilahaman eras of Spurs Women, not to mention her focus on developing young players. Best wishes to Vicky in her new adventure!

• The end-of-season supporter awards were given out this past week. Bethany England took home Adult Supporters' Player of the Season, Ella Morris won Junior Supporters' Player of the Season, and Eveliina Summanen scored (pun intended) Goal of the Season. Congrats to all the winners!

Women's Championship note

Just something to put on your radar for tomorrow in the wider world of women's football: Birmingham City and London City Lionesses will be battling it out for the Championship title and sole promotion spot to the WSL. A draw or win gets the job done for current leaders London City, while Birmingham City need a win to overtake them. Both teams have some familiar faces I would be happy to see in the WSL alongside Spurs, particularly my beloved Saki Kumagai on the Lionesses.

Unfortunately, this fixture is happening concurrently with Spurs Women's and Spurs Men's matches, so we'll just have to keep tabs on the result in our score apps of choice. It was already going to be a double screen morning, but I refuse to go full sicko mode and bring in a third.

On that note, rest up your eyes for a busy day of Spurs football!

COYS

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