Ange Postecoglou described a ‘perfect night’ as three Academy graduates all scored their first goals for the club to send us through to the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League with a 3-0 win against Elfsborg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Dane Scarlett paved the way by heading home the opening goal on 70 minutes, over four years since making his Spurs debut in the competition against Ludogorets in November, 2020.
It didn’t take long for Damola Ajayi to mark his debut with a fine goal for 2-0, just three minutes after coming off the bench, the 19-year-old darted in from the right, exchanged passes with Scarlett and fired low into the corner for 2-0 (84 minutes).
It was left to Mikey Moore to put the icing on the cake with the third in added time, this time getting away from his marker centrally, driving towards the box and aiming back across goalkeeper Isak Pettersson into the far corner.
Speaking to our Review Show afterwards, a delighted Ange said: “It was a night made in Tottenham. It’s a hugely proud moment for the club and all the Academy coaches and all the people who have had anything to do with the boys. All the Academy players... it’s a massive encouragement for them as well that guys who they’ve been sharing a dressing room with have scored for their club at home on a European night. It’s a great night for the club and all credit to all the Academy and the people who have worked with them. The boys were great. We knew we would need them tonight and they delivered.”
Ange on the game...
“We controlled it. We had to be patient. We knew they would sit pretty deep, and they did that. There wasn’t a lot of space out there, but we knew if we stayed disciplined and controlled the spaces would open up. We had to manage the players as well tonight. We’ve a big week coming up and I knew at some point that we’d have a pretty young team out there, particularly towards the end.”
Ange on how a result like this lifts everyone...
“The club should take pride in that, tremendous pride. It’s a credit to the club, an important part of the club. The fans love seeing their own out there. It was a perfect night for all three to score and contribute. It’s a night they’ll never forget, and a great night for the club as well.”
Ange on Dane’s return from his loan at Oxford United and reintegration into the squad...
“We had a look at his situation, I made the decision during the week that he’s better off staying with us. Whether he’ll play much or not, we’ll see, but at least he’ll feel part of it. He’ll train with us, which is important and, rather than just send him out (on loan) again, it was a good opportunity to bring him back into the fold, show him a bit of love, and he delivered tonight. He’s got a lot of work to do and training with us will help him. We know he's a quality finisher, he showed that tonight. His general link up play was good as well.”
On Radu Dragusin’s injury after the defender was forced off in the second half...
“I’m not sure yet. Disappointing. We tried to manage our players tonight knowing the week we’ve got coming up and that’s why we left him off for the first half. It looks like he’s hurt his knee. I don’t know the extent of it yet, we’ll wait and see.”
Ange on ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ on the injury front...
“Hopefully we’re getting there. They’re all due to come back around the same time, in a couple of weeks. You saw tonight, just even having Micky (van de Ven) back, not just because he’s a fantastic player, but the energy he gives the rest of the group. If they see two or three more come back in the next two or three weeks - and we’ll have more than that, we’ll have four or five - certainly by the time the knockout stage of the Europa League comes around. It will give everyone a tremendous lift and gives us a great chance to make an impact in this tournament.”
Ange on the feeling in the stadium as the Academy players turned on the style...
“We were enjoying it as well. You should enjoy it. People can say, ‘look at the opposition’, but it’s a European night, you’ve young Tottenham boys out there, plus a couple of 18-year-olds who aren’t Tottenham boys, but are doing an unbelievable job for us. You have to enjoy those nights, It’s a special night for the club.”