East Anglian Daily Times

Two first-half goals from Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap put the Blues into a healthy lead, and while Rodrigo Bentancur was able to half the deficit, it wasn't enough to help his side launch a comeback. Town held on for a memorable victory - one which takes them out of the drop zone ahead of the November international break.

It was Ipswich who tried to draw first blood in the game, pushing forward in the second minute as Szmodics’ hooked pass picked out Omari Hutchinson down the right. His delivery picked out Szmodics, who forced a save from Gugliermo Vicario from a tight angle.

The resulting corner from Leif Davis met the head of Dara O’Shea, who seemingly saw his effort deflected behind by a Tottenham player, although referee Darren England awarded a corner.

Up the other end, a quick link-up between Destiny Udogie and Son Hueng-min allowed the latter to deliver a cross which Brennan Johnson prodded just wide of the post in third minute.

Set pieces have been a clear weakness for the hosts this season, and with O’Shea almost punishing them at the start of the game, Cameron Burgess came close in the ninth minute as he headed Davis’ delivery onto the crossbar. Son was able to counter, carrying the ball up the other end of the pitch before Johnson blasted an effort over the crossbar.

The two sides shared possession as the clock ticked towards the 20th minute, with no concrete chances until a quick ball over the top allowed Dominic Solanke to test Arijanet Muric, with the shot-stopper pushing his shot behind for a corner, which Ipswich cleared.

But Ipswich were clearly happy with how the game was going, and they were even happier when they took the lead in the 31st minute as Ben Johnson and Jens Cajuste combined with some neat play down the right. The midfielder’s cross was headed on as Liam Delap and Cristian Romero challenged for the ball, with Szmodics firing an overhead kick into the bottom corner to make it 0-1.

Tottenham’s attacking quality was clear, and Town needed to cut out the errors to keep them out. A poor pass out from Muric was chased down by Pape Matar Sarr, but Ben Johnson was able to keep the ball in before picking out Hutchinson. The attacker shrugged off a challenge from Bentancur before playing Leif Davis down the left.

The left-back, in turn, set up Szmodics, who played a ball into the box that Vicario pushed out to Romero. The centre-back wasn’t expecting it, but Delap was, allowing the striker to run in and smash the ball into the roof of the net to make it 0-2 in the 43rd minute.

Spurs came out strong after the break, having been booed off beforehand. A corner saw them turn the ball into the net through Solanke, but the replays showed that he kicked it onto his own arm while being held off by Davis, with VAR chalking it off. Town deserved one in their favour and this was the right decision.

The Blues managed the game well. Delap's battling work in the final third saw them keep the ball in Tottenham's half. When Ange Postecoglou's side did get forward, they were limited to long-range efforts. They claimed a handball when Pedro Porro's cross hit Davis, but it came off his chest and was outside the box, which VAR confirmed.

Spurs' goal did come, however, as Ipswich switched off from a corner just before making a double substitution. Porro's corner found the head of Bentancur, who fired in from the near post to half his side's deficit in the 69th minute.

It set up a nervy finale. Tottenham have a good record of coming from behind to take points, and they were piling on the pressure in search of an equaliser. The announcement of eight minutes of added time was met with a roar from the home fans.

In the end, it wasn't enough for them, however, with Ipswich fans cheering the final whistle like a goal as they secured their first win of the campaign.

Tottenham XI: 4-3-3: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bentancur (Bissouma 84'), Sarr (Werner 66'); Johnson (Maddison 84'), Solanke, Son

Town XI: 3-4-2-1: Muric; Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess; Johnson, Morsy, Cajuste (Luongo 90+2'); Davis; Hutchinson, Szmodics (J. Clarke 70'); Delap (Hirst 70')

Matchday Recap: How Town's 2-1 win at Tottenham played out  East Anglian Daily Times

The Swedish international midfielder, who arrived on loan from Serie A giants Napoli over the summer, looks set to partner skipper Sam Morsy in the Town engine room today.

The 25-year-old has played in the Champions League and Serie A for the Azzurri, plus turned out for Reims in France's Ligue 1, and says the Premier League is a step up on what he's experienced to date.

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“It’s been amazing so far, a great experience," he said of the move to Town. "Every game is very, very exciting, so I’ve been enjoying it.

“I definitely had an expectation that it would be a tough league, a competitive league and that’s exactly what I’ve seen so far – every game is a battle, every game can go either way it feels like.

“Definitely the intensity I was expecting to be higher (than in Europe) and that’s what I’ve seen compared to maybe Italy, where it was more tactical, a bit more side-to-side movements.

“France is similar to here with the duels but still, the intensity here is definitely a step above what I’ve experienced.”

It will certainly be intense again for Cajuste and Town today, as they go in search of their first top tier win of the season at the 11th attempt in front of more than 60,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And Cajuste can't wait for the challenge.

“I’m looking forward to it a lot," he enthused. "These are the kind of games you want to play, where you play some of the best teams and best players on the pitch.

“It’s the competitive side of football, where you really want to match up against this kind of opposition.”

Asked about boss Kieran McKenna and settling in at Town, he added: “He’s done a great job.

"I’ve felt welcome since day one and I definitely feel like I’m getting better and making improvements.

“Not only the manager, but all the staff and my team-mates – it’s really been a great introduction to English football.”

The 77-year-old, who was in charge of Spurs for four years between 2008 and 2012, says he can only see a win for the home side in the Premier League clash this afternoon (2pm ko).

While Town are yet to earn their first win back in the top flight and are in the thick of the relegation battle, Spurs are coming off an impressive 4-1 win over Aston Villa and boast an impressive home record.

And Redknapp is confident that we won't see an upset today.

Talking to BetVictor, he predicted a 3-0 Spurs win, explaining: "Tottenham were superb in that second half against Aston Villa, that would been a bad, bad game to lose.

"Another three points and this side are right back in the race for the top four and will have some real momentum on their side.

"Ipswich seem to be conceding late goals every week. That’s not a coincidence, I don’t know if it’s the pressure of trying to get a first win, but it must be driving the fans mad.

"I can only see a routine Spurs win.

Asked to pick a player to watch, he added: "I thought Dominic Solanke was superb last week.

"He seems to really suit this side and if he can keep this form up, Spurs will win a lot of games!

GOOD OMEN?

In preparation for a second season down in League One, Town played a behind-closed-doors pre-season friendly at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in the summer of 2020. Paul Lambert's men lost 3-0 that day, with Son Heung-min bagging a brace. This, however, will be the Blues' first proper trip to an impressive 62,850 capacity venue that opened back in April 2019.

Ipswich have actually won their last three competitive games against Spurs. When Town dropped out of the Premier League in 2001/02 they recorded a total of nine league wins - and two of them came against Tottenham. Alun Armstrong scored a late winner at White Hart Lane following Teddy Sheringham's dismissal, while John McGreal secured the double in the reverse fixture at Portman Road. Both games finished 2-1. Before then, newly-promoted Town beat Tottenham 3-0 on Suffolk soil on their way to an unlikely fifth-place finish. Still, that was more than two decades ago.

REASONS TO BE FEARFUL

Tottenham have won seven of their eight home games in all competitions this season, putting four goals past Everton, West Ham and, most recently, Aston Villa. They are the Premier League's top scorers (22), while only Liverpool and Nottingham Forest have conceded fewer.

There's a reason the bookies have Ipswich as 10/1 outsiders to get their first win of the campaign in this game.

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

All that said, this is probably as good a time as any for Town to take on this tricky fixture.

Tottenham fans always seem concerned their side has a 'Spursy' result in them, a feeling backed up a collapse at Brighton and defeat at Crystal Palace last month.

Having had to work really hard for a comeback victory against Villa last weekend, Tottenham went to Turkey to take on Galatasaray, at the notoriously intimidating Rams Park, on Thursday night. Injuries meant major squad rotation wasn't possible. The likes of Son, Brennan Johnson, Pedro Porro and Yves Bissouma all started. Played off the park in the first half, they lost 3-2.

On top of that, Spurs are without one (Micky van de Ven), possibly two (Cristian Romero) of their first choice centre-backs. That means that Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies could be partnered in the heart of defence for only the third time. Attacking quartet Richarlison, Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore are also sidelined.

Getting behind a high backline and putting pressure on at set-pieces will be areas of weakness that Town will look to exploit.

WHO PLAYS?

Jacob Greaves (hamstring), Axel Tuanzebe (hand), Jack Taylor (hamstring) and Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles) all remain unavailable, while Kalvin Phillips now serves a one-game ban for his controversial dismissal in last weekend's 1-1 home draw with Leicester.

Napoli loanee Jens Cajuste, who performed well when skipper Sam Morsy was sidelined at Brentford, looks the most likely to step into the midfield, though Massimo Luongo is an option. Cajuste and Morsy have played together one before, in the 1-1 draw at Southampton.

The choice of front four will be interesting. Powerhouse striker Liam Delap has scored five goals since stepping up to the Premier League and already been loosely linked with Tottenham, but Kieran McKenna might think that George Hirst's desire to run in behind (plus greater strength in the air) is better suited to this game, just as he did at Brentford recently.

Omari Hutchinson looked far more effective on the right against Leicester last weekend, but is this a game for Wes Burns' straight line running on the counter? Conor Chaplin certainly deserves to retain his spot. Could Hutchinson move to the left for Sammie Szmodics? Personally, I think the latter's desire to play on the last shoulder could be a weapon.

THE OFFICIALS

It's often said that luck evens itself out when it comes to refereeing decisions. If that's the case, then Ipswich are certainly due a few calls and some helpful VAR interventions.

To recap: VAR was used for Man City but not Ipswich when it came to Leif Davis v Savinho in both boxes at the Etihad, VAR took away a penalty award for Ipswich after Jack Clarke had weaved his way past Everton players at Portman Road, VAR then jumped in to make sure Harry Clarke's foul on Keane Lewis-Potter at Brentford was given as a penalty rather than the initial award of a free-kick. Then, to add insult to injury, VAR decided not to send Tim Robinson to the monitor after he failed to spot Abdul Fatawu's barge on Conor Chaplin at a crucial stage of last weekend's draw with the Foxes.

Blues chairman Mark Ashton insisted on a face-to-face meeting with PGMOL chief Howard Webb at Portman Road this week. How much use that will prove, I'm not so sure.

The referee this weekend is Darren England. He's the man that was at the heart of the 'check complete' VAR error that wrongly ruled out a Luis Diaz goal for Liverpool against Tottenham last season. England had a spell refereeing games in Japan back in June. He sent off a player from both teams in a Premier League game between Fulham and Villa last month before dropping down to the Championship. On Wednesday night, he was in charge of a National League South game between Boreham Wood and Farnborough.

The duo discuss the key talking points going into the game as Kieran McKenna's men take on Ange Postecoglou's side, who are seventh in the table.

They chat about what sort of game we can expect, plus offer their possible line-ups and predictions.

The Ange Era

Tottenham last won a major trophy in 2007/08, the League Cup. It’s the only one they’ve won in the 21st century.

For a club of their size and stature, one that regularly competes at the top end of the Premier League and in Europe, boasting an average attendance of over 60,000, this is pretty surprising.

They’ve been looking for the answer for quite a while now. Mauricio Pochettino came closest, guiding them to second place in 2016/17 and to the Champions League final in 2018/19. José Mourinho took them to the Carabao Cup final in 2020/21, although he was sacked before the match. Neither man managed to guide Spurs to silverware.

Nuno Espírito Santo and Antonio Conte came next. Both fell short. Now it’s Postecoglou’s turn.

The 59-year-old built up a strong CV in his native Australia and in Japan, which saw him join Celtic in 2021. Two years later, he departed after winning five trophies. Tottenham saw this as a perfect opportunity.

His first season ended with a fifth-place finish, but in his own words, ‘I don’t usually win things, I always win things in my second year’.

Season so far

Postecoglou’s style has been his best friend and his worst enemy. An attack-minded coach, he wants to see free-flowing, exciting football that focuses on pace and energy. That can lead to defensive issues, particularly when playing a high line (which was memorably exposed by Chelsea almost exactly a year ago).

The Australian is someone who’ll live by the sword and die by the sword in equal measure. That's what's helped him become so successful in his managerial career so far.

He obviously expected Tottenham to kick on this season after a decent campaign in 2023/24, but it remains to be seen whether that’ll happen. After 10 games, they sit seventh in the table with 16 points from five wins, one draw and four defeats.

A disappointing opener away at newly-promoted Leicester City ended 1-1, but they followed it up with a 4-0 demolition of Everton in North London. Were they able to build on that? Nope, they were subsequently beaten 2-1 by Newcastle United and 1-0 by arch-rivals Arsenal on home soil.

They bounced back with five wins in a row in all competitions. A nervy 2-1 win at Coventry City in the Carabao Cup came before a 3-1 win against Brentford and a 3-0 win against Qarabağ, both at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They then went to Old Trafford and dismantled 10-man Manchester United in a 3-0 win before beating Ferencvaros 2-1 in Budapest.

Again, after a brilliant run, they came unstuck. Having gone 2-0 up away at Brighton, they ended up losing the match 3-2. Postecoglou labelled it as ‘the worst defeat since I’ve been here’, but his players made up for it by beating West Ham 4-1 and AZ Alkmaar 1-0 in their next two games.

Never too high, never too low, they were sent crashing back down to Earth with a 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace – a flat performance where they never got going. However, they were able to steady the ship once again by knocking Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup before easing to a 4-1 win at home to Aston Villa.

Then, in their most recent game - only on Thursday night - they were beaten 3-2 away at Galatasaray in a game where they easily could have conceded more.

What does this say about Spurs? Simply put, they’re inconsistent. On their day, they’re a fantastic team, one that can easily put together a string of wins to rise up the table, but they’re also prone to suffering damaging slip-ups that feels uncharacteristic, although their supporters have seen it happen many times before.

When they get going, they're undoubtedly one of the best teams in the league. They're fast, powerful and clinical, boasting some of the best players in Europe. There's a feeling that this all needs to lead to some silverware sooner rather than later, however.

Set piece woes

The North London Derby defeat to Arsenal showcased a huge weakness for Spurs – set pieces. Defender Gabriel Magalhães was the match-winner on that day, heading home from Bukayo Saka’s corner.

The stats thrown at Postecoglou after the match were damning. Since he took over at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, only Nottingham Forest have conceded more goals from set pieces than Tottenham.

Back in May, when the weakness was first brought up, he said he ‘wasn’t interested’ in it, but he went down a different route when asked about the defeat to the Gunners, saying: “I know for some reason people think I don't care about set-pieces, and it's a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages. I understand that.

“Like I said, we work on them all the time, like we do with every other team.

“You know that they're a threat. As I said, for the most part we handled them really well today, but we switched off in one and we paid a price. You learn from that and you move on.

“It is what it is. It's my burden to carry and I'm happy to do that. Like I've always said, for me there's a bigger picture that's at play here that's much more important than the finer details of us getting to where we want to.”

What does that come down to? Concentration and positioning, certainly, which falls firmly on the shoulders of set-piece coach Nick Montgomery. However, simply put, a lot of it comes down to aerial dominance. That’s not necessarily just highlighted by corners and free-kicks, but also from open play, as Opta Analyst argued using the Arsenal match as an example.

“The home side (Tottenham) attempted 31 crosses to Arsenal’s 13 and had more corners than Arsenal (7 to 6) and yet the Gunners never looked threatened. Spurs’ only chance of note was a late Romero header directed straight at David Raya. Dominic Solanke was a handful, but he was contained by the likes of Gabriel and William Saliba.

“Improving their efficiency in both boxes is something Spurs desperately need to improve if they are to have any hope of propelling themselves into the top tier of Premier League teams. Their defensive record is poor and going forwards isn’t much better; they’ve scored just 12 goals from set pieces since the start of last season. Nine sides can better that tally.”

Of course, when it comes to set pieces, Arsenal are among the best in the league, but Kieran McKenna will surely be briefing the likes of Leif Davis, Cameron Burgess and Dara O’Shea on how to hurt their opponents this weekend.

A star on the right

It’s certainly not all doom and gloom at Tottenham - far from it. There’s a real sense of optimism that they can maintain consistency to have a good run at a top-four finish. They’ve undoubtedly got the talent in their squad to achieve that.

Right-back Pedro Porro ranks towards the top for chances created among full-backs. Dejan Kulusevski, who’s been moved into central midfield, is even better in that department. Left winger Son Hueng-min has had an injury-hit campaign, but still has three goals and three assists to his name, while Dominic Solanke is starting to find the back of the net following his big-money move from Bournemouth.

Ipswich fans won’t forget about ex-Norwich City midfielder James Maddison either. He’ll be desperate to play the role of pantomime villain, and he’s unlikely to get a kind reception from the away end this weekend.

The surprise package of the team? Well, that’d have to be Brennan Johnson.

Arriving from Nottingham Forest last season, the winger showed inconsistent flashes of brilliance in his maiden season under Postecoglou. This season started horrible, with his performances receiving unwarranted abuse on social media. He deactivated his Instagram account following the defeat to Arsenal to focus on his football and shut out the noise. It worked.

The following game against Coventry saw him net a late winner to send Spurs through. It started a fantastic run for the Wales international, where he scored in seven consecutive games for club and country, turning him into one of the in-form Premier League players.

The goals have dried up a bit since then, but he did bag one in the win against Aston Villa last weekend. Crucially, you can see in his performances that his confidence is back. He’s willing to chase after balls, take on defenders and go for goal.

Davis has faced some tough opponents in a Town shirt so far this season and Johnson will be right up there.

Team news

Tottenham are facing some pretty major injury issues, particularly at the back.

Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have been Postecoglou’s first-choice centre-backs this season. The former is certainly out with a hamstring injury that he picked up in the Carabao Cup win against Man City, while the latter ‘has a chance’ to feature against Ipswich as he continues to recover from his toe injury.

Romanian international Radu Drăgușin is expected to shift over to the right, with Welshman Ben Davies possibly coming in for his first league start of the season. This partnership started against Galatasaray, where they found it really tough up against Victor Osimhen, who scored twice.

In attack, former Town target Wilson Odobert has been plagued by issues, suffering a setback with his hamstring injury. There’s no timeline on his return to action. Brazilian international Richarlison will also miss the clash after picking up another groin injury. This one is expected to keep him out for a month.

Timo Werner is definitely out, as is talented youngster Mikey Moore, as confirmed by Postecoglou in his pre-match press conference.

Make no mistake – regardless of injuries, Ipswich will be coming up against a strong and experienced side.

Kieran McKenna's side are still without a win after ten games, with the Blues conceding a late goal to draw with Leicester City last time out.

They now face a Ange Postecoglou team who sit seventh in the table and have won back-to-back home games 4-1 against Aston Villa and West Ham.

The two sides face off for the first time since Town beat Spurs 2-1 at Portman Road in January 2002, and the Blues have actually won the last three games in this match-up.

The duo discuss the season so far at Spurs, the mood among fans, key players, what sort of game we can expect and prediction.

McKenna joined Spurs as a teenage midfielder, became reserve team captain and was on the fringes of the first team squad before a chronic groin/hip issue forced him to give up playing at the age of 22.

Alex Inglethorpe (now academy director at Liverpool) and John McDermott (now technical director at The FA) took McKenna under their wing though and helped the young Northern Irishman quickly grow as a coach.

"I first went there at 14 years old on the plane from Ireland with three other young footballers. After travelling back and forth for a while, I moved over when I had just turned 16," recalls McKenna, who takes his Ipswich to Spurs for a Premier League clash on Sunday.

“There were some nice moments in and around the first team. I scored a good back post header in pre-season. That was Dimitar Berbatov’s first game in English football and I got us the winner out in Bordeaux. It’s sad in some ways that that’s the highlight! Playing at Celtic Park was a big one, at 18, under Jacques Santini. Playing at a massive stadium against a club that I had an affiliation with was a pretty special one.

"Of course there was disappointment with the injury, but I was well looked after by the club after that and will always be appreciative of that."

MORE: Key defensive duo could be back in time for Man United game

He continued: “I had a second major hip operation on top of some other little operations around the area. I went into it knowing that it was pretty much make or break, when I came around from the anaesthetic the surgeon said it was ‘break’, so from there I quickly reassessed.

"I went straight from that surgery to coaching on crutches within a few days. That was a group that included Harry Kane, Andros Townsend, Ryan Mason, Steven Caulker, Adam Smith, John Bostock and probably four or five others I’m doing a disservice to who have gone on to have very good careers.

“I was 22, they were 17/18. I’d played with a large majority of them in the reserve side. I’d captained a lot of them. They were great with me. You can tell with the careers that so many of them went on to have that it was a pretty special group. They were a privilege to be around.

“I went to an international youth tournament where we played against Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon. I remember that trip like it was yesterday. That first access to top level coaching, top level players and top level European methodologies got me absolutely hooked and was a big part of me getting the bug that I’ve still got today.

"I was certainly blessed to make my first steps as a coach at Tottenham because, at that time, I would say they were country leaders in terms of how they developed players. The first environment that you have coaching experience in is huge. For me the first exposure you have to coaching has a bigger affect than any coaching courses. I was very lucky with the quality of people that set me on the right path. It’s a club I’ve got great fondness for."

MORE: McKenna on why he believes Ipswich can get a result at Spurs

McKenna went on to become Tottenham U18s manager before taking on the same role at Manchester United and rising to the position of assistant first team manager, working alongside Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunner Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick He left Old Trafford to become first team boss of then League One club Ipswich Town in December 2022 and quickly oversaw back-to-back promotions into the Premier League.

On the first team managers that were at Tottenham during his time there as a player and coach, McKenna said: "There was David Pleat, Glenn Hoddle, Jacques Santini, Martin Jol, Juande Ramos, Harry Redknapp, Tim Sherwood, Andre Villas-Boas and Mauricio Pochettino – so quite an eclectic mix!

“I was injured during the whole time of Harry’s time at the club, I might have trained once in between the two surgeries, but everyone knows what a positive character he is. He put his arm around me a couple of times and told me how good a player he thought I was, when he probably hadn’t seen me play! That’s Harry, he’s trying to make me feel better!"

Asked if he would have liked to play in the current Tottenham side, the Blues boss joked: “No, I wouldn’t have been fast enough! I would have had the engine for it, but I definitely wouldn’t have been fast enough! I don't think I'd have got picked too much."

The Blues find themselves in the relegation zone after making a 10-game winless start to life back in the Premier League (D5 L5), while seventh-place Spurs are the division's leading scorers and boast an impressive record at home (W7 L1, F21 A5 all competitions).

Ange Postecoglu's side did, however, lose 3-2 at Galatasaray in a Europa League match last night and have the likes of Micky van der Ven, Richarlison, Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore sidelined through injuries.

Asked if this was as good a time any to go to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, McKenna replied: “It’s not a game anyone will expect us to go and get points from, but we believe that we can. That’s nothing to do with their injuries or schedule though.

"By my math, they’re probably only missing (Micky) van de Ven from their most common starting 11. We’re certainly going to have more important players missing this weekend (Axel Tuanzebe, Jacob Greaves and Kalvin Phillips). Yes, they had a game on Thursday, but they rotated the side and are well used to playing two games a week.

“But we have belief that if we play as a team and if we stick to the game plan we can get a result.

“We’re going to have to show energy, we’re going to have to be brave, we’re going to have to be super disciplined, to show organisation and resilience, we’re going to need all the margins to go in our favour in terms of set plays and game management and we’re probably going to need some luck. But all those things are possible on Sunday. We’ll certainly look to deliver as many of those that are under our control as possible.

“We know it’s a really tough game. This is probably the most physical game you could have anywhere right now because they are the most intense team in the most intense league in the world. They scored four goals against Aston Villa, four against Everton, four against West Ham, got three against Brentford and probably could have had double. They are a real attacking side and are pretty relentless with the way they go after goals. There is a lot to admire in that, but there is also, I believe, a way to get at any team. We’ll try and impose ourselves as well as we can and try and hurt them in as many ways as possible.

“It’s a great challenge. It’s one that I think, if we approach in the right manner, will make us stronger as a group."