Tottenham Hotspur ended a topsy-turvy Premier League campaign in third-place with an entertaining and thrilling 5-4 win over mid-table Leicester City at Wembley - despite a “Mickey Mouse” defensive display.
Two goals in the opening ten minutes gave an obvious indication to the fans in attendance that they were in for a thriller. Jamie Vardy’s fourth-minute header was cancelled out moments later by a driven near-post strike by his England teammate Harry Kane.
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Riyad Mahrez put Leicester in front in the 16th-minute and, two minutes into the second-half, former Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho gave the Foxes a two-goal cushion with a venomous shot into the top-corner from just outside the box.
However, two strikes from Erik Lamela and a Christian Fuchs own-goal turned the game on its head for Spurs and, despite Vardy drawing the Foxes level in the 73rd-minute, Spurs were the team to take maximum points on the final-day thanks to Harry Kane’s 30th league goal of the campaign 14 minutes from time.
Joe Stratford, a lifelong Spurs supporter and season-ticket holder, expressed his delight at the result but admitted it was a fairly farcical affair:
“A win was a win. We finished third so were the top club in London and got automatic Champions League qualification - a good day.” he said.
“Scoreline-wise, it was a bit of a ‘Mickey Mouse’ occurrence. 5-4 is kind of ridiculous on both parts.
“There was a very late injury in the warm-up to our centre-back [Jan Vertonghen] and that changed things drastically for the worse in the first-half.
“But in the end, we got the result over the line.”
The victory meant that Spurs ended the Premier League season in third-place ahead of Liverpool, Chelsea and North London rivals Arsenal.
However, they again failed to end their decade-long trophy drought, which has put a bit of pressure on Pochettino for the first time since becoming Spurs boss nearly four years ago.
Stratford, who has supported the team for over 27 years, disagrees with this and doesn’t believe success should be solely measured by silverware:
“Success can be measured in different ways - trophies are definitely one of them.
“But the progress I’ve seen, from where we’ve come, that is success to me. I don’t need trophies.
“Juande Ramos was the last Spurs manager to win a trophy. Would you say he’s a better manager than Pochettino? Of course you would not.”
The conclusion of the 2017/18 campaign also brings an end to Spurs’ season-long stint at Wembley Stadium, with the North London side due to move into the their new, state-of-the-art ground next season.
This is something that excites Stratford greatly: “[It is] great. A long time coming.
“I am all for it. For it to be built in exactly the same spot is very important. For it to still be ‘White Hart Lane’ is very important.”
Two goals in the opening ten minutes gave an obvious indication to the fans in attendance that they were in for a thriller. Jamie Vardy’s fourth-minute header was cancelled out moments later by a driven near-post strike by his England teammate Harry Kane.
Embed from Getty Images
Riyad Mahrez put Leicester in front in the 16th-minute and, two minutes into the second-half, former Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho gave the Foxes a two-goal cushion with a venomous shot into the top-corner from just outside the box.
However, two strikes from Erik Lamela and a Christian Fuchs own-goal turned the game on its head for Spurs and, despite Vardy drawing the Foxes level in the 73rd-minute, Spurs were the team to take maximum points on the final-day thanks to Harry Kane’s 30th league goal of the campaign 14 minutes from time.
Joe Stratford, a lifelong Spurs supporter and season-ticket holder, expressed his delight at the result but admitted it was a fairly farcical affair:
“A win was a win. We finished third so were the top club in London and got automatic Champions League qualification - a good day.” he said.
“Scoreline-wise, it was a bit of a ‘Mickey Mouse’ occurrence. 5-4 is kind of ridiculous on both parts.
“There was a very late injury in the warm-up to our centre-back [Jan Vertonghen] and that changed things drastically for the worse in the first-half.
“But in the end, we got the result over the line.”
The victory meant that Spurs ended the Premier League season in third-place ahead of Liverpool, Chelsea and North London rivals Arsenal.
However, they again failed to end their decade-long trophy drought, which has put a bit of pressure on Pochettino for the first time since becoming Spurs boss nearly four years ago.
Stratford, who has supported the team for over 27 years, disagrees with this and doesn’t believe success should be solely measured by silverware:
“Success can be measured in different ways - trophies are definitely one of them.
“But the progress I’ve seen, from where we’ve come, that is success to me. I don’t need trophies.
“Juande Ramos was the last Spurs manager to win a trophy. Would you say he’s a better manager than Pochettino? Of course you would not.”
The conclusion of the 2017/18 campaign also brings an end to Spurs’ season-long stint at Wembley Stadium, with the North London side due to move into the their new, state-of-the-art ground next season.
This is something that excites Stratford greatly: “[It is] great. A long time coming.
“I am all for it. For it to be built in exactly the same spot is very important. For it to still be ‘White Hart Lane’ is very important.”
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