Tottenham won on penalties after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Sydney FC in their latest pre-season friendly.
It was a useful performance for Roberto De Zerbi’s men where Andy Robertson made his debut and several young players staked their claim for a regular place in the team.
Mathys Tel gave Spurs a goal in the 29th minute with a superb free-kick but they could not hold on and Takahiro Sekine equalized 10 minutes into the second half.
Former Liverpool defender Robertson came on after 66 minutes and immediately took the captain’s armband. He could also have set up the winner but his trademark cross was well tipped by Yang Min-hyeok.
The game went into the final when Joe Lacey and Alex Popovic, as well as Tottenham’s Jamie Donley, missed, leaving Dane Scarlett to score the winner.
Tel impresses Tottenham
Tel was playing a big role in the first half although his last ball was always disappointing.
The former Bayern Munich midfielder had a shot saved early by Sydney goalkeeper Gus Hoefsloot before Ben Davies saw claims for a penalty waved away four minutes later.
Hoefsloot did well again to push away Conor Gallagher’s effort but Spurs’ momentum was halted by two Tel free-kicks and a poor cross that eluded his teammates in the area.
Tottenham goalkeeper Martin Dubravka was a spectator for the first 24 minutes but was eventually called upon to clear Rhys Youlley’s long-range effort.
The breakthrough came when Sekine, making his Sydney FC debut, made a poor play on the edge of the box and Tel fired a superb shot into the top right corner.
Gallagher twice came close to extending Spurs’ lead with his second effort off the post.
There were two moments of concern at the other end as half-time approached, however. Mathias Macalister saw a shot from the center of his own half drifted away by Dubravka in fury before Macallister beat the Slovakian to a loose ball, lifted it over the keeper and saw Spurs’ retreating defenders tie the ball clear.
Tonali and Robertson were introduced by Tottenham
Wantaway midfielder Lucas Bergvall showed good touch but was quiet and was replaced by new signing Sandro Tonali at half-time. Kota Takai and Luca Williams-Barnett were also introduced with Davies and Tel making way.
The exciting young Williams-Barnett almost made an instant impression, moving the ball onto his left foot and smashing an effort against the woodwork.
However, Spurs’ momentum was lost when Takai made a sloppy pass to Sekine and he made no mistake.
More changes saw Robertson, Mason Melia, Yang, Donley and Scarlett come on and while Robertson and Williams-Barnett were impressive, the game went out.
Tottenham’s remaining pre-season schedule
1 August: Tottenham v Chelsea (Accor Stadium, Sydney, 1045am)
August 8: Tottenham v Getafe (behind closed doors)
15 August: Tottenham v Hoffenheim (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, 3pm)
16 August: Tottenham v Hoffenheim (behind closed doors)
