by The demons could be felt swirling from Tottenham’s previous cup tie; the only one of them before under Ange Postecoglou. Back in August, the manager made major changes to Fulham in the Carabao Cup and watched his team go away on penalties.
Postecoglou knew he could not afford to do it again. The second half of the season may have seemed very short, especially without any European football.
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He went with his strongest team available and, after an exciting opening, it all went a bit flat. His players looked heavy. Burnley, whose clear priority is Premier League survival, have looked better in recent weeks. Were they about to enjoy an FA Cup tonic?
Pedro Porro would dismantle the notion, leaving the deciding intervention as the clock ticked towards a replay that would disrupt the winter break. It was a goal that heralded his firm pressure and the purity of his shooting technique. It was some way for him to open his account for the season.
Spurs offered little in the second half. In fact, they didn’t do much in attack after the opening 15 minutes. And when Richarlison allowed half a chance to slip away, Postecoglou put his hands up to his face. It was hard to watch. And not just that moment.
Enter Porro. Burnley immediately tried to play out through their cup keeper Arijanet Muric, up to Zeki Amdouni, but Porro was there, pushing high to win possession. And when he laced through the ball, 25 yards out, right of center, the shot zipped squarely into the far, top corner. Porro knew as soon as he unloaded it.
Spurs looked home and hosed. And yet they found a way to die with disaster during the seven minutes of added time when, out of nowhere, Burnley found another gear and almost equalised.
Twice, Muric brought his 6ft 5in frame forward for corners, the first after Spurs substitute Pierre-Emile Højbjerg made a crucial block to deny Hannes Delcroix. On the second, Muric headed forward and then, unmarked, was Amdouni. The flag went up upside down but it was not clear if the decision was correct. It didn’t matter as Amdouni headed the ball out of the goal. You may have heard the sound of Postecoglou’s heart.
The victory was hard fought and not without its cost. Postecoglou reported that Ben Davies suffered a hamstring injury and Giovani Lo Celso felt a muscle strain. Still, it was a win and the manager wasn’t about to argue how it came.
Postecoglou had said on Thursday that he had no regrets about his Carabao Cup selection against Fulham. He is not the type of man to second guess himself. There was no mess about it here and it had to feel good to be able to name Micky van de Ven and Ryan Sessegnon among the substitutes. The second would come for his first football in 11 months. He would almost score for 2-0.
The progress was announced by Spurs at the beginning, Richarlison suring up twice on the routes only to finish tamely. The first was a better chance, Oliver Skipp playing the final pass and it was disappointing to see Richarlison pull over at the far post. There was also a moment when Brennan Johnson cut inside from the left and shaped a curler for the far corner. Muric made a smart save.
But Postecoglou’s players had problems, the speed of their play, the ideas too. They got into some good areas, Johnson in particular. But they were wrong.
Burnley flourished and created the clearest opening in the first half. Amdouni played back with Anass Zaroury, who was one of the five changes made by Vincent Kompany when Aston Villa won the league last Saturday, and it was a return ball from him; outside the boot, was taken over the Spurs backline.
Amdouni stayed with the bounce, which didn’t really work for him and then his touch was poor. Checking back, he finished up blazing high.
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It was a let-off for Spurs; a reminder. Johnson would volley off target from Porro’s cross – the ball didn’t look clean – and it was clear that Postecoglou needed more in the second half.
It was noticeable how Postecoglou sent his players out early for the second period. And Muric started to slow down his goal kicks. The crowd expressed their frustration. It has come to feel a little predictable from Spurs’ point of view. They wanted faster passes, more incision.
Dejan Kulusevski cut inside and curled high; Johnson got a volleyball wrong. Burnley were comfortable. Johnson would work Muric with another volley and Spurs hoped for a break from the VAR, which did not come. There was never a chance that any of the reviews would be made throughout the game.
The feeling took on a growing force that it might be one of those nights when only one minute was needed. Porro would provide it.
