Son, Winks, Wimmer and Davies react to Villa victory

Heung-Min Son, Harry Winks, Kevin Wimmer and Ben Davies all agreed that we were deserved winners after patiently waiting for our chances in Sunday’s FA Cup tie with Aston Villa.

After a tricky first half which hardly yielded anything in front of goal at either end – Leandro Bacuna’s long-ranger that was comfortably kept out by Michel Vorm proving to be the only shot on target during that period – we finally got ourselves in front through left-back Ben’s first goal for the club, before Sonny wrapped it up 10 minutes from time.

Here’s a look at what the players had to say as they emerged from the changing rooms after the match…

Heung-Min Son

On the pattern of the game
“The first half wasn’t easy because they were standing very deep and we had to find the space. In the second half I think Villa were getting a bit tired and we created chances. We had chances to score more and more goals but we’re all happy to go into the next round. A win always makes everyone happy!”

On Ben’s first Spurs goal
“Everyone was really happy, a bit surprised also! Ben is not a striker but it was an unbelievable finish and after the game I congratulated him. I’m really happy for him. I thought GK (Georges-Kevin Nkoudou) did really well when he came on and Ben scored a great header from his cross, a great finish. It wasn’t an easy finish but he did it well.”

On squad rotation
“We have young and hungry players and in every training session and every week on the bench they learn. When they play they do really well – the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Harry Winks and Josh Onomah. We’ve got a good squad and everyone is ready to perform. Of course, everyone has to be ready. We all work really hard in training, everyone is really hungry and we all want to do well.”

On progressing to round four
“It’s a big competition, winning is always good and we try to win in every competition – FA Cup, Premier League, Europa League. We try to win every game, that’s our goal, our target. The FA Cup is the biggest cup in England and I really enjoy it when I play in this competition. It’s great to be able to say I’ve played in the FA Cup.”

Harry Winks

On the impact of our subs
“Dele was key when he came on. He helped us get in the pockets, get forward and gave us a bit more athleticism going forward. GK, when he came on, did excellently by getting an unbelievable cross in and Josh came on and contributed in a positive way as well.”

On taking the game by the scruff of the neck
“That’s been my game since I was a young lad – to get on the ball, control the game, get us playing and serve the boys higher up. I will continue to do that because that’s what I’ve always done.”

Views on the match overall
“I thought we were in control for the whole game. It was a difficult one because they were compact, deep and they made it difficult for us to get through them but we kept playing our way by keeping the ball, playing out from the back and building up patiently and luckily it worked for us. We were still creating opportunities, getting in good areas, we had good control and it was more a case of being a little bit more clinical in the first half. Thankfully we scored twice in the second half and it’s obviously good to get a clean sheet and get the win.”

Kevin Wimmer

On persevering in the first period
“Especially the first half it was a very difficult game because Villa were defending with 10 men in front of their own box, they stayed very deep in their own half and it was very difficult to create chances. We had a lot of possession over the 90 minutes, in the second half we did a little bit better, we played a bit quicker, then we created more chances and I think we deserved to win. It’s nice that we are through to the next round.”

Was it frustrating not to break through in the first half?
“We said before the game that we would have to be patient. We were expecting a game like this because we knew that Villa would be defending all game long and that’s what they tried. We knew that our chance would come, the goal from Ben was the breakthrough and after the first goal it’s always easier to play. After that we wanted to keep going and score the second one to finish the game off.”

On Sonny’s second goal
“Of course, it was a good feeling when Sonny scored and then we all knew that the game was finished. I think it was a very good team effort today, we were patient, we waited for our chances, we kept the ball very well and I’m happy that we won the game.”

Ben Davies

On celebrating his goal with all the players
“It’s probably because I haven’t had one for a while! We’ve got a great squad here and I’ve a lot of good friends here and it was nice they all celebrated with me. Perhaps I took the pressure off them a little! Overall it’s exactly what we wanted – a good performance and a win and now we’re in the hat for the fourth round draw.”