Davies rues late goal, but sees the positives
Sat 20 June 2020, 15:23|
Tottenham Hotspur
Ben Davies was left with an overriding feeling of disappointment after we conceded inside the last 10 minutes to let maximum points slip away against Manchester United on Friday.
Returning to action at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time in over three months following the coronavirus pandemic, we took the lead in the first period through a fine Steven Bergwijn strike and rode out periods of United pressure to keep ourselves in the driving seat.
But when Eric Dier was adjudged to have fouled Paul Pogba in the box with 81 minutes played, Bruno Fernandes stepped up to make it 1-1 from 12 yards, rescuing a point for the visitors.
Left-back Ben admitted: “We’re quite disappointed really to only come away with a point, especially after going ahead like we did. Okay, we dropped deeper in the second half, we invited a bit more pressure but we kept them to half-chances and Hugo pulled off one really good save.
“Overall we felt pretty comfortable, shots from just outside the box being their main chances so it was really disappointing to concede the way we did. It felt like we were going to keep it tight, they were putting crosses in, having shots from far away… when that happens you know that you’re not giving them major chances, so it was quite disappointing to concede so late and lose out on two points. But also there’s stuff to build on.”
The match was played behind closed doors with safety measures in place as the nation continues to try to keep COVID-19 at bay.
Asked about the experience of competing in front of empty stands with vital Premier League points on the line, Ben added: “It’s quite strange but as soon as that whistle goes, as soon as that first ball is kicked, the intensity is there, that competitiveness is there. We do miss our fans during the game at times but I don’t think as players we can afford to dwell on it. We have to be as professional as we can, do our jobs as if everybody was here and (on Friday) we gave it our all.”
Where does this leave us ahead of Tuesday evening’s home clash with West Ham United? “We have to go into the final eight (games), make sure we put our best foot forward and give it our all,” replied Ben. “It’s going to be another huge game. The boys put everything into (Friday) but we’re fit and we’ve worked hard in this period of being away from football so we’re ready to go.”
