Sun 28 May 2023, 20:45
Tottenham HotspurRyan Mason was left with mixed emotions after an impressive 4-1 win at Leeds United in the final match of our 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
The performance ticked a lot of boxes in what was always going to be an intense finale against a Leeds team fighting for survival at Elland Road. But, unfortunately, we were a point short of qualifying for Europe as Villa’s win against Brighton left us in eighth position.
Harry Kane was outstanding again and gave us the perfect start with the opener on two minutes. He then set up Pedro Porro’s fine strike for 2-0 two minutes into the second half and after a mini Leeds revival and Jack Harrison’s goal back on 67 minutes, Harry was there again with a clinical finish on the counter for 3-1 just two minutes later. That took him to 30 goals in the Premier League this season.
There was still time for one final moment of magic from Lucas Moura. The Brazilian, playing his last match for the Club, was brought on with five minutes of added time remaining and in the fourth minute, picked the ball up on the right, skipped away from Liam Cooper, drove to the box, evaded all three Leeds defenders and clipped the ball past Joel Robles.
Speaking to SPURSPLAY at Elland Road, Acting Head Coach Ryan told us: “All we could do today was come here and take care of business from our point of view in a difficult, intense game. We did that.
“We were good value for the three points, fully deserved the win but, overall, it’s a massive disappointment for the whole season, because the league table doesn’t lie. We’ve finished outside of the European places, and we need to understand why that’s happened, to make sure we come back stronger and it doesn’t happen again next season.”
Asked what particularly pleased him in the performance, Ryan added: “I was happy with a lot of things, ultimately, we’ve scored four goals away from home and won away for the first time in a long time.
“We also knew we had to stand up to a difficult test with balls coming into our box from everywhere, all angles, and we had a team out there willing to put their bodies on the line. Then, when we had the opportunity, I thought we played some outstanding stuff on a pitch that was long, dry and tough to play football on. We did all that very well, and I’m very pleased with the result.”
