Spurs 0-1 City (FA Cup) | Ange's verdict

Ange Postecoglou felt we were 'too passive' in the first half and then struggled to wrestle back the initiative as City struck late to win Friday night's FA Cup fourth round tie at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

We defended stoutly as the FA Cup holders and last season's treble winners dominated for long periods without really creating too many clear-cut chances. In the end, a set piece won it, as Guglielmo Vicario was hampered by Ruben Dias as he went for Kevin de Bruyne's corner, allowing Nathan Ake to poke home from close range with 88 minutes on the clock.

City's aggressive press meant we also struggled to put together any sustained periods of pressure with our best chance falling to Brennan Johnson from Timo Werner's pass in the second half, goalkeeper Stefan Ortega off his line quickly to deny him.

City's aggressive press meant we struggled to put together any sustained periods of pressure with our best chance falling to Brennan Johnson from Timo Werner's pass in the second half, goalkeeper Stefan Ortega off his line quickly to deny him.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Ange said: "It was about just having more belief and conviction in ourselves in that first 45 minutes. You know once they get into a bit of rhythm it's very hard to wrestle that back off them.

"I thought we defended well. It's not like Vic had a million saves to make or that they created a lot against us. It's disappointing to concede so late but having said that, it's not what we're about. We worked hard enough, but it seemed we were just working to the maximum to stay in the game rather than getting over the top of them."

Asked how difficult it is to change the momentum of a game like that against City, Ange replied: "It's very difficult because you've seen it with us. The thing about us this year is that we've started games really well, just about every game, and that's given us a real momentum against all opposition, it doesn't matter if it's home or away. It's very hard for teams to claw that back.

"It was the opposite tonight. We just didn't get into the game as we wanted to and then mid-game, it's very hard to change that. The second half, I thought the first 15, 20 minutes we were much more aggressive in our pressure, forced them into some mistakes and created some good moments. Brennan had a decent chance but again that only happened sporadically in moments, it wasn't sustained and for it to be sustained you need to put pressure on the opposition from the first minute and we didn't do that."