Spurs 3- 2 Brentford | Ange on influence of Hojbjerg and Werner’s display
Ange Postecoglou explained the tactical switch around at half-time that triggered such an electric response on our way to a 3-2 victory against Brentford in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.
Key to it all, the arrival of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Brennan Johnson off the bench for the second half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as Ange moved Dejan Kulusevski into a more central area and asked Pierrre to sit in a deeper-lying midfield position.
The result - three goals in seven minutes as we turned a 1-0 deficit at the break into a 3-1 lead, transforming the game - and the noise in the stadium - with goals after 47, 48 and 56 minutes from Destiny Udogie, Brennan and Richarlison. Ivan Toney pulled a goal back but we held on for three more important points, moving up to fourth in the table.
Asked on our Review Show about Pierre’s influence in the second half, Ange sold us: “I just felt the way Brentford set up, they set up for counter attacking and Pierre has real discipline to sit in there and break up play.
“That helped us and released other players. I was keen to get Deki into the central areas and get Brennan on, because I felt we just needed a bit more mobility in the front third, some variations. That helped Madders as well, just a bit more freedom to play. I thought that was good.”
Asked about Timo’s impact after he claimed assists for the first two goals, Ange added: “Timo, first half, I thought we left him a little isolated on the left and probably needed to give him a bit more support. Also, the nature of the game didn’t help, because there were a lot of stop-starts.
“In the second half, we played our football, which then allows players like Timo, Brennan to be able to get at the opposition. He’s got quality, that’s for sure. I knew that. He’s proven at this level and there are goals in him, that will come as well. I thought he was a really good contributor for us.”