Tottenham 3-1 Morecambe (Winks 74′, Moura 85′, Kane 88′ | O’Connor 33′)
Lucas Moura and Harry Kane became Tottenham’s unscheduled heroes to deny Morecambe the cup upset of the weekend.
Antonio Conte’s side were trailing to Anthony O’Connor’s first-half goal when the duo came off the bench in the 69th minute. Each scored in the last five minutes to add to Harry Winks’ free-kick leveller.
The visitors, fourth from bottom in League One, held their own for long periods but were exhausted by the time Kane and Moura were sent on to do what their team-mates could not.
With Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg with Chelsea looming Conte had hoped to win the tie without having to call upon his first-choice strike duo. At least the Shrimps prevented that.
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“Our target was to go to the next round and give rest to the players who have played a lot in this busy period. We mustn’t be happy, for sure, but we reached the target.”
Coach Diarmuid O’Carroll, in charge of Morecambe because manager Stephen Robinson has Covid, said: “The boys did themselves proud. Tottenham had to bring on players of that quality.”
Morecambe made a nervy start and were surprisingly suspect at corners. Spurs, with Dele Alli and Bryan Gil up front, lacked the cutting edge to profit however, although Matt Doherty’s header against the back post was a close shave.
Morecambe grew rapidly in confidence and a sizeable away following became bold enough to chant ‘Premier League, you’re having a laugh’, even before their magic moment arrived in the 33rd minute, when Spurs showed they were even more vulnerable at corners.
Tottenham (3-5-2)
- Pierluigi Gollini – 6
- Japhet Tanganga – 5
- Joe Rodon – 5
- Ben Davies – 6
- Matt Doherty – 5
- Harry Winks – 7
- Tanguy Ndombele – 5
- Giovani Lo Celso – 6
- Ryan Sessegnon – 5
- Bryan Gil – 5
- Dele Alli – 6
Subs:
- Oliver Skipp – 6
- Harry Kane – 7
- Lucas Moura – 7
- Dane Scarlett – N/A
- Emerson Royal – N/A
Morecambe (5-3-2)
- Trevor Carson – 6
- Ryan Cooney – 6
- Ryan McLoughlin – 5
- Anthony O’Connor – 7
- Jacob Bedeau – 7
- Greg Leigh – 6
- Shane McLoughlin – 6
- Toumani Diagouraga – 6
- Alfie McCalmont – 7
- Cole Stockton – 6
- Jonah Ayunga – 6
Subs:
- Callum Jones – 5
- Liam Gibson – 5
- Aaron Wildig – 5
- Jon Obika – 5
Shrimps skipper O’Connor got in front of Japhet Tanganga and Doherty to sidefoot Alfie McCalmont’s delivery past Gollini from six yards. Tanganga was the main culprit and it was no surprise that boos from the home fans greeted the half-time whistle.
The game was almost an hour old before Trevor Carson, Morecambe’s debutant goalkeeper, was required to make his first big save, tipping over Alli’s clever flick from a corner. Doherty headed wide from the one that followed – and then blasted the next chance way off target.
Ryan Sessegnon, another sinking fringe man, seized on a loose ball after Alli appeared to dive in the box but could not hit the target with only Carson to beat and, inevitably, in the 68th minute and to huge applause, on came Kane and Moura.
That turned to boos when Tanguy Ndombele, on being replaced in midfield by Oliver Skipp as a third newcomer, trudged off in grumpy slow motion and disappeared down the tunnel.
“When you don’t play well the fans are not happy,” said Conte. “This is football. You have to be better next time.”
What next for Ndombele?
Analysis by Oliver Young-Myles
Tottenham’s club-record signing has only shown flashes of his ability during his two-and-a-half-year spell in north London and the tide of opinion amongst the club’s fanbase is clearly turning against the Frenchman.
Ndombele certainly didn’t help himself against Morecambe. Not only did the midfielder fail to grab a rare opportunity to impress under Conte, his freeze-frame trudge off the pitch as Spurs trailed to a League One opponent inside their £1bn home, was totally misguided.
It spoke to the disconnect between Ndombele and his employers that has been there for almost the entire duration of his time at the club. Numerous managers have attempted to unlock the 25-year-old’s potential; only Jose Mourinho came close to doing so.
Mourinho is now reportedly eager to offer the former Lyon playmaker an escape route at Roma. It is telling of his contribution that few would see his departure as any great loss.
Could the underdogs hold out? Moura fired just wide but Winks found the net direct from a free-kick from the left touchline in the 74th minute after Ryan Cooney had been booked for felling Doherty. It was Carson’s only error of the game; he should have at least got a touch.
Morecambe were running on empty and were mightily relieved when Kane headed wide from five yards before Carson leaped to deny Giovani Lo Celso.
Spurs’ second, in the 85th minute, was the result of tired legs and minds. Ryan McLaughlin dithered on receiving a square ball just inside the Tottenham half and was easily robbed by Moura, who raced away, rounded Carson and found the empty net.
Kane completed the comeback three minutes later by accepting Lo Celso’s pass and deftly guiding the ball past O’Connor and Carson from six yards.
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