Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media after Tottenham Hotspur won 3-1 against AZ in the Europa League round of 16 second leg on Thursday night and we've got every word the Spurs head coach said.
Wilson Odobert scored the opening goal on 26 minutes. Fast pressing from Tottenham captain Son Heung-min forced an Alkmaar pass to be deflected off him into the path of Dominic Solanke and the striker showed a calm head to tee up Odobert to smash his first goal for the club past the goalkeeper.
James Maddison put Spurs ahead in the tie just three minutes into the second half. A big Pedro Porro tackle set Odobert on the break and the move culminated in Son finding Maddison and the midfielder stepped inside and curled a shot into the net.
Alkmaar levelled matter again after the hour mark. It came from a mess at the back as Odobert intercepted a loose ball but Lucas Bergvall's pass back hit the Frenchman's ankle and the ball fell for Peer Koopmeiners to run on and score.
However, Odobert scored again on 74 minutes after a fine goal from back to front for Spurs. The ball was passed around the defence and Maddison turned superbly in the midfield to break the lines and then set away Son, who played in Djed Spence. The full-back's low ball was flicked on by Solanke and Odobert knocked it in to win the game and put Tottenham into the quarter-finals.
Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Postecoglou after the game. Here's a full transcript from the press conference at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
You must be delighted with the way your team approached that game tonight?
Yeah, really liked the way the boys addressed the challenge tonight. It's not easy when you're 1-0 down before the game starts. You know you don't want to give the opposition any opportunity to get a further advantage. I thought we started the game really well. Really composed and controlled. We didn't create a lot but at the same time we just had them camped in their half and they didn't really venture anywhere near our goal. Scored a really good goal from our press. And second half started brilliantly, exactly what we wanted to do, got our goal, and then we gave them a goal. That puts the tie again on edge a little bit. But I thought our response to that was really good, scored another good goal, probably should have got another one or two to finish the game off.
We probably didn't handle the last 10 minutes very well. But at the same time when I'm having to change the backline so much, at such a critical time, it's going to disrupt us. Again I thought at the big moments, the boys stood up well. Really pleased, they did a fantastic job to get us through.
The older players were leading the way, but you also had young players Wilson and Lucas having big nights?
Yeah, massive, brilliant for us, brilliant for the club, like I keep saying, we've got some really exciting talent. Lucas is growing all the time. People are getting a glimpse of what Wilson's all about. Shame what's happened to him this year, and he's still working his way from fitness. I just thought the whole group handled it really well. It was great to have Romero and Mickey, we just looked so solid at the back. While they were out there, we never really looked like getting threatened. Just made us look more solid as a team. So a lot of positives there.
Son just didn't stop running did he?
Sonny gives you everything every game, there's no doubt about that. He works so hard for the team. Had a couple of moments today, a couple of times unlucky, a couple of times could have been on the end of things. But it was a collective effort tonight. I think it's the first time - somebody said - since October we've had our four leaders on the park: Vicario, Romero, Maddison and Sonny. So much this year we've relied on one or two of those. But to have all four of them out there makes a difference for us. I thought they all led the team well.
Do you feel the team looked more like themselves?
Yeah, well it's no coincidence. We're getting some of our key players back and of course we are [looking like ourselves]. We've got guys who are getting decent recovery between games and we can change the team a fair bit. Don't forget Sonny and Madders didn't start at the weekend.
We can do these things that allow us to prepare the team properly. We did look more like ourselves but we've still got levels to go, because I still think players like Romero, Micky and Wilson and Dom and all these guys are still building their way up to match fitness and match sharpness. With the quarter-final being three-and-a-half weeks away, there's an opportunity for us to get these guys up to speed for that game.
Are you positive and encouraged because of that about what can happen for the rest of the season?
I've always been positive and I've always been encouraged. My mood is not dictated by outside, it's dictated by internal things and I've never wavered from the fact, and I think I've said consistently, that we're at our best we can compete with anyone. We get an opportunity now to build up some players and hopefully, we've still got some significant talent out and they could be coming back. All of that will be helpful for us reaching the levels that we need.
What did you make of James Maddison tonight?
Yeah, I thought all night he was really good. I think all those four leaders felt like it's their time now. It's been really tough for them, it's been really tough for all of us, the whole club but particularly the players. I thought that Madders, when we needed the quality, he was there tonight and made all the good decisions for us. Worked hard for the team, which was so important.
I think from my perspective it now allows us to have this solid core of players, our best players, that are available, getting to fitness, but we also have this ability to put people on who can also impact games which was important today.
Wilson got his first goals, how important do you think that will be for him and what made you put him in the team in the first place?
Super pleased for him because he's worked awfully hard. I'd be surprised if I have to explain why I selected him, if you didn't see that today... I was excited when we signed him. He's one of these players who has the ability to take players on, find space, great technician and super pleased for him to get his goals. He's worked hard silently and to get back in the team.
Obviously he came to a new club, a big club and big move for him and it didn't work out for him through no fault of his own, through the injury and it's been frustrating for me not to be able to showcase him and know how much he can develop and that's just the starting point for him. He's still working his way to full fitness. When you look at the likes of him and Lucas and Archie and two or three others we've got, there's some enormously exciting talent there.
That third goal felt like a classic Postecoglou goal, which we've not seen for a while, so that must please you?
I think it’s important because again look, all goals are important and particularly in a game like that but when you score something, a goal you know is so much of the core of our attacking phases and we work so hard on, I think the players get belief out of that, that it does work. Having Dom in there gives you a real focal point and just having his presence in the box, the ability to have guys like Madders and Sonny fresh today to be able to run at the opposition, they are just things we haven’t had the luxury of in the last three-and-a-half months. As I said, I think it was a really good foundational game for us to build on because I still feel like we will improve because of the nature of where people are at. I couldn’t be happier with the players. They deserve to get through and now we’re into the quarter-finals of a European competition which I think is exciting.
You've had pressure games this season but there felt like a lot of pressure on this – is it an important step for the team to come through especially with what is ahead?
Yeah I think the way we handled it tonight was important. As much as you try to block out the outside noise and it doesn’t bother me but I am sure the players and the whole club was aware tonight was a big night for us. When you are already 1-0 down you can get really anxious about it but I never felt that. Up until we sort of gave them the first goal, I thought the lads had handled it superbly.
They were in control, they looked strong, they looked dominant, aggressive and looked threatening in the front third. All the things we want to be. I think Micky coming off disrupted us a little bit, we had to change a couple of things and we give them a goal that changed the momentum of the game to make it more nervy than it needed to be, but yeah on what was a big night, I couldn’t be happier with the way the players tackled it and it’s a credit to them.
Spurs' season-defining game and the big Archie Gray question - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham.
