Spurs win on penalties after being held by Sydney FC in Sydney Super Cup
Sydney FC held visiting Tottenham Hotspur to a 1-1 draw before the Premier League side triumphed on penalties at Allianz Stadium.
Mathys Tel opened the scoring with a stunning free-kick after 28 minutes before a deflected pass fell to Sydney’s new signing Takahiro Sekine who scored in just his second appearance for the Sky Blues.
The shootout started with five perfect penalties but in the end a save from Martin Dúbravka allowed Dane Scarlett to seal the win for Spurs.
New stars Andy Robertson and Sandro Tonali both made their non-competitive debuts for Tottenham Hotspur, while James Maddison and Micky Van de Ven remained in the stands.
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The visitors from North London named a stronger squad than in their 2-0 win over Auckland on Sunday. Lucas Bergvall, Conor Gallagher, and Richarlison all started for Spurs, while new signings Tonali and Robertson were named on the bench.
Gus Hoefsloot played himself into trouble in the opening minutes when his pass was misdirected into the path of Tel, but the 20-year-old recovered to turn the follow-up behind.
The absence of VAR favoured Rhyan Grant when his wrestling of Ben Davies inside the area went unpunished by the referee.
Manor Solomon was among the most impressive against Auckland on Sunday night and he looked dangerous again when he dribbled through a crowd and picked out Gallagher, but his scuffed shot was easily cleared.
Rhys Youlley created a spark for Sydney FC after 24 minutes when he snatched the ball from Archie Gray and let fly from distance, forcing Martin Dúbravka into a sharp, diving save.
Tel, who had already been the best player for Spurs, gave them the lead after 28 minutes when he curled a gorgeous free-kick into the top-right corner – delivering all the Premier League star-quality that the locals came to see in one strike.
Gallagher was picked out once again by Solomon after 36 minutes and this time struck the base of the post from just outside the area.
The second half brought the exciting introduction of Tonali, making his first appearance since his move from Newcastle United worth up to £100 million.
It was another substitute, Luca Williams-Barnett, who made an immediate impact when he was played up the left by Richarlison, drove into the penalty area and smacked his shot into the crossbar.
Robertson was introduced amongst a flurry of substitutes in the 65th minute and brought pace and life into the left side of the Spurs attack. He advanced well and whipped in a fast, low cross that Min-Hyeok Yang was unable to steer on target. Yang was on the end of another Robertson cross shortly after and this time his header sailed over the crossbar.
Williams-Barnett was persistently threatening following his introduction and was the liveliest player on the pitch in a second half that was chiefly utilised by both teams as a run-out for their young talents.
A 1-1 scoreline as the clock struck 90 minutes took proceedings to a largely ceremonial penalty shootout. Williams-Barnett, Gabriel Popovic, Tonali, Al Hassan Touré, and Robertson converted the opening five penalties before Joseph Lacey struck the post. Jamie Donley was denied by a fine diving save from Hoefsloot, then Popovic saw his effort stopped by Dúbravka. Scarlett stepped up with the chance to seal the shootout for Tottenham Hotspur and placed his penalty precisely into the bottom corner.
Tottenham Hotspur will round off their trip down under when they face Chelsea in the headline fixture at Accor Stadium on Saturday night.
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WHAT THEY SAID
Ben Davies
Roberto De Zerbi
