Burnley 2 Tottenham 2: Cristian Romero spares Thomas Frank’s blushes with last gasp equaliser at struggling Clarets
FROM celebrating with a couple of glasses of red to choking on a hard-to-stomach Claret.
No wonder Thomas Frank trudged off Turf Moor looking like a man with the biggest hangover in history.
Mind you, that’s how it must feel at times for the under-fire Tottenham manager, whose one-step forward, two-steps back season gave him another headache yesterday.
On Tuesday a victory over Borussia Dortmund took some of the heat off the Danish gaffer, who vowed to have a wine or two to mark the fact.
But four days after his side put one foot into the Champions League last 16 – a point in Frankfurt on Tuesday will seal it – his neck is back in the noose.
Only a last-gasp leveller from Cristian Romero stopped battling Burnley from snatching their first Premier League victory since October.
A 90th minute venomous rescuing header after Frank’s flops had gone from a goal up to 2-1 down…and had visiting fans belting out what they hope to see.
Five minutes before the break, after Micky van de Ven had drilled Tottenham ahead, they were jokingly singing “we’re staying up.”
But when Lyle Foster scrambled the Clarets’ second deep in the second half, after Axel Tuanzebe had levelled, it was no laughing matter.
From gallows humour to simply the gallows, in fact, for Spurs fans now demanding “getting sacked in the morning”.
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Followed, it should be pointed out, by a chorus of “Thomas Frank, your football is s***!”
To all intents Tottenham looked dead and buried. Their manager’s future looked similarly bleak.
Yet then Romero – if only they had a few more with his heart for a battle – finally found a way past Martin Dubravka, and Spurs were out of jail.
Well maybe not in Frank’s case. Perhaps in line for parole would be more to the point.
What a basket case club they truly are. Toe to toe with Europe’s A-listers one minute, then stumbling against a side entrenched in the drop zone.
Then again, plenty of heavyweight prizefighters – indeed Spurs are one of them – have left this part of East Lancashire with a bloody nose over the years.
Success in these parts demands grit and graft, not glitz and glamour. And muck or nettles scraps don’t come much muckier than the gloom of a wintry Turf Moor afternoon.
To be fair Spurs had just about done enough to merit a lead by the time van de Ven finally gave them one.
Yet – ironically – only after Martin Dubravka had been leaping around his box in celebration at keeping his goal intact.
First from a Wilson Odobert volley on the edge of the box, and then even more impressively when Conor Gallagher drilled in the rebound.
But you know what they say about goalkeepers being a hostage to fortune…because seconds later Dubravka was picking the ball out of his net.
Twice Burnley failed to clear Pedro Porro’s corner, initially headed up in the air by Max Esteve, then jabbed towards the edge of the box by Bashir Humphreys.
And when it fell invitingly for van de Ven 12 yards out, the Dutchman smashed it into the corner.
Punching the air one minute, looking to punch his dozy defenders the next. Such is life for a Premier League keeper, eh?
Having broken the back of the job, surely Spurs would go on and see it through.
But then again, this IS the team which is higher than Barcelona and PSG in Europe, yet was booed off after losing at home to West Ham a week ago.
So maybe not the greatest of shocks, then, when they nodded off and were caught with a sucker punch seconds before half-time.
While Kyle Walker’s cross was outstanding, the marking Cristian Romero certainly wasn’t, as Tuanzebe ghosted behind to poke in the equaliser.
Tottenham should have been back in front from the head of Dominic Solanke, who picked out Dubravka’s guts when he could have picked his spot.
What a miss that looked a couple of minutes from the end when Lyle Foster showed him how to finish.
Jadon Anthony teed him up by cutting inside and rolling the ball to his left deep in the Spurs box.
Foster’s first strike was blocked by keeper Giuglielmo Vicario, yet fell kindly straight back at the centre forward’s feet.
This time the keeper couldn’t keep it out, and neither could Destiny Udogie, as the ball trickled into the net.
Burnley fans went berserk, Spurs fans demanded blood… and although Romero’s header saved the day here, you can’t help thinking it is merely delaying the inevitable for their manager.
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