IF ever you needed evidence of how different Thomas Frank’s Tottenham are compared to predecessor Ange Postecoglou in the Premier League, then this was it.
Spurs somehow chucked away a 2-0 lead in this fixture last year under Postecoglou, losing 3-2 in one of 22 league defeats for the campaign.
This time under Frank it was a reversal as they came back from two goals down to take a deserved point.
Richarlison’s strike and an own goal from Jan Paul van Hecke chalked off early efforts from Yankuba Minteh and Yasin Ayari in a thrilling game here.
Postecoglou of course did what no Spurs manager could do in 17 years and won a trophy with May’s Europa League triumph and will forever be remembered for that feat.
But there is no getting away from how awful the league form was under the Australian last season, with the second-half collapse at the Amex emblematic of a shambolic campaign.
Frank is obviously in the honeymoon period of his tenure so there may well be times ahead where his side do not show quite such impressive resilience.
But the fighting spirit they showed here, particularly given how easily they could roll over last term, was very encouraging indeed.
Spurs went into this game boasting a rock-solid record of four clean sheets in Frank’s six games in charge.
But this fixture normally means goals - usually against Tottenham - and today it was no different.
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Tottenham actually started the game pretty well, with Destiny Udogie justifying his return to the side with some incisive runs forward.
But then Frank’s side were completely undone by a blistering Brighton counter-attack.
Minteh won the ball off Wilson Odobert and then was sent haring through thanks to Georginio Rutter’s ball in behind.
The former Newcastle man just about managed to stay onside as he raced past Micky van de Ven and then showed impressive composure to round Guglielmo Vicario and tap home.
It was an exhilarating goal which would have thrilled all those watching of a Brighton persuasion, including incoming sporting director Jason Ayto up in the stands.
Spurs’ quality dropped after that although Pedro Porro did manage to fire a sublime ball over the top which Richarlison managed to control before lashing into the side-netting.
A defensive high line was a staple of Postecoglou’s time in charge of Spurs and it was back here too under Frank.
And just like so many teams did to Postecoglou’s Tottenham team, Brighton were exploiting it as another ball over the top led to Rutter teeing up Ayari, whose blast was denied by Vicario.
It was a decent stop by the Italian, yet his next attempt to repel an Ayari effort left a lot to be desired.
Ayari had picked up possession after a poor Lucas Bergvall pass and let fly from outside the box.
The young Swede hit it with a fair amount of velocity and venom, but Vicario should have done better as his weak hand to the ball failed to prevent it from crashing into the net.
But Spurs were by no means playing badly and already looked to be made of sterner stuff under Frank than Postecoglou - in the Premier League, at least.
It was game on when Richarlison managed to scramble home just before the break.
The Brazilian was Frank’s only fit centre-forward for the match with Dominic Solanke still out with an ankle problem and Randal Kolo Muani nursing a dead leg.
Richarlison did well to control a Mohammed Kudus shot inside the box and then fire home the loose ball for 2-1.
What followed was a captivating second half as Spurs hunted a leveller.
They almost fell further behind as Lewis Dunk attempted an audacious free-kick from his own half that dropped just over the bar.
It was not a dirty game but a physical one and everybody’s blood seemed to be up as the tension increased.
The home fans were calling for a red card when Richarlison inadvertently sent Ferdi Kadioglu sprawling when vying for a high ball, an incident which also saw tempers flare on the touchline.
Frank introduced £51million playmaker Xavi Simons into the action just after the hour and the Dutchman quickly had a hat-trick of chances - none of which he was able to convert.
The second of the three was his best effort as he fired towards the far corner but was denied by Bart Verbruggen’s excellent stop.
His third was the one he really should have put away, running onto a cut-back from the excellent Kudus before steering wide.
It was gripping stuff with supporters on tenterhooks as to whether Spurs were going to get back into it - and with eight minutes to go, they did.
Simons played it wide to Kudus whose cross was diverted in by the unfortunate Van Hecke.
Both sides had chances to nick it at the end but ultimately the shares were spoiled, as was probably fair.
There has been much to be impressed by from Frank’s tenure so far but the way his team fought back here may well have topped the lot.
