For Ange Postecoglou, it was not the most damaging defeat of what has been a traumatic Premier League season. What happened on Wednesday night in Bilbao ensured there was zero jeopardy on the outcome here, the Tottenham fans still floating on the euphoria of the Europa Leaguetriumph against Manchester United.
Brighton wanted to lock down eighth place to give themselves hope of a Uefa Conference League finish. They got the result thanks to a pair of Jack Hinshelwood goals, a penalty from the substitute, Matt O’Riley, and a cracker from another replacement, Diego Gómez. Sadly for them, it would not be enough in terms of the European picture, results elsewhere not falling for them.
The real story felt like Postecoglou. Would the Spurs fans show their backing for him to continue as manager despite everything in the league? This was a 22nd defeat in the competition for the club, equal to the all-time low from 1934-35 and that was in a 42-game campaign.
There were bursts of support for Postecoglou, his name rolling around the stadium at times, including after the Brighton crowd informed him he would be sacked in the morning. It was generally a little subdued, hungover; the definition of an event after the parade, which hadtaken place on the open-top bus on Friday.
Spurs pushed some of their legends on to the pitch after what was a dismal second-half capitulation, Steve Perryman and Martin Chivers, Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles among those forming a guard of honour for the current team as they celebrated the Europa League. And tried very hard to overlook this non-event from their point of view.
Postecoglou has claimed that “in all the best TV shows, season three is better than season two.” It is unclear which series he was referring to but everybody recognises the point he wants to make. It is now very much over to the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy.
The vibe among the Spurs support was happy and relaxed, plenty of Europa League-winning merchandise on show, the scene coloured additionally by Levy’s programme notes. The chairman did mention Postecoglou, having chosen not to do so at the end of March in his statement that accompanied the club’s financial report.
Levy thanked him for making the trophy success possible. But that was it. No clues as to what he might do next with him. Certainly no vote of support. It was easy to read it negatively from Postecoglou’s point of view.
The manager was without Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero, the latter present in his civvies, pictured on the big screen beforehand with another injured player, James Maddison, who delighted in whipping up the crowd. Maddison was one of two Spurs players to complete the all-nighter after the win over United. The other was Sergio Reguilón.
Spurs enjoyed playing without pressure at the outset and they enjoyed a break when Mats Wieffer lunged into a silly challenge on Mathys Tel. Wieffer stood on the Spurs’s winger foot as he jinked inside the area, going away from goal. Tel went down. Dominic Solanke converted coolly from the penalty spot.
Brighton had a few moments in the first half, Hinshelwood working Guglielmo Vicario with a header from a corner but they had to show more purpose and intensity. Tel ought to have made it 2-0 in the 38th minute after being played in by Pedro Porro. He shot for the far corner only to see Bart Verbruggen produce a smart low save.
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The visitors needed to wake up because with Brentford winning at Wolves, they could feel their grip on eighth loosening. Fabian Hürzeler made half-time changes, introducing Kaoru Mitoma and Gómez, dropping Hinshelwood into a deeper midfield role. It might have been Mitoma’s farewell appearance; Bayern Munich are interested in him.
Brighton duly stirred, coming to dominate. Carlos Baleba exerted himself in midfield, Mitoma made a difference. The equaliser came when Adam Webster attacked a corner and the ball fell kindly for Hinshelwood.
Brennan Johnson fluffed a decent chance on 56 minutes but it was all Brighton, Hurzeler’s team creating a fistful of chances. Vicario saved from Gómez and the dangerous Yankuba Minteh, who also saw a shot blocked by Kevin Danso. Baleba rattled an upright.
Brighton had advertised the next goal and Hinshelwood got it from another corner, Spurs again defending weakly. This time, he had his back to goal when the ball ricocheted for him. The improvised back-heeled finish was a beauty.
Brighton turned the screw. It was a tired challenge by the Spurs substitute, Yves Bissouma, on Gómez to concede the penalty. And Gómez had the last word when he scored his first Brighton goal with a wonderful curler from distance.