With eight minutes to play, this looked like being the night that the Tottenham fans had dreamed about. At times, it was hard to hear yourself think as the emotions of a frustrating campaign poured out with each goal that went in as they raced into a 3-0 lead overBodø/Glimt.
Brennan Johnson’s opener after just 38 seconds had set the tone against the plucky Norwegian champions, who have somehow reached this stage of the competition for the first time. Further goals from James Maddison and Dominic Solanke seemed to have given them an unassailable advantage ahead next week’s second leg on an artificial surface in the Arctic Circle.
But as Kjetil Knutsen’s side have proven time and again during this remarkable run, they never know when they are beaten. A late strike from captain Ulrik Saltnes that deflected off the unfortunate Micky van de Ven changed the complexion of this tie in an instant. Tottenham have never been known for doing things the easy way but for a side that has lost 19 Premier League games this season, at least they have a two-goal cushion to protect.
There had been a huge sense of anticipation among the home supporters before kick-off, with the giant South Stand transformed into a magnificent tifo display of the Spurs motto ‘To Dare Is To Do’ just before the teams emerged. Ange Postecoglou stressed beforehand the importance of establishing a lead ahead of their mission to town almost 1,0000km north of Oslo for second leg next week, although he acknowledged that a side who have knocked out Lazio and Olympiakos in the last two rounds were going to be no pushovers. Yet with captain Patrick Berg and key midfielder Håkon Evjen both suspended and Bodø also missing key defenders, he must have known this was their big opportunity. Knutsen was only able to name five outfield players on the bench as their yellow-clad fans packed out the end behind Nikita Haikin’s goal hoping to limit the damage.
So it could hardly have been a worse start for them when Yves Bissouma – a surprise inclusion by Postecoglou because Lucas Bergvall was ruled out after injuring his ankle in training on Wednesday – found space down the right and picked out Richarlison at the back post. The Brazilian’s header across goal deceived everyone but Johnson, who made no mistake by directing the ball back into the other corner.
It was the fastest goal of the season in this competition and most of this impressive stadium erupted in delight. Bodø’s players formed a huddle in an attempt to reset themselves and, for the next half an hour, they appeared to be just about coping with Tottenham’s threat. Destiny Udogie flashed a volley over the bar at one end before Knutsen was on his feet appealing for a penalty at the other when the Italian clashed with Isak Määttä inside the area but the referee was having none of it.
Bodø had been given warning of the danger Maddison posed running in behind their defence when he scooped Cristian Romero’s long ball off target midway through the half. The England midfielder did not make the same mistake twice as he raced onto Pedro Porro’s pass and finished with his left foot underneath Haikin. Tottenham smelled blood and had the Russian goalkeeper not produced an excellent save to deny a stunning volley from Rodrigo Bentancur then they may have been out of sight by half-time. Ole Blomberg could not hit the target when Bode finally mustered their first sight of goal just before the break. Postecoglou, who had celebrated both goals with gusto on the touchline, headed down the tunnel looking like a manager in control of his own destiny.
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Richarlison did not emerge for the second half and was replaced by Mathys Tel, with Bodø also making a change in their overworked defence. They attempted to take the sting out of Spurs by keeping the ball but found it hard to escape their own half despite shading the possession statistics. Disaster struck just before the hour mark when they failed to clear a free kick and Fredrik Sjøvold caught Romero first as he was trying to clear. The referee initially waved play on but reversed his decision on the advice of the VAR. Solanke sat Haikin down before coolly dispatching his penalty into the net.
Tel could have given Spurs even more breathing space when his shot from a tight angle was tipped around the post. It was to prove costly as Saltnes ensured there is still plenty on the line next week.