Tamworth 0-3 Tottenham (AET): Match report & talking points as Spurs avoid historic FA Cup upset

Tottenham booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round but needed extra time to beat National League side Tamworth on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs were the overwhelming favourites for this tie, but Andy Peaks' underdogs proved to be mightily stubborn opponents. The hosts were plucky from set-pieces and emboldened by Tottenham's frustration as the contest wore on.

However, they were made to pay for a couple of missed chances late on with the Premier League team eventually pulling away in extra time.

How the game unfolded

There was time for some humble theatrics before kick-off, which was delayed by a few minutes as the result of an issue with one of the nets. The sellotape was brought out and Zara sales assistant (and Tamworth winger) Beck-Ray Enoru was on hand to complete the DIY job which allowed the cup tie to get underway.

Enoru was the early on-pitch protagonist with his lively spurts giving Pedro Porro something to think about. He forced a very early save out of Antonin Kinsky, with Spurs enjoying their first Tommy Tonks long-throw experience inside of five minutes.

The Premier League visitors initially struggled to deal with Tamworth's sloping astroturf which never allowed the ball to settle. The surface exposed the technical limitations within Spurs' rotated XI, although James Maddison and Yves Bissouma were two who quickly acclimatised and they ensured the visitors settled.

Maddison twice came close to breaking the deadlock and certainly looked a cut above the rest, but Jas Singh was on hand to deny the Tottenham skipper. Tamworth, meanwhile, continued to maintain a threat via Enoru down the left-hand side, while Tonks' circus act-like throws were a feature of the first half - even if Kinsky dealt with them well.

Tamworth's hard work meant no opening goal arrived from the visitors in the opening period, and the game did start into 'bringing on your big guns' territory for Ange Postecoglou.

Tottenham's frustration permeated into the second half with Singh again saving from Maddison. Spurs did move through the gears, though, and started to create via the trickery of Mikey Moore down the left, but Tamworth just about held firm with Hadyn Hollis denying a Timo Werner header on the line before Singh saved well from the German one-on-one.

The hosts did have their moments from set-pieces, but couldn't quite pounce on the second and third balls in the box following sequences of brief chaos. Crucially, they remained well in the game entering the final 20 minutes. Andy Peak's substitutions supplied a second wind, though, and it was the underdog hosts who twice came close to completing a historic upset in second-half stoppage time.

Tottenham lived to see extra time, however.

The extended period proved to be a bridge too far for the non-leaguers as Spurs pulled away. The opener was as shoddy as the visitors' display, but one that was coming after Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min and Djed Spence joined the action. Kulusevski dispatched a clinical second soon after before Brennan Johnson added some gloss the scoreline.

Player ratings

Check out the player ratings for Tamworth vs Tottenham here.

Tottenham's predictable struggles

Tottenham headed into Sunday's fixture off the back of a 1-0 victory over the best team in the country. 96 league places separated these two teams in what was a proper David vs Goliath FA Cup tie which tried its best to manifest the magic of the competition which is supposedly fading.

We're all aware of 'Spursy' and its connotations, and the latest iteration of Ange Postecoglou's side have hardly done enough to dispel that notion. They were huge favourites here, but the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Ange's team meant their struggles were predictable against National League opposition.

The surface wasn't easy to play on and they did create enough to win the game in 90 minutes. However, their performance would've drawn more concerns than positives with the 'big guns' required to pull away from National League opposition.

There was a standout performance from Yves Bissouma and the substitutes did eventually make the difference, but the majority of the Spurs players struggled to adjust to unfamiliar surroundings which left them vulnerable to a major upset.

Postecoglou pays for Timo Werner faith

Tottenham were sub-par at Tamworth, but they probably should've got the job done before extra time.

Maddison's efforts, of which there were a few, didn't break the threshold of 'half-chances', but Werner was guilty of wasting a golden opportunity when put through by Brennan Johnson. The German, who struggled up top before drifting out the left, went low with his shot which allowed Jas Singh to save.

The confidence he's currently operating with meant very few would've backed him as he bore down on the Tamworth goal. Earlier, Werner had a good headed effort cleared off the line by the impressive Haydn Hollis.

Werner's woes weren't confined to his profligacy. On a testing pitch, the forward failed to provide technical security in the frontline. Ange's decision to withdraw the exciting Mikey Moore on the hour left Spurs with two straight-line runners out wide for the final third of the initial 90, and the hosts struggled to probe and create as a result.

When they're not crossing to each other at the back post, Brennan Johnson and Werner's contributions almost always come under scrutiny.

Tamworth's grand day out

Huddersfield and Burton Albion have already felt the wrath of Andy Peaks' super-team, and this was Tottenham's turn to suffer.

This was perhaps the biggest occasion in Tamworth's history, with excitement rife but expectations low. Anyone associated with the club would've bitten your hand off for extra time before kick-off, and they came ever so close to completing an all-timer of an upset. Only two National League sides have ever downed Premier League opposition in this competition, and they came ever so close to becoming the third.

While a foreign surface and Werner's woes aided the hosts, Tamworth deserve immense credit for their application. Haydn Hollis was brilliant at the back, while EFL scouts will undoubtedly be conducting their due diligence on Beck-Ray Enoru in the aftermath. Jas Singh may have been tested less than he would've predicted, but he nonetheless made multiple big stops to ensure the cup tie was prolonged.

Extra time was a bridge too far, but the town of Tamworth will long remember this occasion fondly. They've taken one of the country's biggest clubs all the way.

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