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| Pochettino (bottom left) was left stunned as Perez and Mitrovic (right) scored for Newcastle |
STEVE McCLAREN is no stranger to brilliant half-time team-talks. After all, he has stood quietly in the corner and watched a few. Arguably, it was how he got the England job in the first place.
In times of crisis, most teams turn to their manager to crack open the Churchillian rhetoric. But after yesterday’s call-to-arms, McClaren seemed pleased just to have had a ticket.
“The character in the dressing room was great,” he said. “It was great to be in there!”
Goalkeeper and man-of-the-match Rob Elliot was the chief orator and later captured the emotion in Sky’s post-match interview: “It’s a bit euphoric, to be fair.”
Some of McClaren’s greatest results have been achieved in similar circumstances. In his final months at Middlesbrough, twice the club were left chasing three goals in the second half of second legs in the UEFA Cup, against Basel and Steaua Bucharest.
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| Eric Dier scored the opener for Tottenham |
Both times, Mark Viduka led a chorus of rousing player-power while the boss took a back seat and within months of reaching the 2006 UEFA Cup final, McClaren was picking the England team.
Certainly, whatever words were used and whoever said them, they worked. Late into the evening yesterday Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino was still trying to work out how his team had lost a game they appeared to have sewn up at the interval.
Harry Kane launched the first shot within a minute and wave after wave of white-shirted horses crashed down on the Newcastle goal.
Elliot was in defence barrier mode and had just made his second brilliant save from Erik Lamela when his goal was finally breached when Eric Dier flicked in his third goal of the season at the near post from the resulting corner. A Newcastle win to go with their victory over Liverpool seemed a long, long way away.
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| Spurs were in control by half time |
Pochettino said: “Nobody expected it, if you see the first half. That is how it seemed the game would end.
“Maybe if we analyse the 90 minutes we deserve more and the result was not fair. But in the end, the chances we conceded made it easy for Newcastle.
“That is why we need to analyse. Our first half was fantastic but the second we have to assess because it is impossible for a team to play in such a different way.”
Certainly Newcastle enjoyed a greater share of possession in the second period but there needed to be something extra thrown into the mix to turn the tide.
McClaren ushered on first Ayoze Perez and then Aleksandar Mitrovic, who initially was not ready.
When he did finally make his entrance in his own time, it took him just two minutes to respond to being dropped in the first place by forcing the ball over the line after Hugo Lloris saved Chancel Mbemba’s header.
The visitors continued to press and sure enough, when a third substitute Yoan Gouffran flicked the ball on, Perez was ready to pounce and force Lloris into a rare error by allowing the ball to escape his grasp and cross the line.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, a rare visitor to games these days, was jumping up and down in the stands. After the final whistle, the bulk of the Newcastle team formed a huddle in front of their fans.
But the most telling celebration had come from Mitrovic. His target may have been a peripheral figure during the interval, but the Serbia international clearly knew who he felt deserved the credit for that near-instant equaliser.
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| Aleksandar Mitrovic (centre) started Newcastle's fightback |
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| Ayoze Perez smashes home Newcastle's late winner |
As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, he pointed towards the dugout and sprinted towards the figure stood on the edge of the technical area.
Then, at the telling moment, he ran straight past his manager and into the arms of the Newcastle fitness coach.
McClaren was delighted just to have such a great view of a truly emotional scene.
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris 5; Walker 6, Alderweireld 6, Vertonghen 6, Rose 6; Dier 7, Carroll 6 (Son 69, 5); Eriksen 5, Alli 6, Lamela 6 (Chadli 86); Kane 5. Booked: Rose, Carroll. Goal: Dier 39. NEXT UP: Southampton (a) Sat, PL.
NEWCASTLE (4-4-1-1): Elliot 9; Janmaat 6, Mbemba 6, Coloccini 7, Dummett 6; Sissoko 8, Anita 7 (Gouffran 90), Colback 7, Wijnaldum 6; De Jong 5 (Perez 63, 7); Cisse 5 (Mitrovic 72, 7). Booked: Colback, Perez. Goals: Mitrovic 74, Perez 90. NEXT UP: Sat – Aston Villa (h) Sat, PL.
REFEREE: R East (Wiltshire).
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