James Maddison believes Tottenham are pushing away from their ‘Spursy’ tag
James Maddison believes Tottenham are starting to shed their ‘Spursy’ tag after they continued a fine start to the new season with a battling 2-2 draw at rivals Arsenal. Spurs had lost on their last three visits to the Emirates and not won there in the Premier League since 2010. Tottenham’s losing streak to Arsenal could have continued after Cristian Romero’s own goal and Bukayo Saka’s penalty twice put the hosts ahead in the north London derby, but Son Heung-min equalised twice – both from Maddison assists – to earn a share of the spoils. A lengthy trophy drought coupled with frequent collapses on the biggest of occasions contributed towards the ‘Spursy’ tag growing during the past few years, but the club’s new number 10 hit back following another strong showing by Ange Postecoglou’s team. “We’re not in there celebrating a point, I think there was a few little moments at the end especially in the dying minutes where we could have maybe won it from a set-piece,” Maddison told talkSPORT. “I think winning late last week and coming back twice (here), when you hear fans and neutrals talk about Tottenham they often say, ‘soft, weak, they’ll bottle it, Spursy’, all that rubbish. I think the last couple of weeks shows that we might be going in a slightly different direction. “We scored in the 98th and 101st minute against Sheffield United to win late on when it looked like it was going to be one of those days. “Here we go behind twice at arguably one of the best teams in the world, we pull it back and we’re still fighting right until the end. Hopefully we can continue that.” Maddison was crucial to Tottenham leaving the Emirates with a point after he set up both of Son’s goals to make it four assists in six league matches since his summer switch from Leicester. It could have been a different story had Gabriel Jesus made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute when he robbed the ball from Maddison on the edge of Spurs’ penalty area, but the Arsenal forward blazed over. Postecoglou continued to encourage his team to play out from the back and that bravery was rewarded with a fine display where Tottenham enjoyed 53 per cent possession, a marked improvement on the 35 per cent they had under Antonio Conte at the Emirates last season in a humbling 3-1 loss. I gave the ball away edge of the box, they nearly scored and it is so easy to sink and not carry on playing the way the manager wants us to play, but that's what bravery is. Tottenham playmaker James Maddison Maddison added: “I was really proud of how courageous the lads were and how brave we were. There were a couple of occasions in the first half, myself included, where we gave the ball away. “I gave the ball away edge of the box, they nearly scored and it is so easy to sink and not carry on playing the way the manager wants us to play, but that’s what bravery is. “It is having big b**** to take the ball under pressure. I gave it away but the manager makes me feel so good that I can get it again and if I give it away, it’s OK because that’s how he wants us to play. “He won’t be cheering if I keep giving it away on the edge of the box, but it was only once and once was enough to remind me to be a bit quicker because these derby games are a rapid pace. “After that I thought we passed the ball really well and had spells where we dominated.” Meanwhile, Maddison was happy to give back some stick post-match to England team-mate Saka, who mimicked Maddison’s own darts celebration for both of Arsenal’s goals, but was turned by the Spurs playmaker for Son’s first goal. Maddison, who was forced off with a slight knee injury, quipped to SpursPlay: “Me and Bukayo had a bit of banter and a bit of trash talking if you like on international duty. “I got told he did the dart celebration and he must have still been doing it when I turned him for the first goal.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Scotland must ‘do it the hard way’ to qualify from group but know what is needed Jonathan Humphreys only has Georgia on his mind after Wales’ impressive win Simon Easterby says Ireland ‘can get better’ than South Africa performance
2023-09-25 17:48
Sheffield Wednesday make history with incredible four-goal play-off comeback and shootout win
Sheffield Wednesday pulled off the biggest comeback in Football League play-off history as a stunning fightback booked their place in the League One final thanks to a 5-3 win on penalties after overturning a four-goal first-leg deficit to win 5-1 after extra time. Hillsborough needed early goals to set this tie alight and got two in the first 25 minutes courtesy of a Michael Smith penalty and Lee Gregory, although Peterborough had chances through Ephron Mason-Clarke and Kwame Poku to put the tie to bed but Cameron Dawson stood strong to deny them. Reece James pulled the hosts to within one of Peterborough’s aggregate lead with 20 minutes to go and Hillsborough’s roof came off when Liam Palmer made it four with the last kick of normal time. Peterborough nudged ahead once again in extra time after Gregory nodded into his own net and Wednesday extraordinarily pulled level through Calum Paterson, resulting in penalties - Wednesday’s sensational comeback was sealed when Jack Hunt converted after Dan Butler hit the crossbar with the only miss of the shootout. Wednesday’s wish of an early goal came true after Marvin Johnson was brought down by Joe Ward inside the area - Smith sent Will Norris the wrong way to cut the deficit to three just eight minutes in to breathe life into the encounter. Peterborough had a chance to restore their large advantage 10 minutes later when Poku found himself in space inside the area but rifled an effort straight at Dawson. Posh were catching Wednesday on the break as they went in search for an early second, and had another chance but Mason-Clarke’s effort from outside the area needed saving by Dawson again. The Owls halved Peterborough’s aggregate advantage 25 minutes in after Paterson found himself out wide with the ball again, his low cross was turned home by Gregory with goalkeeper Norris in no man’s land. Peterborough remained a threat on the counter-attack and almost got their much needed goal when Mason-Clarke latched onto a through ball by Jack Taylor but was denied by Dawson for the second time in the half to keep the score at 2-0. The hosts started the second half in similar fashion to the first and Norris made an outstanding save to palm away Gregory’s goalbound bicycle kick. Wave after wave of Wednesday attack was coming at the Posh defence, who were seemingly stumbling their way through the tie - this time - Josh Windass’ first-time strike was met by Norris to deny another goal. It seemed only a matter of time before Darren Moore’s side struck again, and they did just that when James found himself one-on-one with Norris and coolly slotted home to set up a nervy last 20 minutes. The hosts thought they had their fourth but Dominic Iorfa’s free header from inside the area flew straight into the grateful grasp of Norris. Peterborough looked to have booked their place at Wembley but Wednesday had other ideas as the clock went into the 98th minute, a long ball into the box was met by the head of Aden Flint and Palmer bundled home to send the game into extra time. The visitors edged ahead in this remarkable play-off meeting when Butler’s free-kick was nodded into his own net by Gregory under pressure from Nathan Thompson. Wednesday looked down and out again but roared back with another equaliser in the 112th minute when Paterson stabbed home and sent the game to a penalty shootout and Butler’s miss miss proved crucial as Hunt’s winning kick signalled a pitch invasion. Read More It’s too easy – Darren Moore hails attempts to ‘shut down’ online racist abusers ‘Struggling’ Tommy Spurr steeled for charity fundraiser in aid of his son David Moyes concerned for family after trouble mars West Ham victory David Moyes concerned for family after trouble mars West Ham victory Jose Mourinho into another European final as Roma set up Sevilla showdown Eddie Howe says Newcastle win ‘huge’ but warns still work to do in top-four hunt
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Brennan Johnson’s potential is ‘quite scary’ – Wales captain Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey has described Brennan Johnson’s potential as “scary” but admits he was unhappy to see his Wales team-mate join Tottenham on transfer deadline day. Ramsey spent 11 years in north London at Arsenal where he made 370 nearly appearances and twice scored FA Cup final-winning goals for the Gunners. The 32-year-old midfielder left Arsenal in 2019 and had spells at Juventus and Nice before rejoining his first club Cardiff this summer. But having linked up with Wales for their crunch Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia, Ramsey showed his Arsenal loyalties run deep when he said of forward Johnson’s £47.5million move from Nottingham Forest on Friday: “I wish it weren’t to Tottenham. “For him it’s a brilliant move. The potential he has is quite scary and hopefully he can take those next steps and go to the next level. “He’s going to be important for Wales as well. He’s going to be huge for us over the years to come and we’re all excited that he has another platform to go on and improve himself again.” Wales play South Korea in a Cardiff friendly on Thursday before the more serious part of their September double-header in Riga next Monday. Defeats to Armenia and Turkey in June have left Wales with a mountain to climb to automatically qualify for the Euro 2024 finals in Germany next summer, piling the pressure on manager Rob Page into the bargain. Wales have won only once during a 12-game run that saw them fail to win a game and score only once – a Gareth Bale penalty – at their first World Cup appearance for 64 years. That 1-0 victory came against Group D whipping boys Latvia in Cardiff in March. Skipper Ramsey said: “We are all behind the gaffer as what he has done has been quite remarkable coming into the job in the circumstances that he did. “We’ve got to a European Championship and a World Cup and now we have to go through a transitional period, which are always tricky at times. “We have lost some big players and it was always going to be difficult. But now we’ve got an opportunity to bounce back and we know what we have to do. “We’ve been in this position before. We had to take it to the Hungary game in the last European Championship and hopefully this will be a similar case.” Ramsey says he is feeling the benefits of family life after returning to hometown club Cardiff. He said: “I just feel like there has been a weight lifted off my shoulders, I am feeling a lot more free and I think that definitely helps going onto the pitch. “It has been difficult being away from the family over the last 18 months, you need that balance right to be able to enjoy every aspect.” Asked about the impending school run he will be undertaking, Ramsey said: “I’m looking forward to that, having three boys screaming in the car in the morning. “I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in to being a family again.” Tom Lockyer has withdrawn from the Wales squad with a thigh injury. Luton defender Lockyer had been named in the squad for the first time since collapsing in May’s Sky Bet Championship final and undergoing surgery to address an irregular heartbeat. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Andy Robertson expects Mohamed Salah to stay at Liverpool despite Saudi interest Police launch investigation following alleged assault on Roy Keane Marcus Trescothick backs struggling England pair to get back among the runs
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