Another happy day for Ange Postecoglou, though one achieved the hard way. When Yves Bissouma was dismissed after a second bookable offence on the stroke of half-time for a clear dive, an action that would fail to confuse even the most befuddled Stockley Park VAR team member, there was adversity for the new Tottenham to face down.
But the inspiration of James Maddison in setting up Micky van de Ven’s goal was enough for victory over a Luton team who chased hard throughout, only for their lack of cutting edge to betray their efforts.
The three points Tottenham escaped with might have come far easier. Unbowed by a raucous home support from Kenilworth Road, Tottenham began with purpose if not precision, Richarlison guilty of misreading a Dejan Kulusevski cross. The Brazilian’s overall play has improved but his finishing remains questionable. His second effort was better but the Luton keeper Thomas Kaminski still made a comfortable save. With Pedro Porro also firing wide, the visitors might well have been out of sight by seven minutes in.
Postecoglou plumped for the same team that secured an infamous victory over Liverpool, while Luton’s damaging six-pointer defeat to Burnley forced Rob Edwards into three changes. The slim hopes of his team’s survival rely on not presenting opponents with opportunities and, eqully, making the most of their own half-chances. There were groans, therefore, when Carlton Morris, having found space, could not find Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu.
Next, Tom Lockyer, Luton’s captain, had to commit a foul on a speeding Maddison to make up for being loose in possession, earning him a yellow card. A couple of Chiedozie Ogbene’s bursts down the left past Porro further raised home spirits. As the first half drew to a close their team was growing into the contest. What had looked like a Tottenham stroll was becoming rather more difficult.
There were still Spurs chances on offer, Pape Sarr’s burst allowing Kulusevski to force a save from Kaminski. Maddison was meanwhile coming in for heavy treatment from both Luton players and fans but looked more than happy to play the dual role of pariah and main man.
Bissouma picking up his fifth booking of the season (and a suspension) for a foul on Ogbene was unhelpful to Tottenham, but officialdom was on their side when Lockyer bundled home after a goalmouth scramble. VAR was called upon but ruled – correctly – that Elijah Adebayo had clattered into Cristian Romero. To add injury to what home fans considered insult, Lockyer was smashed in the face by the flailing Destiny Udogie.
Yves Bissouma is shown his second yellow card against Luton, leaving Tottenham a player down at Kenilworth Road. Photograph: Shaun Brooks/Action Plus/Shutterstock
Then came Bissouma’s rush of blood and long walk to the dressing room. Half-time gave Postecoglou time to regroup. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg replaced Richarlison but Tottenham did not look especially secure. Slack defending allowed Ogbene to set up Adebayo for an early chance that looked unmissable and yet he squirted it behind to silence the home fans.
Similar quiet descended when Maddison weaved through Luton’s defenders down the touchline – wizardry in the fashion of a Gascoigne, a Ginola, a Hoddle – to lay up Van der Ven, who fired home. As Luton waited for the restart, Tottenham’s latest maverick idled to the halfway line, a smirk on his face; Spurs players are now free to savour the good times in a fashion made impossible during the histrionics of Antonio Conte’s regime.
Not that they weren’t made to suffer. Luton threw a Bedfordshire kitchen sink at the task in hand. The dangerous, zippy Alfie Doughty scuffed into the ground he appeared to want to swallow him up, before the Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario made a close-range save from Morris. Jacob Brown headed wide, then Cauley Woodrow shot straight at Vicario. Ogbene’s speed was deployed down the left and Højbjerg was booked for hacking him down.
Postecoglou, ever the gambler, removed Maddison and Son Heung-min with 15 minutes to play, introducing Oliver Skipp and Emerson Royal in an attempt to lock things down. This time it paid dividends, Tottenham regaining their assurance as Luton sagged to an exhausted standstill.
