Tottenham Hotspur’s inconsistent season continue on Sunday when they dropped points to London rivals Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw with Fulham skipper Tom Cairney cancelling out Brennan Johnson’s 54th-minute opener for the hosts. Cairney was then sent off for a reckless challenge on substitute Dejan Kulusevski after a VAR review.
While seven minutes plus stoppage time were remaining when the red card was shown, Ange Postecoglou’s side never looked like scoring the winner and it seems like two crucial points dropped at home.
Things could have been worse for Tottenham if not for goalkeeper Fraser Forster. The 36-year-old has been acting as a deputy for the injured No.1 Guglielmo Vicario since the AS Roma game in the Europa League last week. He has been brilliant thus far, helping Spurs to avoid defeat against AS Roma in the Europa League and now against Fulham in the Premier League.
Fraser Forster made five saves on Sunday, including one astounding stop in the first half to deny striker Raul Jimenez. The ex-England international commanded his box very well, and although he wasn’t exactly assured with the ball at his feet, he did well to help the hosts build from the back. However, the veteran shot-stopper had no chance whatsoever for Cairney’s rocket from just outside the box.
When asked about Forster’s performance against the Cottagers, Ange Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference (h/t Football London):
“Yeah, he was good. We needed him obviously in some big moments today, and I think when you lose your goalkeeper and somebody as significant as Vic for us, I think the key to that is to have somebody experienced who’s not going to be sort of overawed by filling those shoes.
“Fraser, certainly, he’s done it for a number of years. We see him every day. What you saw out there, we see every day in training and he still has a really strong work ethic and we had a couple of big moments today which were important for us and again, he will be important moving forward.”
It was Forster’s first Premier League game in 18 months and he proved himself again yet again. The ex-Southampton man has been excellent in the two games he’s played since Vicario underwent ankle surgery.
A lot of eyebrows were raised when Big Ange said no goalkeeper will be signed in January to replace Vicario, who is expected to be sidelined for months. And if Forster can continue performing at such a level, he will certainly help the Lilywhites to avoid dipping into the January transfer window for a new glovesman.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
