Second half comeback salvages draw for Spurs at Brentford

Tottenham Hotspur came back from two goals down in the second half to earn a deserved point away at Brentford as the Premier League resumed on Boxing Day.

Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney had given the home side a deserved 2-0 lead, but Antonio Conte’s men displayed their resiliency once again to claw their way back into the game.

Kane bounces back with goal

Harry Kane put his World Cup disappointment behind to score a brilliant header in the 65^th minute before Pierre Emile Hojbjerg’s neat strike six minutes later secured the comeback.

Tottenham could have gone on to win the game had Kane not hit the post late on while Brentford goalkeeper did brilliantly to deny Heung Min Son as the home side held on for a draw.

A fine counterattack in the 15^th saw Christian Norgaard’s volley smartly saved by Tottenham keeper Fraser Forster, but it was Janelt who put the rebound into an empty net to give Brentford an early lead.

Toney has goal disallowed

The hosts were by the better team and Ivan Toney had a goal disallowed after being offside by VAR in the 43^rd minute. Spurs looked sluggish with majority of their player struggling to get a foothold on the game.

The Bees were lucky to escape a penalty call in the 52^nd minute when Ben Mee appeared to have rounded Kane but the referee waved play on.

Two minutes later, Toney doubled the lead from three yards after Bryan Mbeumo’s in swinging corner was headed across goal by Norgaard.

It didn’t look like Spurs’ afternoon, but Kane’s emphatic header 13 minutes later reduced the deficit for the away side.

Clement Lenglet’s curling cross from the left saw Kane rise highest to direct the ball towards goal giving Spurs a lifeline back into the game.

Six minutes later, Dejan Kulusevski slid in a cutback that bounced off Mee into the path of Hojberg, who took a touch and slotted home to restore parity.

Harry Kane might have thought he had completed Spurs’ comeback in the 84^th minute but his header flicked off the post. Toney too had a late chance a minute later but he blasted his volley over the bar from 6 yards as the match ended 2-2.

A draw seemed a fair result, but Brentford manager Thomas Frank felt his side had done enough to grab three points, “Until the Kane goal I think there was only one team on the pitch.

They threatened when it was 2-2, but over the 90 minutes I think we deserved the win. It’s a very good performance and we’re disappointed [not to win].”

Photo credit: IMAGO / Sportimage