Wales will benefit from the experience of Friday's Nations League draw with Iceland despite squandering a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2, believes boss Craig Bellamy.

Bellamy's reign began with a positive return of four points from Nations League matches against Turkiye and Montenegro, but they suffered their first major setback under him on Friday.

Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson scored to give Wales a 2-0 half-time lead at Laugardalsvollur, only for Logi Tomasson's strike and Danny Ward's own goal to earn Iceland a point.

Despite Iceland registering the most shots they have ever recorded in a Nations League match (20), Bellamy was not too disheartened by the result.

"It was good, I enjoyed it. It was what I expected to be honest, I said going out second half that this would be tough," Bellamy told S4C.

"We'll benefit so much from that 45 minutes, it's so good for us. In the long run this will be beneficial. 

"Obviously to be 2-0 up and draw is disappointing, but it was a pleasing performance. It was about me learning about the players and them learning from us.

"It's never good to concede, I don't like it, we'll look at it again. I felt momentum played a big part. It's about us understanding when to take the sting out the game, which will come.

"Overall, I'm pleased with the performance, we've had two yellows which will mean a change on Monday, but it's predictable due to different styles of refereeing. It is what it is."

Despite a frustrating second half, Bellamy is the first manager in Wales' history to go unbeaten through his first three competitive games at the helm, with one win and two draws.

Brennan Johnson's red-hot form in front of goal continued as he helped Tottenham to a 2-1 win over Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday.

Pape Sarr had given the visitors the lead in the first half before Johnson got the second with four minutes remaining prior to Barnabus Varga giving the hosts a late consolation.

A young Spurs side started slowly and were given a wake-up call 12 minutes in as Varga's header across goal nestled into the far bottom corner, but his goal was ruled out due to a tight offside.

Sarr put Spurs ahead just 11 minutes later, getting a little bit of fortune as the ball ricocheted through the box before he slotted past Denes Dibusz.

Pedro Porro then cut inside to drive a low shot against the foot of the right post before the break, while Matheus Saldanha forced Guglielmo Vicario into a fingertip save shortly after half-time.

Johnson came off the bench and hit the bar before keeping his composure to double Spurs' lead, sending his strike in off the inside of the post.

Varga did get his name on the scoresheet in stoppage time, stretching out a leg to lift Cristian Ramirez's whipped cross over Vicario.

Data Debrief: Johnson proves the difference

He may not have started the game, but it is Johnson's involvement that sealed all three points for Spurs, and a second consecutive Europa League win.

The forward has scored in each of his last five appearances for the club in all competitions, matching his goal tally for the entirety of last season (five goals).

Ange Postecoglou was not afraid to ring in the changes, and Tottenham became the first English side to start four-plus teenagers in a single match in a major European competition since Manchester United versus Astana in the Europa League in November 2019 (six).

Ange Postecoglou was impressed by his side's resilience after they responded to an early red card by beating Qarabag 3-0 in their Europa League opener.

Spurs were dealt a blow as kick-off was delayed by 35 minutes due to travel disruptions in North London, and once the game started, Radu Dragusin was given his marching orders just seven minutes in for a last-ditch tackle, receiving Spurs' earliest-ever European red card.

However, goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr and Dominic Solanke turned the tide, even as Qarabag missed a penalty and had a late goal disallowed.

Postecoglou was underwhelmed by Spurs' slow start to the game but could not fault their performance after going down to 10 men.

"[The red card was] not ideal," Postecoglou told TNT Sports. "I wasn't happy as I felt we started really sloppy. We talked about starting with a high tempo, and it was almost like the delay got to us.

"We were passive in our passing and when that happens, someone switches off.

"The reaction after that was good, but I'm not happy with the start.

"Brennan's [goal] was great. With 10 men, we still pressed, which is what we wanted to do.

"[Johnson] has some confidence in him, which is great - we need him! We knew if we win [the ball], Brennan and Sonny [Son] would have the space."

Solanke scored for the second consecutive game for Spurs and was one of the key players as he had two shots, both of which were on target, accumulated 0.99 expected goals and had four touches in the opposition box, more than anyone else on the team.

Postecoglou was particularly pleased with how he led the line, especially as he continues to recover from an early-season injury.

"He has been great for us, Dom. He went through that long drought of two games without a goal!" Postecoglou added.

"He has been fantastic for us, not just goals, but his link-up plays. He is a typical striker.

"He is still working his way back to full fitness."

Solanke himself, though, was just pleased to kick off their European campaign and secure a third-straight win in all competitions.

"Very happy to get the win, the boys fought hard," he told TNT Sports.

"Going down to 10 men it could have been a difficult game, but we all stuck to the game plan, and it shows the spirit of the team."

Ten-man Tottenham recovered from an early setback to start their Europa League campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Qarabag.

Despite Radu Dragusin's early red card, goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr and Dominic Solanke helped Ange Postecoglou's side to a third straight win in all competitions.

Just seven minutes had elapsed when the hosts were reduced to 10 men as last-man Dragusin dragged down Juninho after he was caught in possession.

However, Spurs responded brilliantly to take the lead just five minutes later, with Solanke stealing possession and feeding Johnson, who applied a neat first-time finish.

The hosts survived a scare before the break when Juninho steered wide from Elvin Cafarquliyev's cross but doubled their advantage seven minutes after the restart when Mateusz Kochalski helped a corner into the path of Sarr, who instinctively volleyed home.

Qarabag squandered a great opportunity to halve the deficit just before the hour mark when Toral Bayramov's penalty hit the crossbar after Yves Bissouma tripped Cafarquliyev.

Tottenham capitalised in the 68th minute as Kochalski parried Son's shot into Solanke's path and he put the game beyond the visitors, who were denied a consolation later on when Juninho's header was disallowed for offside.

Data Debrief: Spurs soar despite Dragusin's historic early bath

It had the potential to be a difficult night for Tottenham when Dragusin was shown a straight red card - Spurs' earliest in a major European match.

The defender also became the first Tottenham player to be sent off on his European debut.

Spurs recovered to take control of the contest, though they survived a scare when Bayramov hit the bar with Qarabag's first missed penalty in the Europa League after six consecutive successful kicks.

Julen Lopetegui believes West Ham have deserved more than just four points from their opening five Premier League games but called on his players to be more clinical in front of goal.

The Hammers exited the EFL Cup in midweek against Liverpool despite taking the lead, with a second-half collapse seeing them end up on the wrong end of a 5-1 defeat at Anfield.

Lopetegui has endured a frustrating start to his West Ham tenure thus far but is hoping that a victory against Brentford this weekend will kick his side into gear.

"I am sure that these players will overcome but it is true that we need one win, and we want to win the next match,” Lopetegui said.

"Brentford are a strong team and we have to head into the match with big energy and commitment. In the Premier League, each match is very difficult for every team.

"We have had good moments, but we need to be more consistent to make sure we win matches.

"In the matches we have lost we have deserved more, but I repeat, we have lost them, and we don’t find excuses, and we have to improve."

Another head coach hoping to see his side rediscover their goal-scoring touch is Brentford’s Thomas Frank after seeing his team lose to Tottenham last time out.

Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring with just 23 seconds on the clock for the visitors, only for Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison to respond to relieve the pressure on Ange Postecoglou.

While the Bees head coach acknowledged the gulf between both sides, he said that his problems have not been made easier with the absence of some of his key players.

"I'm very pleased with the performance, I think we did a lot of good things,” Frank said.

"We need to take those chances if we want to get something here, playing against a very good team who have performed well over the first five games.

"We are playing against a team whose end stand is bigger than our stadium in terms of capacity. That shows the difference. No complaints.

"It's my job to put a competitive team out there but it doesn't help when we have five potential starters out."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo

Mbeumo has been involved in 13 goals in his last 14 London derby appearances in the Premier League (10 goals and three assists).

He’s also scored four of Brentford’s seven league goals so far this season.

West Ham – Jarrod Bowen

Bowen has scored more league goals against Brentford than he has against any other side in his career (seven), also netting a hat-trick against the Bees in a 4-2 Premier League win last season.

MATCH PREDICTION: BRENTFORD WIN

Brentford have won four of their last five home league games against West Ham (D1), winning all three against them in the Premier League.

The Bees have also scored at least twice in all six of their Premier League meetings with the Hammers, the joint-most one side has faced another while scoring multiple goals each time in the competition’s history (Arsenal also six vs Reading).

Frank’s side have opened the scoring in the opening 23 seconds in both of their last league games (22 seconds v Man City and 23 seconds v Tottenham) but have gone on to lose both times. Indeed, since the start of last season, the Bees have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side (36).

But having lost their first five Premier League games against Brentford, West Ham won their last league meeting with the Bees 4-2 in February.

However, the Hammers have conceded more goals in 2024 than any other current Premier League side (53), with the Hammers shipping 3+ goals in eight different games so far this calendar year.

West Ham, though, will be hoping to continue their solid run away from the London Stadium. Despite losing three of their five home games this season, they have found success on their travels, going unbeaten so far (W1 D1).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Brentford – 43.4%

Draw – 25.1%

West Ham – 31.5%

Tottenham produced an inspired late turnaround to scrape through to the EFL Cup's fourth round with a narrow 2-1 victory over a spirited Coventry City.

The Championship side took a deserved lead at the Coventry Building Society Arena through Brandon Thomas-Asante, but Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson struck late on to snatch victory from under their noses.

Coventry carried the greater threat during the first half, in which Tottenham failed to register a single shot on goal. Jack Rudoni saw a goalbound shot blocked by Destiny Udogie, while Norman Bassette fired narrowly over from a tight angle soon after.

Spurs then had Ben Davies to thank on the hour mark, when the skipper's sliding intervention prevented Haji Wright slotting into an empty net following a mix-up between Fraser Forster and Radu Dragusin.

However, the hosts broke through just three minutes later when Thomas-Asante turned in Bassette's cross from close range.

There was to be a late twist, though. With two minutes remaining, Spence rounded off a fine team move and, with penalties looming, Johnson raced onto Rodrigo Bentancur's throughball to complete the turnaround in the second minute of stoppage time.

Data Debrief: Spurs survive scare to maintain Cov dominance

Coventry were looking to reach the EFL Cup's fourth round for the first time in 16 years, and were just two minutes away from doing so after an impressive performance against their top-flight opponents.

However, Tottenham's timely late rally dug the Premier League side out of a hole, and sealed their fifth win in as many meetings between the teams.

Spurs have now progressed from 17 of their last 18 EFL Cup ties against sides from outside the Premier League.

Archie Gray is willing to play wherever Ange Postecoglou wants him to, after he featured at centre-back on his Tottenham debut.

Gray signed for Spurs at the start of July in a deal reportedly worth up to £40million.

The 18-year-old impressed in Leeds United's Championship campaign last season.

However, he had to settle for an unfamiliar role in defence, alongside another midfielder - Oliver Skipp - when Spurs played Hearts in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday.

Not that it negatively impacted the result, with Spurs cruising to a 5-1 victory; goals from Brennan Johnson, Will Lankshear, Mikey Moore and Djed Spence were added to by Lewis Neilson's own goal.

"Definitely [a good start], it was great to get a good feel of playing the ball and getting minutes in the legs," Gray said in a post-match interview with Spurs' social media channels.

"I wasn't expecting to play centre-back but I'm just grateful to come in and get the opportunity to play.

"I don't really care where I play, I'm 18 and need to learn the game. Anywhere he puts me, I'm happy to learn and have great team-mates around me to teach me."

"Just getting used to the simple things that my team-mates like on and off the pitch, trying to get to know them – today really helped," Gray continued.

"They're all brilliant, they've all helped me so much, especially Pedro today, he was really helpful. Everyone in training, too. Every single day, everyone's trying to help.

"I feel lucky to be watching the front players we've got – so many good players. I wouldn't say I'm lucky to play in this team, I've worked hard, but I'm excited for the next few games."

Gray's performance earned plaudits from his new manager.

Postecoglou said: "Archie did well. He and Skippy weren't expecting to be starting in the back four.

"It's about guys like Archie getting accustomed to how we play, how we train – he's an intelligent kid. I knew he'd cope okay.

"I thought he was really good, he did the things we know he can do well. He's adapting to the intensity and tempo."

Nottingham Forest have been unsuccessful in their appeal against a four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.

In March, Forest were deducted four points after admitting to breaching the league's financial rules by overspending by £34.5million over a three-year assessment period ending last season.

Everton have also lost eight points to two separate deductions, having been found to have breached the rules in the period culminating in 2022-23 and the period ending last campaign.

Forest's penalty dropped them into the thick of the relegation battle, with the club saying they were "extremely dismayed by the tone and content" of the Premier League's submissions to an independent commission and pledging to appeal.

Forest argued their lack of recent Premier League history placed them at a disadvantage to other clubs and said the sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham, which went through last September after the end of the assessment period, was within the "spirit" of sustainability.

The club's appeal against their penalty was heard on April 24, but an appeal board decided to uphold the punishment, which was itself more lenient than that requested by the Premier League.

In a statement released on Monday, the Premier League said: "The PSR sanction applied to the assessment period ending in season 2022-23 and was appealed by the club on two grounds. 

"The club argued that the independent commission committed an error in not treating its sale of a high-profile player shortly after the assessment period as a mitigating factor, and that it committed a further error in electing not to suspend some or all of the points deduction it imposed. 

"Each of these grounds was rejected by the appeal board, which found the independent commission was entitled to immediately impose the sanction it did. The four-point deduction will therefore remain in place."

It means Forest stay 17th in the table with 29 points, having pulled three clear of 18th-placed Luton Town by beating already-relegated Sheffield United 3-1 on Saturday.

Nuno Espirito Santo's team face Chelsea and Burnley in their final two games of 2023-24, with Luton likely to need at least four points from meetings with West Ham and Fulham to overhaul them.

Burnley, down in 19th, need to win their last two matches – against Tottenham and Forest – to have any chance of avoiding the drop.   

Alexander Isak smashed his way through the 20-goal barrier as Newcastle boosted their European hopes by denting those of Tottenham.

The Magpies’ £63million record signing produced two sumptuous finishes either side of Anthony Gordon’s strike to take his tally for the campaign to 21 before Fabian Schar’s thunderous late header secured a 4-0 win at St James’ Park.

It was their third victory in four Premier League outings and ended fourth-placed Spurs’ three-match unbeaten run, and while it might not have been as spectacular as last season’s 6-1 rout in the corresponding fixture, it was equally emphatic.

Head coach Eddie Howe once again set up his team to suck in the visitors and then hit them on the break, and the plan worked to perfection on an day defender Micky van de Ven in particular will want to forget quickly.

With both sets of players wearing black armbands in memory of former Newcastle boss and Tottenham defender Joe Kinnear, who died last weekend, Gordon caused early problems and Elliot Anderson had a third-minute header blocked at source as Spurs found themselves under pressure.

However, they soon settled and turned the Magpies with seven minutes gone when Rodrigo Bentancur put Brennan Johnson in behind Dan Burn, although Timo Werner was unable to adjust quickly enough to volley his cross towards goal.

The visitors looked menacing and Magpies keeper Martin Dubravka was relieved to see Werner shoot straight at team-mate Son Heung-min after the South Korea international had picked out the striker with a fine pass before continuing his run.

Dubravka enjoyed another escape with 18 minutes gone when Werner side-footed wastefully across goal from James Maddison’s inviting cut-back.

But it was the hosts who took the lead on the half-hour later when Gordon robbed Destiny Udogie and slid the ball into Isak, who sat Van de Ven down before firing firmly past keeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Newcastle’s joy was doubled within two minutes when full-back Pedro Porro tried to play Burn’s header back to Vicario and Gordon intercepted before rounding the hapless Van de Ven as he went to ground once again and beating the keeper.

Van de Ven did intervene to prevent Isak from converting Anderson’s 35th-minute through-ball and then again as he went for goal two minutes later, and Vicario managed to pluck the ball off the Sweden international’s toe as he controlled Harvey Barnes’ fine cross with the Londoners in tatters at the back.

Maddison forced Dubravka into a 42nd-minute save from distance at the end of a sustained period of pressure, but Isak glanced a Gordon corner wide with Howe’s men refusing to sit on their laurels.

Werner tested Dubravka significantly further within six minutes of the restart, but Newcastle increased their lead seconds later when Isak ran away from Van de Ven to collect Bruno Guimaraes’ inch-perfect ball over the top and drill a shot past Vicario.

Vicario parried an Anderson shot at his near post and Maddison blazed high over at the other end with the Magpies managing their lead in relative comfort despite seeing little of the ball, and they finished with a flourish when Schar powered Gordon’s 87th-minute corner home to make it 4-0.

Ange Postecoglou feels there is more to come from in-form Tottenham attacker Brennan Johnson.

Wales international Johnson scored in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham to make it five goal involvements in his last five Premier League matches.

After a slow start to life at Spurs following his £47.5million move from Nottingham Forest in September, the 22-year-old is beginning to hit top form now and faces his old club on Sunday.

Postecoglou has been impressed with how Johnson has handled his big-money move, especially in the wake of Harry Kane’s departure weeks before his arrival and amid recent discourse over the part his transfer played in Forest’s points deduction for breaching league profit and sustainability rules.

“We had a minimum of 30 goals walk out the building,” Postecoglou said.

“People are going to be looking at how we’re going to replace that and it can weigh heavily on a young guy’s shoulders.

“Not that we can expect Brennan to replace Harry, but we needed goals and assists and I like the way he’s handled it.

“We’ve tried to tread carefully with him because I can see the potential in him. I can see how much he can improve and the attributes he has, I’ve got no doubt will fit really well with this team, but I’m not going to put a ceiling on it because that would be unfair on him.

“We like the way he’s progressing but we certainly believe there is more to come, for sure.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Premier League (@premierleague)

 

“I think now he’s found a bit of confidence, consistency and understanding of how we play, he’s getting the rewards, which is great.

“But he’s still a young guy and we bought him with very much an eye that whatever he does this year, there’s definitely a lot more in him.

“And when you see improvement that encourages us even more because it makes you think that if we invest the time in him even more, he’s going to be a super player for us.”

Johnson’s midweek effort was not enough to fire Tottenham to victory at West Ham, with the hosts able to claim a point after Kurt Zouma scored from a corner.

Spurs have conceded 10 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, but Postecoglou rejected suggestions it has become an Achilles’ heel for his team.

He added: “I think we’ve been pretty good at set-pieces.

“Every goal you concede is down to something. It was a decent delivery the other night, they’ve got some big guys and the rest of the set-pieces I thought we handled quite well.

“We gave away too many corners. That was an issue for us. When you do it against a team like West Ham, who are such a big team physically. They’ve got such great deliveries with (Jarrod) Bowen and (James) Ward-Prowse — you’re asking for trouble.

“I thought that was part of the game we could have handled a bit better, not to give away so many, but I think those kind of things people just kind of look at in snapshots.

“Our winning goal against Luton came from a defensive corner. With all these things, I tend to take a longer-term view on them and for the most part I think we’ve been pretty decent.”

Spurs will be without Richarlison (knee) for this weekend’s visit of Forest.

Ange Postecoglou felt Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at West Ham was a step in the right direction despite dropping more points in the top-four race.

Brennan Johnson’s early strike was cancelled out by a goal from Kurt Zouma as a frantic London derby ended all square.

“I thought for the most part we controlled the game pretty well,” said the Spurs boss.

“They are a big strong team. They sit deep and make it difficult for you. You have to be fairly calm in your approach but also really disciplined because they are a threat from the counter-attack.

“We conceded from a set-piece but the rest of the set-pieces we coped with really well. In the front third we lacked a bit of clarity of thought.

“But they are human beings, it is just football. I would love to have a joystick and put them where I want them, but it doesn’t work like that.

“Sometimes we have more time than we think. There were times when the ball was flashed across the box when we should have been in those areas.

“It is all part of the development. That is why we have coaches, why we develop a system. We are not the finished article and we know that.

“There was enough there tonight for me to say that it is a team still heading in the right direction.”

West Ham should have gone ahead inside four minutes when Mohammed Kudus rolled the ball across goal, but Jarrod Bowen put a simple chance wide.

Just over a minute later they were behind when Tottenham put a carbon copy chance away, Timo Werner crossing for Johnson to sweep home.

The Hammers equalised in bizarre fashion in the 19th minute when Bowen swung in a corner.

With Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario rooted to his line, the unmarked Zouma went up for a header and glanced the ball into the net off his back.

Michail Antonio spurned a glorious chance to put West Ham ahead after half-time when he held off Micky van de Ven to go one on one with Vicario, only to fluff his finish.

Destiny Udogie could have won it for Spurs in stoppage time but drilled his shot straight at Lukasz Fabianski.

“It was probably fair in the end, we did a lot of good things and showed much more resilience in defence tonight,” said Hammers boss David Moyes.

“We looked a threat and had to do a good job to stop a very good Tottenham team.”

Moyes, whose side won 2-1 at Tottenham in December, added: “Overall, if you’re giving me four points off Spurs before the season started, I’d have shaken your hand, walked away and said ‘thanks very much’.”

Tottenham lost more ground in the battle for a top-four finish after they were held to a 1-1 draw at West Ham.

Ange Postecoglou’s side could have leapfrogged fourth-placed Aston Villa with a win and made the perfect start when Brennan Johnson tapped home early on for his fifth goal of the season.

West Ham, who let a 3-1 lead slip to lose 4-3 at Newcastle last weekend, were able to respond in the 19th minute when Kurt Zouma scored from Jarrod Bowen’s corner and they could have claimed all three points.

While Spurs dominated possession throughout in east London, David Moyes watched Michail Antonio race through on the hour mark but fire straight at Guglielmo Vicario as the capital rivals could not be separated.

A light show followed by a firework display greeted the players onto a soaked London Stadium pitch and Moyes should have seen his team start with a bang.

Only four minutes were on the clock when Mohammed Kudus crossed in for Bowen, but the Hammers’ leading marksman fluffed his lines from a matter of yards.

It would prove costly as Spurs went ahead with their first attack of the match. A neat move ended with Timo Werner bursting past Vladimir Coufal before he squared for the recalled Johnson to tap home in the fifth minute.

It continued Johnson’s purple patch, after his brace of assists against Luton, but also ended a run of six first halves without a goal for Tottenham.

The visitors went close again when a Pedro Porro effort whistled past the post before Son Heung-min curled straight at Lukasz Fabianski, in for the injured Alphonse Areola.

West Ham remained a threat at set-pieces though, after Kudus had an early shot deflected over, and levelled after 19 minutes.

Bowen’s inswinging corner was diverted beyond Vicario by the back of home captain Zouma, who was inexplicably unmarked in the six-yard area.

It got the West Ham fans up on their feet and they almost had another goal to celebrate eight minutes before half-time, but James Ward-Prowse’s 25-yard free-kick was parried away by Vicario.

Spurs had responded well to the hosts’ equaliser. However, they had to survive a set-piece barrage to ensure they came in level at the break.

A sloppy pass by Rodrigo Bentancur gifted West Ham a chance at the start of the second half, but Vicario saved Antonio’s shot before the Italian made an even better stop to keep out Konstantinos Mavropanos’ header.

Antonio’s blushes were spared after he air-kicked the loose ball when the offside flag was raised.

Lucas Paqueta was next to go close for the home side when he spun away from Bentancur and curled wide from 20 yards.

Tottenham did regroup but should have gone 2-1 down on the hour mark.

Maddison wanted a free-kick after he tangled with Paqueta. Referee John Brooks waved play on and Ward-Prowse played through to Antonio, who benefited from a slip by Micky van de Ven but fired straight at Vicario.

It was a gilt-edged chance and Postecoglou reacted by bringing on Pape Sarr and Dejan Kulusevski, which gave the visitors a second wind.

Werner had an effort deflected over before both teams threatened to produce stoppage-time breakaway goals, but Destiny Udogie fired straight at Fabianski and Bowen lobbed off target as the points were shared.

Son Heung-min’s 86th-minute winner helped Tottenham get their Champions League qualification hopes back on track with a 2-1 home victory over Luton.

Luton made the perfect start in north London when Tahith Chong rifled them ahead after three minutes and Rob Edwards’ side threatened to come away with a rare win when Spurs went another first half without a goal.

While Tottenham have now failed to score during the first 45 of seven home games in a row, Ange Postecoglou’s team produced another second-half rally thanks to substitute Brennan Johnson.

Johnson set up Issa Kabore’s 51st-minute own goal and teed up Son four minutes from time to help the hosts bounce back from their Fulham humbling two weeks ago with a much-needed victory.

Luton arrived in the capital buoyed by the fact they moved out of the relegation zone during the international break following Nottingham Forest’s points deduction and they started with a bang.

Only three minutes were on the clock when the visitors broke at pace down the right and after Andros Townsend burst past Yves Bissouma too easily he recycled the ball to Ross Barkley, who teed up Chong for the opener.

Chong’s low finish in off the post was his fifth goal of the season and represented more frustration for Spurs but they should have levelled after 15 minutes.

Dejan Kulusevski’s excellent crossfield pass released Timo Werner, who turned Kabore inside out before he scuffed wide with only Thomas Kaminski to beat.

Five minutes later and Tottenham went close again with captain Son remarkably hitting both posts.

Kulusevski played in Son, who rounded Kaminski but saw his shot hit both uprights after it rolled across the goalline before Pape Sarr’s follow-up strike was cleared off the line by Teden Mengi.

The Hatters were able to impressively regroup and finished the half strongly with Alfie Doughty’s goalbound volley blocked by Pedro Porro.

Boos greeted the half-time whistle and Postecoglou reacted with Johnson introduced for Kulusevski, which had the desired impact.

Not long after Guglielmo Vicario had denied Ross Barkley’s long-range effort, Spurs attacked down the right and Johnson followed up a one-two with Porro with a superb delivery to the back post that Kabore fired into his own net.

Tottenham were in the mood now with Son denied by Kaminski before the Luton goalkeeper clawed away Porro’s deflected cross.

Edwards’ side remained a threat from set-pieces and Vicario had to be alert to thwart a low effort by substitute Jordan Clark before the hosts made a double change with Rodrigo Bentancur and Giovani Lo Celso introduced.

It nearly paid dividends immediately with Werner able to find Lo Celso, who picked out Johnson but his close-range effort was blocked by Kaminski and Doughty cleared with the ball a matter of millimetres away from crossing the goalline.

Spurs would not be denied though and Son grabbed the winner with four minutes left.

A slick counter-attack from Luton’s corner saw Werner race down the left and his cross found Johnson, who teed up Son to score via a deflection for his 15th goal of the season.

Daniel James was delighted to celebrate the birth of his new baby by scoring on his 50th Wales appearance in the Euro play-off win over Finland.

Wales’ 4-1 victory set up a home play-off final against Poland on Tuesday, with a Euro 2024 place at stake in Germany this summer.

James’ second-half appearance from the bench came after a busy few days for the Leeds winger following the birth of his second child with partner Ria.

The 26-year-old had arrived late into the Wales camp on Monday before adding to the best scoring season of his career with a 13th goal for club and country.

“It was my newborn’s first game here and I’m delighted to have my 50th cap,” James said after acknowledging his new arrival with a thumb-sucking goal celebration in front of a capacity Cardiff City Stadium crowd.

“It’s an honour for me and my family so hopefully there’s many more.

“To score four here shows we’ve got goals all over the pitch.

“Everyone’s come into camp whether playing or not fit and ready. We really gelled as a team and we’ve got to take that into Tuesday.”

Poland will certainly represent a far tougher test in Cardiff than outgunned Finland did on Thursday.

They had an indifferent Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, losing three of their eight group games to finish behind Albania and the Czech Republic, but there is plenty of top-level European experience in Michal Probierz’s squad.

Robert Lewandowski remains their star turn at the age of 35 and has scored an incredible 82 international goals, although the Barcelona striker was not on the scoresheet in Thursday’s 5-1 semi-final rout of Estonia in Warsaw.

Poland have beaten Wales in their last six meetings, including a 2022 Nations League double-header when they won 2-1 in Wroclaw and 1-0 in Cardiff.

“We’ve played them before and they’re a very good team,” James told S4C.

“It’s going to be a tough game. We’ve got a couple days now to settle from this one and then we’ll be straight on it.

“To win 4-1 here is great, but the manager (Rob Page) said after the game that it’s only half-time.

“We’ve got a massive game on Tuesday now and we’re looking forward to it.”

Page is currently blessed with attacking options and had James, Kieffer Moore and Nathan Broadhead in reserve after choosing Brennan Johnson, David Brooks and Harry Wilson to fill his forward line.

Brooks and Johnson repaid Page’s faith by scoring, while Wilson was also sharp and went close on a couple of occasions.

“The biggest selection headache I had was at the top of the pitch, as was well documented,” said Page.

“It was a hard decision to make, but I knew having looked at the analysis that pace would hurt them.

“We’ve got Nathan, who’s playing really well at the top of the Championship scoring goals.

“Brooksy’s outstanding. Harry Wilson in the Premier League. Kieffer, Brennan, DJ. We’ve got competition for places.

“We’ve got a young and fitter squad now and we’ve got players playing regularly.

“So now it’s about getting a recovery session into them. Then back on the grass with a game plan ready to go Tuesday.”

Rob Page says that Wales are ready to go “toe-to-toe” with Poland in their Euro 2024 play-off final at Cardiff City Stadium.

Wales are 90 minutes from reaching this summer’s showpiece event in Germany after posting an emphatic 4-1 victory over Finland.

First-half goals from David Brooks and Neco Williams put the hosts in cruise control and raised hopes of a stress-free evening for the vast majority of a sell-out crowd in Cardiff.

Teemu Pukki banished those thoughts on the stroke of half-time with his 40th Finland goal, but Brennan Johnson quickly restored Wales’ two-goal cushion after the break and substitute Daniel James rounded off matters late on.

Wales now host Poland on Tuesday, and manager Page is relishing the challenge as the Dragons bid to qualify for their third successive European major championship and a fourth major tournament in five.

“We don’t care who comes to see us. We will go toe-to-toe and have a go,” Page said.

“I am really satisfied. It was uncomfortable in moments of the game, but against good teams it does not always go your own way.

“We didn’t quite get the press right in the first half. We addressed it at half-time. On another night it might have been five or six.

“The biggest selection headache I had tonight was at the top of the pitch. I knew that pace would hurt them.

“People like DJ (Daniel James) coming off the bench, playing really well at club level and scoring goals. When you have players at club level playing well, they can add value and change the game for us.

“Ethan (Ampadu) on his 50th cap, I thought he was immense. Brennan was a constant threat. Brooksy with his finish.

“We knew exactly what we were going to get with Harry (Wilson) and Brooksy in the pockets.”

Poland swept aside Estonia 5-1 in their play-off semi-final, and Page added: “We have done analysis on Poland and Estonia. We have already looked at Poland.

“It will be a tough test, but what more motivation do you need? The boys will be ready on Tuesday.

“We have a younger squad, a fitter squad, players that are playing regularly. We will be back on the grass on Sunday with a game-plan ready to go on Tuesday.

“It’s a work in progress. Everyone can see what we are trying to do, and we have given ourselves one hell of a chance.”

Page 1 of 3
© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.