It was a night of many positives, and a few negatives for Spurs in the Europa League on Thursday night. While one young Tottenham star has received praise from Ange Postecoglou, another has been given comforting words after a disappointing evening.
Archie Gray shines for Spurs
Ange Postecoglou gave some players a rest with six changes to the starting lineup for the visit of Qarabag to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with a number of fringe players getting valuable starts for Spurs.
Archie Gray was one player to benefit from the squad rotation, getting a full 90 minutes under his belt playing at right-back, and putting in a brilliant performance on the night.
Postecoglou is clearly happy with the youngster, and had positive words to say about Gray while speaking to the press (via Football.London) ahead of this weekend’s action.
He said: “I see him in a Tottenham shirt and playing good football, he was great last night, first European game having to play with ten men. He’s really mature, great head on him.”
Disappointment for Bergvall
In stark contrast, Lucas Bergvall saw his night end very early on, with the young Swedish star sacrificed to compensate for Radu Dragusin‘s red card.
The teenager was visibly upset on the Spurs bench later in the game, but Postecoglou had reassuring words for Bergvall in his press conference.
He said: “Lucas is another one I said before the game we’re really keen to expose him to European football. Unfortunately, it ended prematurely for him and he was obviously disappointed, but we trust him and he’ll get plenty of opportunities to play.”
The future is bright for both players
While things didn’t go to plan for Bergvall on Thursday, it is all part of the process and will be a valuable learning experience for him, though it may not feel like it now. This is only the early days of his career here, and there is a long season ahead.
It’s great to see Gray making the most of his opportunity, though, and he and Bergvall are both going to come out of this season with a lot of praise, I’m sure.