Poch revels tactic that helped overcome defensive Brighton

Tottenham overcame Brighton 1-0 last evening thanks to a blistering late strike from Christian Eriksen.

The result was crucial in Tottenham’s quest to qualify for next season’s Champions League as it took Tottenham to 70 points, 4 clear of Arsenal in 5th.

However, it looked like spoils were going to be shared between the teams for the majority of the game, as Brighton defended really deep.

The home side struggled to break through Brighton’s defence and create clear cut chances. In fact, for much of the second half, the Tottenham players resorted to shooting from distance as they found it hard to go past the Seagulls’ low block.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said after the game that Spurs decided to shoot from distance as they found it impossible to get in-behind the Brighton defence, and because they knew Matt Ryan in the Brighton goal could be unsighted given the number of Brighton bodies in front of goal.

Speaking to Football.London, the Argentinean said, “You know when the opponent plays so deep it’s difficult to penetrate. Of course, we tried to create with Lucas and Son playing very wide, one vs one, trying to find space, but always we crushed against the wall.

“They defended really, really well. We needed to find some alternatives and a different way.

“One of the ways was shooting from outside the box because there were a lot of players in front of goal and it was difficult for the goalkeeper to see the ball and I think that was the action that delayed the reaction because there was a lot of legs in front of the keeper. Always it’s difficult for the keeper we know very well.”

The 47-year-old further acknowledged that Chris Hughton’s men were unlucky to concede so late given how well they had defended until that point.

He added, “That was one of the situations that we talked about and of course it was in the last two minutes that we scored and we are so happy.

“That is football. If you try, try, try, sometimes you will be rewarded, sometimes not. Unlucky for Brighton but for us it’s an amazing three points.”

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