“I think it was good performance against a good team. They are a dangerous team: you can see they have been working for many years with the same manager. To keep a clean sheet for us is very important. We had chances to improve the final result but, in the end, I’m happy. I have seen great commitment from the players. For sure we need to improve but today it was a good win. It was a good reaction to the game against Mura. In losses you learn a lot. Now we have to prepare for Sunday [v Norwich]: we have to think it will be a sporting war and we must be ready.”
“It was a great performance. From the start of the game we made it really hard for them. It was our aim to make it a horrible match for them because this is our home and we did that really well.”
Spurs do the business, claiming their third win under Conte. It wasn’t a particularly impressive performance and wouldn’t have been enough to beat most Premier League team but Brentford were distressingly limited for long periods and can’;t complain about the result.
89 min: Glenn Hoddle has named Oliver Skipp as the man of the match and you’ll get no carping about that here. He’s worked very hard, won plenty of possession and made some thrusting passes from midfield.
85 min: Norgaard pieces the Spurs’ defence with a lovely sliderule pass to reward a smart run by Toney. The striker tries to send it across the face of goal but Lloris diverts it with his foot.
83 min: Winks releases Son, who momentarily has a chance to shoot. But he doesn’t take it and is closed down. He looks to his left for someone to cross to but Kane hasn’t kept up with him.
70 min: Spurs’ are full of confidence now and seemingly determined not to let Brentford back into this. They’re hunting them down high up, and quick to attack when they get the ball back.
What a break! Kane collects the ball in the centre circle and looks to his left to see Reguilon racing down the flank. Kane plays the ball into the Spaniard’s path, and Reguilon centres for Son to tap in from close range.
Son scores a tap in. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters
Son celebrates scoring. Photograph: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Getty Images
64 min: Janelt cuts the ball back from the left-hand byline to Toney, who doesn’t quite catch the shot from 15 yards, leaving Lloris with a routine save.
57 min: Canos raids forward and exchanges snappy passes. Then Emerson intervenes at the edge of the area, putting an end to Brentford’s best move of the game.
53 min: Brentford try to play their way out of their own box but only play themselves into trouble. Skipp slips the ball through to Kane on the right. Kane sends it across the face of goal. Hojbjerg arrives beyond the far post and tries to steer it into the net from a tough angle ... but he blasts into the sidenetting.
51 min: Reguilon crosses from the left. Sanchez makes life difficult for the keeper. Kane can’t turn the ball into the net but it come to Davies, who nods towards the top corner ... but Fernandez saves without much bother.
49 min: Skipp storms through midfield and plays a lovely pass through to Kane, who running clear into the box. Fernandez comes towards him ... and Kane fires it at the keeper, who saves with his knee. What a chance missed!
Kane shoots whilst under pressure from Goode. Photograph: Tottenham Hotspur FC/Getty Images
46 min: No changes during the break, at least not to personnel: but Brentford could do with changing their attitude. Kane, too: he’s been irrelevant for most of the game.
Spurs haven’t been great but they’ve been comfortably better than Brentford. Still, they owe their lead to a lucky own goal. Both managers will demand improvement for the second half.
