London, Feb 2: Tottenham beat Brentford to end a four-game losing run in the league as Spurs fans repeatedly called for chairman Daniel Levy to leave the club.
The visitors took a fortunate lead in the 29th minute when Son Heung-min’s excellent inswinging corner from the left bounced off the back of Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt in a crowded penalty area and into his own net.
Tottenham wrapped up an excellent victory when substitute Pape Matar Sarr raced on to Son’s excellent pass and flicked a finish past Hakon Valdimarsson for a late second goal.Despite the victory, on several occasions the Tottenham supporters chanted “We want Levy out”, with the club struggling in the bottom half of the table.
Brentford are the top scorers at home this season, while only Liverpool have now scored more goals than Tottenham, but this was a scrappy affair, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances.
Away goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky parried an effort from Christian Norgaard and held a strike from Bryan Mbeumo, with Yoane Wissa also glancing a header wide as an organised Tottenham defence frustrated the hosts.For Tottenham, so often criticised for being weak defensively, this was the sort of performance under-pressure boss Ange Postecoglou would have gained a great deal of satisfaction from, as he continues to battle a lengthy injury list that saw him without nine key players.
The three points took Spurs from 16th to 14th, with the supporters chanting “we are staying up”, mocking those critics that suggested the club were in danger of relegation.
This is a key week for Postecoglou, and could define his time in charge.
On Thursday, Tottenham will travel to Liverpool, holding a slim 1-0 advantage after the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, with Spurs looking to secure a Wembley final and stay on course for their first trophy in 17 years.
Suddenly the picture for the club looks more positive after they had been facing the prospect of losing five league games in a row for the first time since 2004.
While the Australian has been receiving criticism, some of the fans’ anger has been aimed at Levy, who has been chairman since 2001, with the club only winning the League Cup in 2008 in that time.
During last week’s 2-1 home loss to relegation-threatened Leicester, a banner was displayed saying “24 years, 16 managers, one trophy. Time for change”.Part of the anger towards Levy has been a failure to strengthen the squad in the transfer window. (Agencies)
