The game plan was very wise from Morecambe: fight, pester, tackle, nick a goal.
Not that Antonio Conte would have seen it that way; this would have viewed more like a comedy of errors than a comedy sketch for Tottenham’s boss.
The strategy carefully devised by manager Stephen Robinson – who missed this game after contracting Covid – and his assistant Diarmuid O’Carroll took Morecambe all the way through to the 85th minute with a hope of causing an almighty upset.
Harry Kane (right) celebrates scoring Tottenham’s third goal with Emerson Royal in a 3-1 FA Cup third round victory
Spurs were forced to call on their main striker from off the bench, with the England captain scoring with two minutes left
Morcambe’s Jonathan Obika reacts after his side fell just 16 minutes short of recording a famous FA Cup upset
In the end, they were left heartbroken; Tottenham somehow scrapping a victory from a match that looked like ending in utter humiliation.
But to call Morecambe the losers here doesn’t do them justice. Out of the cup? Yes. Losers? Absolutely not.
The League One side were brave and courageous; had they’d displayed a little more quality in front of goal then who knows?
Nonetheless, this proved an almighty fright for Tottenham and Conte, who despite the victory won’t have veered away too dramatically from the scathing assessment of his Spurs players in midweek in which he branded them a ‘middle’ team. If anything, the Italian’s opinion won’t have improved after this.
Conte rested his big-hitters for this; a logical decision given their week ahead – a 2-0 deficit to overcome in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg versus Chelsea before Sunday’s north London derby.
This was an opportunity for Tottenham’s fringe players to make a mark – but one they woefully passed up.
Anthony O’Connor stunned Tottenham Hotspur after giving Morecambe a first half lead in their FA Cup third round tie
Tottenham supporters look on stunned as O’Connor celebrates near the corner flag following his opening goal
The centre-back struck in the 33rd minute to give the League One side an incredible lead against the Premier League outfit
Boos rang round the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the break and Conte’s players can have no complaints.
It wasn’t only the fact they were trailing to a team fighting relegation from League One, though that was diabolical of course.
But the performance was devoid of any verve, quality or urgency. Tottenham’s second-string simply expected to turn up and win.
They learned the hard way. Had Tanguy Ndombele and Ben Davies converted decent chances inside the opening three minutes then perhaps this story would read differently.
Had Matt Doherty not struck a post from Giovani Lo Celso’s 19th minute corner, then maybe they’d have been spared the half-time jeers.
If, buts and maybes don’t cut it, though. They certainly won’t for someone of Conte’s calibre.
And Tottenham only had themselves to blame when Morecambe captain Anthony O’Connor escaped the attentions of Japhet Tanganga in the 33rd minute to thump home Alfie McCalmont’s corner.
The travelling supporters lost it, much like Tanganga had lost O’Connor. You’d imagine Conte, at least on the inside, was overcome with emotion too – but not of the happy kind.
Had Jacob Bedeau generated more purchase on his header in the 42nd minute then who knows how the suffering Spurs fans would have reacted as John Brooks blew up for the break.
Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Oliver Skipp were sent to warm-up immediately after the restart.
As Spurs struggled to break down Morecambe, Tanguy Ndombele was jeered off the pitch by home fans after he was subbed
There was relief around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s home fans when Harry Winks’ free-kick looped into the net
Winks celebrates with Lucas Moura after dragging Spurs level with just 16 minutes left in the third round tie
Yet the threat of the hook appeared to have zero clout with the Tottenham players on the field as Cole Stockton squandered another decent Morecambe opportunity in the 50th minute.
Dele Alli, though forced Trevor Carson into an instinctive save in the 54th minute with a clever flick before Doherty nodded Lo Celso’s corner wide from the resultant corner as Tottenham finally flexed their muscles.
Ryan Sessegnon then flashed an effort narrowly wide in the 62nd minute as the pressure on Morecambe’s heroic back-five, led excellently by O’Connor, came under mounting pressure.
The heavy artillery arrived in the 69th minute, Kane, Skipp and Moura all introduced to an emphatic reception from home fans – though the decision to replace Ndombele was met with disdain from supporters.
It was a desperate move from Conte, who surely didn’t want to use the trio. But these were certainly desperate times.
What started as first-half glitch was developing into an almighty nightmare. Eventually, though, the calvary came to Tottenham’s rescue. Harry Winks almost couldn’t bring himself to celebrate after his inswinging free-kick from the left escaped everyone in the box including goalkeeper Carson to sail in at the back-post to equalise for Spurs in the 75th minute.
Spurs then pushed heavily for a winning goal, with Lucas Moura taking the ball past the keeper before giving them the lead
Moura’s goal came with just five minutes to play and spared huge embarrassment for Antonio Conte’s side
Despite securing progress into the fourth round, Conte will have been left seriously concerned with his fringe players
Winks and Tottenham dashed back to restart the game; Morecambe knew what was coming – the kitchen sink. And while Morecambe were still hoping for a miracle, Winks’ goal would have left them on the floor.
Indeed, spare a thought for Ryan McLaughlin, whose mistake ultimately killed the dream. There looked little danger when the defender received the ball well inside Tottenham’s half but he hesitated. And hesitated again. Next thing he knew, Moura stole the ball off him and was off sprinting towards Morecambe’s goal.
No-one was catching the Brazilian, who rounded Carson, before scoring the winner. Kane scored another before the end to seal victory but Morecambe were flat-out by then.
Spurs, their boss and supporters breathed a heavy sigh of relief. All that McLaughlin heard was noise – his colleagues tried consoling him but he’d have taken no notice.
Tottenham are in the hat, just.
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