Tottenham Hotspur Home FA Cup 4th Round Drew 1 – 1

Another outing for Gunn in goal was the only concession to prevailing attitudes to the FA Cup, Ings being restored, but Southampton also had to face Spurs without injured Long and Soares so Obafemi and Danso deputised – tough on Danso who seems to be the fifth choice centre back but only gets game time in a position he isn’t comfortable with. There was also a place for Djenepo when Armstrong picked up a knock, more than ever giving us a game between sides whose best attacking opportunities would come as a result of their opponents having the ball. Spurs were the better at playing on the break, with Son firing wide, possibly from an offside position, Moura denied by Gunn’s outstretched foot and additionally Lo Celso shooting home only to see offside Son getting a final touch, a decision finally agreed upon by the onfield officials before VAR’s confirmation. Saints always posed a threat, though, and came close themselves when Ings got on the end of a free kick routine only for Tangana to get back to clear. The home team seemed to coping better with Tottenham’s tactics after the break and Ings nearly converted Obafemi’s assist at the near post, but on 58 minutes they paid for some ineffective efforts to tackle Lo Celso and Son Heung Min shot past a poorly placed Gunn, a goal confirmed despite another VAR intervention – fair enough, but the VAR official might then well have had a closer look at Tangana’s use of his hand to stop Ings. It wasn’t being Danny’s day as he headed a Redmond cross wide of the post but his clever pass set up substitute Boufal for a left foot shot into the roof of the net to secure a draw with time beginning to run out of an intriguing match-up. So we have to do it all over again in North London, with Jose already playing mind games with Ralph by suggesting the Special One was more up for a replay than his counterpart.
LSSC Man of the Match: Nathan Redmond. No goals or assists, but he seemed to behind Southampton’s most promising threats from open play.