Fans were trying to piece together what Archie Gray uttered to teammate Fraser Forster after Tottenham’s 4-3 win over Manchester United.
Ange Postecoglou’s men booked their place in the Carabao Cup semi-final at the expense of the Red Devils in what proved to be a thriller at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs sailed into a 3-0 lead thanks to a double from Dominic Solanke and another from Dejan Kulusevski.
However, a spirited fightback from United after quickfire goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo made it a tense finish for the north London side.
United’s fightback was helped by two defensive errors orchestrated by Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
First, the 36-year-old’s wayward pass saw Zirkzee tap home Bruno Fernandes’ pass to reduce the arrears.
Then moments later, Forster was again at the centre of a defensive mishap when he appeared to dither on a back pass from Gray, only to see his clearance rebound in off Diallo.
Teenager Gray appeared to make himself accountable for the error after the final whistle.
Television cameras panned in on the two discussing the incident and without being privy to sound from the verbal exchange, lip-reading fans were quick to make their conclusions.
Gray appeared to tell Forster: “It was my fault. I should’ve played it forward rather than back to you.”
Gray’s classy gesture has gone down well with Spurs fans who flocked to social media to praise the youngster’s character and maturity.
One fan said: “Showing maturity beyond his 18 years.”
4
A second added: “No one has impressed me as much as Archie Gray this season. Kulu may be our best player but no way did I think Archie was going to be this good already, nevermind this mature.
A third fan wrote: “He is class. What a great head on his shoulders. Kid is going to be a sensation in years to come!”
Whilst a final fan added: “He’s our future captain.”
Luckily for Forster, a blunder from opposite number Altay Bayindir saw Heung-min Son extend Spurs’ lead directly from a corner before Jonny Evans pulled one back for the visitors deep into added time.
The win sees Spurs safely through to the Carabao Cup semi-final where they will face holders Liverpool with the first leg taking place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next month.
The other semi-final pits 2023 finalists Newcastle against Arsenal, with the possibility still open for a north London derby final.
4
4
After watching his side book their place in the last four to keep alive his vow of winning a trophy in his second season with the club, Postecoglou admits that while he was happy with the performance, his players made hard work of it.
“We played so well, well in control of the game,” said the Spurs boss. “It’s the way our season has gone a little bit, we self-inflicted some pain on ourselves and then we had to scramble to get a foothold again.
“It should have been a lot more comfortable than it ended up being but having said that, I still can’t get away from the fact this group of players is doing an unbelievable job at the moment to get us through this.
“We’re in a semi-final of a cup competition, so I think that’s something to reflect this progress for us and we’ve got an opportunity now, home and away to get to a final and we’ve earned that opportunity.
Asked about Forster’s error-laden display, Postecoglou jumped to his defence adding: “He is disappointed because he was outstanding for us.
“The first one probably affected his confidence a little bit and he lost a bit of belief and the second one compounded it, but he is a big boy mate and he is another one who has stood up for us big time in this period.
“I can’t speak highly enough of this group of players. Again tonight we had 10 players from our list unavailable for one reason or another. We had a day’s rest less than Man United.
“We are not just getting through games, we are still maintaining our level of football. As I keep saying, we will get to some smoother waters at some point but this period is going to see us have enormous growth.”