Ben Davies saves Ange Postecoglou blushes with ‘brilliant’ moment in terrible Tottenham win over Coventry

When Tottenham learn their opponents for the next round of the EFL Cup they will be indebted to a “brilliant” moment from Ben Davies in their turgid 2-1 third-round victory over Coventry City.

Ange Postecoglou needed a response from his side after the 1-0 North London Derby defeat to Arsenal but things were not looking good at the Coventry Building Society Arena when Brandon Thomas-Asante put the hosts ahead in the 63rd minute.

But the likes of James Maddison and Djed Spence came on in the second half and the latter bailed his side out with a leveller two minutes from time.

Brennan Johnson scored the winner in added time at the end of the match with a superb finish over Ben Wilson.

It was a poor showing overall from Spurs where the home side arguably deserved the victory but Postecoglou will certainly take the win and run back to North London. It was a day to forget for the large majority of the Tottenham squad with Davies’ moment of defensive excellence one of the only shining lights.

Lee Hendrie was lost for words as Hagi Wright missed a golden chance, with the goal gaping, because of the Wales international, who made a brilliant goalline clearance. Speaking live on Sky Sports Football (18 September, 21:15), he said: “He’s got to score. It’s brilliant defending from Davies.”

The 31-year-old was very useful with the ball at his feet on the night making 80 passes and keeping up an impressive 95 per cent completion rate [FotMob]. Although nothing came of his efforts, his 60 per cent long ball accuracy and 14 passes into the final third were positive from the defender.

The former Swansea City star’s defending was near perfect and he will have been frustrated to have conceded the opening goal. Davies won 100 per cent of his two attempted tackles, made two blocks, one clearance and one interception throughout his impressive showing at the back.

It was also positive to see him win 100 per cent of his aerial duels despite not being typically physical in the air. Overall, it was not a textbook evening for Spurs or Postecoglou, who will be extremely grateful to Davies and might be tempted to give him more minutes in the coming weeks.

The Australian has been feeling the heat a little in recent weeks after an indifferent start to the season, that has yielded only four points from as many Premier League games, and a plethora of changes for this game was certainly questionable.

But ultimately, Davies’ moment of brilliance saved his manager and spared him the embarrassment of crashing out of the cup to Championship opposition.