THIS was neither c**p nor gold.
But if Ange Postecoglou is going to dig himself out of the mire in Frankfurt next week, his side are going to have go up a gear at least.
GettyPedro Porro scored a superb flick to equalise for Spurs[/caption]
ReutersHugo Ekitike put Frankfurt ahead after just six minutes[/caption]
The under-fire Aussie said in the build-up that Spurs’ critics have a knack of turning “gold into c**p” when talking down his team’s feats.
He was coming out swinging under severe pressure, as he admitted that there is “a general sentiment” in the football world that he will be sacked even if he wins the Europa League.
Whether that proves to be the case or not remains to be seen, but for now his goal is to avoid going out at the quarter-final stage.
And he has it all to do after this up-and-down display, which saw Pedro Porro’s exquisite backheel chalk off a blistering opener from Arsenal target Hugo Ekitike.
Postecoglou’s side suffered an awful start thanks to Ekitike’s early strike.
But while the Frenchman’s finish was breathtaking, Spurs only had themselves to blame – and specifically James Maddison – how it came about.
Midfielder Maddison had his pocket picked all too easily by Ellyes Skhiri, who sprayed a ball wide to Ekitike for the Frenchman to drive in off the wing and belt the ball into the far corner.
Ellyes for Frankfurt, hell no for Spurs.
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In their first attack of the game, Frankfurt take the lead over Spurs thanks to Ekitike 😮💨
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 10, 2025
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Porro also could have done better in putting more pressure on Ekitike who was given the freedom of N17 as he attacked the goal.
The quality of the 22-year-old’s hit into the far corner – his 20th of the season – underlined just why Newcastle tried to sign him twice previously and why he is on Arsenal’s list of striker targets this summer.
RexHugo Ekitike curled in a delightful goal to open the scoring[/caption]
GettyPorro’s flick found the back of the net to level the scores[/caption]
It sent an already bouncing Frankfurt away support even more potty.
And at that point you feared an embarrassment, given Spurs’ fragility this term, that could see Postecoglou being bounced out of the club in double-quick time.
But his team responded well, keeping calm and patiently waiting for an opportunity to pounce.
That moment came in the 26th minute and was created by two of the culprits for the first goal.
After Dominic Solanke had successfully held up and offloaded a Son Heung-min pass over the top, James Maddison picked up the ball, turned towards the byline and cut the ball back across the six-yard area.
There Porro met it and ingeniously flicked it home with a deft backheel to put Spurs right back into the tie.
The Spaniard celebrated by putting the ball up his top and sucking his thumb – the universal football gesture to signal a baby on the way as he paid tribute to his pregnant partner.
It was a gorgeous goal – and showed how, for all his faults, Postecoglou can still be the daddy of beautiful football when his team clicks.
His team were breathing a sigh of relief though just before the break when the ball fell to Ekitike just inside the area.
A great cross from Maddison, an even better finish from Pedro Porro sees Spurs go level! 🤩
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But unlike his brilliant opener, his shot was not powerful enough to beat Guglielimo Vicario this time.
Spurs cranked it up after half-time with four agonisingly near-misses in the space of four agonising minutes.
Lucas Bergvall sparked it with a 25-yard pile-driver which smacked the crossbar.
Back-up goalkeeper Kaua Santos – in for the injured Kevin Trapp – then pulled off a stunning stop to push away a goal-bound Son effort.
Santos repeated the feat to deny Maddison moments later, but not before Rodrigo Bentancur had headed against the woodwork.
It was pulsating stuff and reminded you just what this Postecoglou side are capable of when their tails are up.
But crucially, they did not score, but luckily neither did the Jean-Matteo Bahoya with a hooked volley – moments after the fastest man in the Bundesliga was booked for a ludicrously late foul on Son.
Curiously, Postecoglou waited until the 79th minute to make a sub – moments after fans in the South Stand had urged him to change things up with rolling-arm motions.
They were rewarded with a triple swap as Djed Spence, Pape Matar Sarr and Mathys Tel were thrown into the action.
But ultimately it made no difference as the two sides fought out a draw, ready to go next week in what could prove to be Postecoglou’s final bout.
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