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Premier League Tottenham Hotspur needed extra time to beat brave fifth-tier Tamworth, 96 places below them in the English football pyramid, 3-0 in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
The game had the makings of a huge upset from the opening whistle as Tamworth more than held their own but the team of part-time players tired and were unable to secure one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history.
“We should be proud, we took a top-six team to extra time,” Tamworth goalkeeper Jas Singh, whose day job is as a building surveyor, told ITV. “We had chances as well, that’s the frustrating bit.”
After a goalless 90 minutes, Nathan Tshikuna’s own goal in the 101st minute put Spurs ahead after Brennan Johnson had fired a low cross into the area.
Substitute Dejan Kulusevski doubled the lead when he latched onto a pass from Son Heung-Min to shoot across Singh and Johnson added a late third.
Tamworth gave their fans at a rocking Lamb Ground plenty to cheer when Beck-Ray Enoru — who works as a shop clerk — forced Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky to make a diving save in the opening minute.
Before kickoff, Enoru had climbed on a teammate’s shoulders to repair a gap in the net with a roll of tape as an Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou watched on chuckling and Tamworth’s Tom Tonks, renowned for his long throw-ins, sent one clattering off Spurs’ far post.
Tom McGlinchey and Jordan Cullinane-Liburd had excellent chances to notch a late winner for the home side which had manager Andy Peaks — who quit his day job as support worker to become full-time manager ahead of Sunday’s game — holding his head in disbelief.
Singh, whose partner had given birth to a baby boy the previous evening, was excellent in goal, turning away several Spurs shots including a couple from James Maddison.
