Tottenham took on Hearts in their first pre-season friendly of the summer and here are our player ratings for the opening half of the match on Wednesday evening.
Ange Postecoglou was back in Scotland for the first time after two trophy-filled seasons at Celtic and he brought a Tottenham team to Edinburgh which was lopsided in various departments. With a lack of centre-backs, new signing 18-year-old Archie Gray had to fill in in the middle of defence along with another young midfielder in Oliver Skipp and yet another midfielder in 19-year-old Jamie Donley played at left-back.
Elsewhere Postecoglou named a pretty strong side, but it wasn’t until about seven minutes before the break when they opened the scoring. James Maddison passed it with the outside of his foot to Dejan Kulusevski who backheeled it back to his team-mate and Maddison’s powerful low cross was smashed in by Brennan Johnson. It was a classic Postecoglou goal and a lovely one at that.
Here are our Spurs players ratings after the first 45 minutes:
Brandon Austin
Sent one back pass from Gray nervily out for a corner but made a great reaction save 20 minutes in and dealt with everything else. 7
Pedro Porro
A couple of good interceptions but also a big miss in front of goal which should have doubled Spurs’ lead. 6
READ MORE: Every word Ange Postecoglou said on transfers, England, Archie Gray, Djed Spence and Bentancur
READ MORE: Tottenham second half player ratings vs Hearts – Bergvall and Moore shine as Lankshear scores
Archie Gray
Playing as a centre-back on his official debut and made a good early header to set the tone. Made a few tackles and other than one back pass that put Austin under pressure, he looked very accomplished. One tackle was so strong that it punctured the ball. He looks a real talent wherever you play him. 8
Oliver Skipp
One stuttering moment when dealing with a ball down the right flank after the quarter hour mark but otherwise was solid in central defence. 6
Jamie Donley
The 19-year-old attacking midfielder is believed to have impressed at left-back in Saturday’s training ground friendly against Cambridge and he looked good again at Tynecastle Park. Played a lovely ball before the goal. 8
Yves Bissouma
Other than being outmuscled for one moment in the middle of the pitch that lead to a break he brought what he often does with some calm play on the ball. 6
James Maddison
Took some big hits but looked dangerous throughout and produced some lovely football and the assist for Johnson’s goal. 8
Dejan Kulusevski
A busy display from the Swede in the opening 45 minutes and he was involved with a lovely bit of skill for Johnson’s goal. 8
Brennan Johnson
Quiet on the whole but came up with a goal to add to his hat-trick on Saturday in the Cambridge training ground friendly. 7
Son Heung-min
Looked lively and had a shot saved by Gordon after a run into the box during a good Spurs move. A constant menace to Hearts. 7
Manor Solomon
Some good movement but struggled with his final ball on the whole. 6
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