Tottenham vs. Nott'm Forest: Winners and Losers from Capital One Cup Match
Tottenham Hotspur came from a goal down to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 on Wednesday and advance to the fourth round of the Capital One Cup.
After a mostly uneventful first half, it was the guests who opened the scoring—Jorge Grant sliding the ball into the back of the net from in close following Stephen McLaughlin’s cut-back in the 61st minute.
But just over 10 minutes later, Spurs substitute Ryan Mason restored level terms with a superb strike from distance, and with seven minutes to play, the much-maligned Roberto Soldado redirected Andros Townsend’s ball past Dorus de Vries for the winner.
Harry Kane’s insurance marker in the first minute of second-half stoppage time ensured progression for the hosts.
Following are some of the winners and losers from the match at White Hart Lane.
Winner: Ryan Mason, Who Scored His First Tottenham Goal
1 of 6
Ryan Mason’s introduction turned things around at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night.
Just seven minutes after his introduction, the 23-year-old accepted Ben Davies’ lay-off and released a hard, swerving effort that found the near, top corner of the goal.
Then, in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, the midfielder picked out Erik Lamela with a pass, and the Argentine proceeded to assist on Harry Kane’s insurance-marker.
Mason, unfortunately, isn’t registered for Premier League matches.
Simon Peach for the London Evening Standard quoted Spurs head coach Mauricio Pochettino as saying: "Ryan in the beginning of the pre-season was good. The last season was difficult for him because he had some injuries, but he is a great talent from the academy. We need to be careful with him."
Pochettino continued: "He played on Monday for the Under-21s at Sunderland and today he had the possibility to be in the squad. He showed his talent and I am happy for him because he deserved this performance and this goal today."
John Brewin of ESPN.com noted this on Mason: "[He] last played for his parent club in a Europa League game against Lazio in September 2012. Five clubs, with Swindon Town the last, have employed his services as a loanee, but his long-range leveller suggested real talent."
Brewin added: "[He] sat in midfield and taking the type of responsibility that Paulinho had singularly failed to meet, his arrival for the Brazilian switched matters in Spurs' favour when another embarrassing defeat beckoned."
Loser: Dorus De Vries, Who Might Have Saved Two of the Tottenham Goals
2 of 6
Dorus de Vries made a pair of saves at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, but he might have done better on two of the shots that beat him.
Although Ryan Mason’s effort was spectacular, the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper remained rooted to the spot as the ball found his top, right-hand corner.
He could also have got in the way of Harry Kane’s late finish inside the far post—a shot that left him looking as if his feet were tangled up beneath him.
Winner: Ben Davies, Who Was a Consistently Effective Performer on Wednesday
3 of 6
Tottenham struggled to make anything happen in the attacking third until Roberto Soldado’s winner, although their attacking players were hardly starved for service.
Ben Davies, in particular, delivered cross after accurate cross into the Forest goalmouth, only for the visiting defenders to beat their opponents to the ball.
But the Spurs left-back, who completed 89 percent of his passes in the Capital One Cup third-round encounter (statistics courtesy WhoScored.com) finally got the assist he deserved when he slid the ball over to Ryan Mason for the opener.
Davies also dealt well with the threat posed by Jamie Paterson and generally had the beating of Daniel Harding as well.
Winner: Ben Osborn, Who Put in a Tenacious 90 Minutes for Forest
4 of 6
Ben Osborn hasn’t featured all that often in Nottingham Forest manager Stuart Pearce’s Championship-leading side, but on Wednesday, the midfielder ran the show for the guests at White Hart Lane.
In the 23rd minute, he hit the crossbar after winding his way through the Spurs midfield. Over the course of the match, he won no fewer than four dribbles in the centre of the park.
The 20-year-old also threw himself into five tackles while completing 85 percent of his passes.
Loser: Paulinho, Who Tended to Slow the Tottenham Build-Up
5 of 6
With goals in each of his previous three starts at White Hart Lane, Paulinho will have expected a better performance from himself on Wednesday.
Instead of finding the back of the net on his own patch for a fourth straight time, the Brazil international tended to slow his side’s build-up play and failed to hit the target with either of his shots.
Statistically, the 26-year-old’s distribution was economical, but in a real sense, he contributed very little in the way of either directness or creativity against Nottingham Forest.
It’s not a coincidence that Spurs’ playmaking hastened after his withdrawal in the 64th minute.
Winner: Roberto Soldado, Who Scored the Winner
6 of 6
Overall, Roberto Soldado had a terrible match on Wednesday.
Until the 83rd minute, he hadn’t even attempted a shot on goal. Upon his substitution, he had only touched the ball 33 times.
After Ryan Mason opened the scoring, his night hit a new low when he smashed the ball against the upright after it had come back out of the net.
How embarrassing.
But then, with seven minutes remaining, Soldado made the difference he was acquired to make.
Timing his run perfectly, he latched on to Andros Townsend’s drilled pass and redirected it into the back of the net with a single touch.
Tottenham will be hoping Soldado's goal can now act as a catalyst for a return to form for the forward ahead of the north London derby at Arsenal this weekend.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
