4 hours ago
6
Eighteen months can be a very long time in football – especially if you are still a teenager.
After a mixed start to life in north London, Archie Gray could not have picked a better occasion to score his first Tottenham goal since joining from Leeds in the summer of 2024 than his 60th appearance. With Thomas Frank already showing signs of not being the first Spurs manager to have been overwhelmed by expectations, after a run of just one win in their previous eight Premier League matches, Gray’s scrappy header in the first half ensured a topsy-turvy year ended with a victory that lifts his side to within one point of Crystal Palace in the table.
The 19-year-old midfielder left the pitch to a standing ovation and a big hug from Frank after becoming the youngest Englishman to score for Tottenham in the Premier League since Dele Alli at the same ground in January 2016.
“I think Archie is growing,” said his delighted manager after also praising his side’s resilience. “Talking about resilience he made the mistake in the Nottingham [Forest] game and played another good game against Liverpool. He is growing as a young man. And I loved that goal, because he was alert.”
The victory could have been more comprehensive if two Richarlison strikes had not been disallowed for offside but Palace could not stop Spurs from recording their first away win since they beat Leeds at the start of November.
With the Spurs chief executive, Vinai Venkatesham, watching on from the stands, Frank came into this match having presided over Tottenham’s worst start to a league campaign since 2008-09 but, as well as Gray, there were plenty of positives in this battling display. A defence that was well marshalled by Micky van den Ven kept Palace at arm’s length, although Jean-Phillippe Mateta, Justin Devenny and Maxence Lacroix all passed up good chances to equalise. Of the 20 goals that Oliver Glasner’s side have conceded this season in the league, 12 have come from set pieces and Palace have now failed to win any of their last five matches as a packed schedule has finally caught up with them in their 30th fixture of the campaign.
Tottenham’s chances of picking up a morale-boosting victory looked to have been seriously hampered by the absence of their captain, Cristian Romero, and playmaker Xavi Simons after their red cards against Liverpool last week, not to mention a long injury list.
But at least they escaped another early dismissal here when Romero’s replacement, Kevin Danso, tripped Devenny just outside the penalty area after four minutes when the Northern Irishman was through on goal. The referee, Jarred Gillett, immediately showed him a yellow card because Pedro Porro was deemed to be covering back.
There was another big decision to be made by the officials when Richarlison touched in Porro’s cross at the far post in the 16th minute. Yet despite the confidence of the snazzy green and black boot-wearing assistant referee Scott Ledger, who wagged his finger to suggest Lucas Bergvall had not been offside in the move that led to the goal, replays showed he was beyond the last man.
Even with the sublime Adam Wharton pulling the strings in midfield, Palace had to wait until midway through the first 45 minutes to register their first real chance when Mateta’s driven effort midway whistled past the post. A delightful cross from Wharton then picked out Lacroix at the far post and Mateta was inches away from converting when the defender headed back across goal.
Instead it was Palace’s shortcomings from set pieces that were exposed when Tottenham took the lead just before half-time. Six of the nine Premier League goals Crystal Palace have conceded in December have been from set pieces. With the dependable Chris Richards missing after requiring stitches in a foot injury, somehow Randal Kolo Muani, Richarlison and finally Gray were all allowed to win headers inside the six-yard box after a corner was whipped to the back post. Cue massive celebrations from Frank on the Spurs bench and in the away section.
Palace should have equalised 10 minutes into the second half when Yéremy Pino’s cross was headed straight into Devenny’s path. But a moment’s hesitation meant he had to improvise and could only lift his shot over the crossbar from close range. Lacroix then rose to meet Jefferson Lerma’s header from another excellent Wharton cross and could only direct his effort wide of the target.
Spurs thought they had sealed the win when Richarlison tapped in a Mohammed Kudus cross but once again the video assistant referee came to Palace’s rescue. Substitute Wilson Odobert struck the post after a quick break downfield involving Brennan Johnson, who is a target for Palace in January. The closest they came to rescuing a point came when Marc Guéhi headed over in the dying moments but this is a team in serious need of reinforcements.
“If you watched our game today then it’s pretty clear what we need,” said the Palace manager. “Then it’s a decision of Crystal Palace, and if you’re constantly underperforming in scoring goals, again, what I can do, what we can do is encourage the players, support them and be positive.”
