‘Made in Tottenham’: Postecoglou act says it all on special day

A trio of unlikely heroes have broken records as Ange Postecoglou performed a rare act on a special night for his club.

“Made in Tottenham”.

That’s the three words that saw Ange Postecoglou flash a rare smile as Tottenham walked into the last 16 of the Europa League with a 3-0 win over Swedish side Elfsborg.

A trio of rising star sensations broke records on Friday morning with three goals in the last 24 minutes.

Dane Scarlett, 20, and teenagers Damola Ajayi and Mikey Moore all found the net in London as Tottenham secured a top-eight finish to ease some of the pressure on their manager.

Postecoglou has come under fire as Spurs have slipped to 15th place in the Premier League after taking just one point from seven games.

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That didn’t seem to matter on Friday.

“Made in Tottenham tonight,” the Australian told TNT Sports. “I’m super pleased for the young boys, and we also shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we had a couple more teenagers out there too.

“I’m sure those three lads won’t sleep tonight. We needed something tonight and the young lads stepped up.”

Ange Postecoglou was in a happy mood. Photo: Optus Sport.

Moore at the age of 17 years and 172 days became England’s youngest-ever scorer in major European competition, breaking Jimmy Greaves’ record (17y 245d), set in October 1957, according to Sky Sports.

Scarlett, Ajayi and Moore also set a new mark as the first time an English club has had three goal-scorer’s under the age of 21 in European competition since Arsenal in 2007.

Tottenham have been hit badly by injuries in recent months, especially in defence.

With 12 players unavailable for Friday morning’s game, Postecoglou had to reach down his squad to find answers.

Mikey Moore of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his team's third goal. Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Centre-back Micky van de Ven made just his second appearance since October, but was replaced at half-time by Radu Dragusin who then had to be substituted due to a knee injury.

“We’ve got another big week coming up so the changes at half-time were about managing the load,” said Postecoglou, looking ahead to Sunday’s Premier League trip to Brentford and the EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool next week.

“We still picked up injury with Radu which is not great.

Damola Ajayi of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his team's second goal. Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images.

“It is too early to say what it is, we will need to investigate further. But it was his knee which is not good.” Postecoglou suggested Spurs could try and make a move for reinforcements before the January transfer window shuts on Monday.

“The club will be working hard behind the scenes to see if we can get something done.”

Postecoglou even poked fun at the club’s injury crisis when he pretended to grab his hamstring and acted as is he had torn the muscle when the ball came his way on the touch line.

It was a vitally important win for the former Socceroos coach.

Players have been asked in the press this week about whether they still believe Postecoglou is the right man to lead the club.

Spurs slipped to a sixth loss from their last seven Premier League games against relegation-threatened Leicester on Sunday and are languishing in 15th place in the table.

Postecoglou said after the dismal 2-1 home defeat he was uncertain over his future as pressure mounts on the former Celtic boss.

Friday’s win has certainly helped his career prospects.

Originally published as ‘Made in Tottenham’: Postecoglou act says it all on special day