It wasn’t to be Tottenham Hotspur’s night in the Carabao Cup at Fulham, with Davinson Sanchez’s penalty miss in the shoot-out proving decisive.
With the scores finishing 1-1 after normal time, the way that this cup works now is that there’s no extra-time or replay, the match goes straight to the lottery of penalties.
On the night, Spurs keeper Fraser Forster kept the hosts at bay time and again, but the custodian really let himself down in the shoot-out, diving the same way for most of Fulham’s spot-kicks.
The blame shouldn’t be solely apportioned, however, because for all of Tottenham’s verve and spirit, they were toothless in front of goal.
Richarlison’s second-half header cancelled out Fulham’s deserved opener in the first 45, and though the Brazilian was later substituted, the goal should give him back some of the confidence that he’s been missing of late.
That may be an unexpected bonus during the season for Ange Postecoglou who will naturally be disappointed to exit the cup at the first opportunity, but will likely have seen enough good things from his side throughout the 90 minutes.
With a bit of polishing from the manager and some composure from the players, particularly in front of goal, there’s no reason why the Australian won’t see the progression that he’s arguably looking for as he continues to build his project in north London.