Football
Son the hero as Spurs sink Southampton in FA Cup thriller
Son Heung-min scored a late penalty as Tottenham produced a late rally to beat Southampton 3-2 in Wednesday’s FA Cup fourth-round replay.
Spurs were pegged back by Sofiane Boufal’s strike in a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s in the first meeting and looked set to be knocked out of the competition when they trailed 2-1 in the return game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tanguy Ndombele’s shot deflected in off Jack Stephens to give the hosts the lead against the run of play, but Shane Long profited from some poor Hugo Lloris goalkeeping to level before the break.
Danny Ings then put Southampton in front 18 minutes from time, only for Lucas Moura to fire in an equaliser and Son to convert from the spot after he was fouled by Angus Gunn, setting up a home tie with Norwich City in the next round.
READ ALSO: Buhari Appoints Amokachi As Nigeria’s Football Ambassador
Tottenham had to ride some early pressure before taking the lead on their first real attack, Ndombele’s off-target effort finding the net thanks to an unfortunate deflection off Stephens.
Ings, scorer in Southampton’s 1-0 win over Spurs in January’s Premier League clash, struck the crossbar when played in by James Ward-Prowse as the visitors chased an equaliser.
And the Saints’ pressure told before half-time, as Lloris pushed Nathan Redmond’s shot straight into the path of Long, who converted the rebound from close range.
Despite losing Ward-Prowse to a knee injury following a challenge from Ryan Sessegnon, momentum was still with Southampton as Boufal dragged wide when well-placed to do better.
Lucas headed wide from an even better position 121 seconds later, but the visitors soon regained control and substitute Jannik Vestergaard tested Lloris with a header.
Ings expertly guided the ball beyond Lloris to round off a quick break and put Southampton in front late on, though Mourinho’s side showed real character to hit back.
Lucas made amends for his earlier miss by sweeping the ball into the net from 18 yards before Son, floored as he attempted to round the goalkeeper, remained calm to grab the winner in the 87th minute.
