LONDON (December 26) —— Tottenham rallied from a two-goal deficit to secure a point after finishing 2-2 at Brentford in the first Premier League match since the World Cup on Boxing Day on Monday (26). England striker Harry Kane, who missed a key penalty in Qatar was on the scoresheet today for Spurs who fought back from 2-0 down to draw the game and share the points.
Brentford were well set to secure their first win over Tottenham since 1948 after Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney scored on either side of 45 minutes to give the hosts a surprised 2-0 advantage at the Gtech Community Stadium.
However, Spurs earned a draw by scoring twice in the last 25 minutes.
Janelt gave the Bees the lead when he made Spurs pay for another sluggish start and poor defending by putting the hosts in front on 15 minutes –tapping home from close-range after goalkeeper Fraser Forster –making his first Premier League start for Tottenham, failed to properly block a ball into his path following a volley from Mathias Jensen.
Brentford doubled their lead when England forward Toney, who was playing in his first game since his FA charge for 262 alleged betting breaches, scored his 11th Premier League goal of the season. The striker reacted quickest to tap home after Christian Norgaard had headed on a corner in the 54th minute.
Kane began the comeback for Tottenham after he pulled a goal back in the 65th minute with an excellent header from Clement Lenglet’s cross before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg made it 2-2 with a curling finish six minutes later.
Both teams came close to sealing all three points in a frantic last 10 minutes which saw Kane hitting the bar and Toney missing from six yards out. Kane was also denied a penalty kick by VAR.
Today’s Boxing Day result leaves Spurs fourth in the English Premier League table standings with 30 points, while Brentford (20pts) moved up to ninth before the late kick-offs.
PHOTO: Ivan Toney of Brentford and England speaks after Premier League game/USA video capture
