Tottenham beat Elfsborg 2-0 in the Europa League (Image: Getty)
Tottenham left it late to impress as their youth shone in a 3-0 win over Elfsborg to seal their progress to the Europa League knockout stages.
Despite dominating the ball for the majority of the first half, Postecoglou’s men struggled to break down the Elfsborg defence and mustered only two shots on target.
It took until the 70th minute when substitute Dane Scarlett came off the bench to head home the opener, allowing the home fans to rest easy knowing that a win would take them through to the last-16 knockout phase.
Debutant Oyindamola Ajayi killed the contest with his goal off the bench and Mikey Moore made sure of the points in stoppage time.
Express Sport assesses how they performed with player ratings.
Brandon Austin 6
Barely saw the ball in the first 45 minutes as Spurs dominated possession.
Pedro Porro 7
Had one decent header saved by goalkeeper Isak Pettersson and attacked with energy down the right, sending in dangerous crosses for Spurs.
Archie Gray 6
Showed his maturity to halt the opposition’s most dangerous attack with a well-timed block, but otherwise had little to do.
Micky van de Ven 7
Won the ball four times from Elfsborg in the first 10 minutes and that set the standard as the crowd seemed buoyed by his return. Did well in his 45-minute display before he was withdrawn in a pre-planned substitution at half-time.
Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven made his long-awaited return from injury (Image: Getty)
Ben Davies 6
Got forward at will from full-back after switching to his natural position and linked up well with his team-mate Son. Faded a little in the second half.
Pape Matar Sarr 6
A quiet first half, although his moment to be a hero arrived when Son’s cross bounced into his path and his effort was cleared off the line.
Rodrigo Bentancur 6
Postecoglou will be pleased to have him back after his latest head injury scare. The Uruguayan was aerially dominant and limited Elfsborg’s movements through the central areas.
Lucas Bergvall 6
Playing against some of his international colleagues, the 18-year-old would’ve been eager to showcase his talents. But his passing in the final third was slightly disappointing and actually helped the visitors counter. Saw one diving header saved.
Mikey Moore, 17, was one of the better performers for Tottenham (Image: Getty)
Mikey Moore 8
The 17-year-old was rewarded with more minutes as he makes his comeback from illness and looked lively in the early moments, running at players at will, although Spurs mostly focused their efforts down the left. Came close to breaking the deadlock with a close-range effort but Petterssen made a fine stop. Thoroughly deserved his late goal.
Son Heung-min 7
Combined well with Davies down the left and caused a real problem for the Elfsborg wing-back Simon Hedlund from the left. Every time he got the ball, the fear was evident as he twisted and turned. Rested after being brought off at the interval.
Richarlison 5
Showed his aerial threat after meeting a deep Porro delivery early on, but the Brazilian struggled to get himself in scoring positions.
Tottenham striker Richarlison endured a difficult evening (Image: Getty)
Substitutes
Radu Dragusin (on 46′, off 66′) N/A
Barely had a kick of the ball before suffering a potentially serious knee injury. Spurs will be hoping it’s not as bad as it looked.
Yves Bissouma (on 46′) 6
The Malian’s introduction into midfield injected some life, before he was forced to deputise as a defender after Dragusin’s injury and he didn’t look out of place.
Dejan Kulusevski (on 46′) 7
His creative class in the final third was badly needed at the break and the Swede delivered a brilliant cross for Scarlett to guide home.
Dane Scarlett (on 66′) 8
What an introduction. Showed some nice touches, then the youngster glanced home a lovely header just four minutes after coming on. Mr Postecoglou, take note.
Damola Ajayi (on 81′) 7
Three minutes after coming on for his debut, the 18-year-old rolled on into the corner. Lovely moment for the academy graduate.