On a night full of ups and downs, Ange Postecoglou has expressed his confidence in young Tottenham phenom Will Lankshear as the striker goes through a crucial learning moment following his sending off during a thrilling 3-2 loss to Galatasaray in the Europa League.
Lankshear opened the scoring for Spurs in the 18th minute, scoring brilliantly from a Brennan Johnson cross to equalize after Yunus Akgun’s early goal.
However, the 19-year-old’s evening took a sour turn shortly after the break when he received two quick yellow cards, the last being for an overambitious challenge on Gabriel Sara, marking the first red card of his growing career.
At the time, Spurs were trailing 3-1, thanks to a first-half brace from Victor Osimhen. However, Postecoglou’s side, now down to ten men, made an attempt to turn things around when Dominic Solanke scored in the 69th minute, giving fans a glimmer of hope for a sensational comeback.
Ultimately, it proved to be too steep a challenge, with Galatasaray maintaining their lead to overtake Tottenham in the group standings.
Reflecting on Lankshear’s performance, Postecoglou stated: “Will took his goal very well; he gave a solid effort for the team. It’s clear he hasn’t had much experience at the elite level, so nights like this are invaluable for him to learn and “The red card came out of a moment of youthful exuberance, but I have no doubt he will take this into account and improve.”
Lankshear was one of three teenagers that Tottenham lined up, along with Lucas Bergvall, who struggled before being substituted in the 66th minute, and Archie Gray, who showed resilience at left back under constant pressure from the opposition.
Postecoglou praised Gray’s performance: “Archie was excellent. It was a challenging match defensively, but he showed tremendous character. Playing out of his usual position, he will certainly gain a lot of experience from this match. It’s all part of his growth process, and we are optimistic that it will benefit their development as players in the future.”
