Heung-min Son has played his last game for Tottenham after 10 incredible years, as he concludes his time in Lilywhite with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle in his home country.
Thomas Frank’s unbeaten run in pre-season continued, with his Spurs side now recording a third draw in five games.
The Dane had confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Son would lead the side, and he did just that, donning the armband for one last time and leading the men in black out of the tunnel to a deafening roar from the home crowd.
First half: Tottenham 1-1 Newcastle
With a sea of white in the stands and a huge roar for the Tottenham captain, it was clear what the plan was from the start; get the ball to Sonny and help him score. Every Spurs player seemed in on it.
Tottenham began the brighter of the two sides, as Pape Sarr saw his effort saved from a corner early on, and Rodrigo Bentancur’s follow-up went wide. Spurs pressed again immediately from the goal kick, and it paid off.
Brennan Johnson was played through and the Welshman fired a left-footed strike from the edge of the box. A slight deflection helped it past Nick Pope and into the bottom corner. 1-0 to Spurs and Johnson even did the Son celebration.
Newcastle looked slightly off the pace early on, unable to cope with Spurs’ aggressive press. But it didn’t take long for them to find their rhythm.
A full-stretched Joelinton couldn’t connect with a ball across the face of goal after a sharp move down the right. Kevin Danso then failed to cut out a pass shortly after, allowing Anthony Gordon to slide the ball across again, only for no one in the right place to convert.
Gordon had a shot deflected just wide minutes later, as the momentum slowly began to shift to Newcastle’s favour.
Spurs weren’t without chances of their own. Their best one being when Mathys Tel broke away on the easiest one-on-ones but after a couple of stepovers, his shot was saved well by Pope. Tel should’ve really scored that.
Joelinton rose above Pedro Porro to nod just wide before Porro tried his luck at the other end with a fizzing free-kick.
But the equaliser was coming. Gordon picked out Harvey Barnes, who struck a thunderous effort in off the left-hand post in an Mbappe-esque finish.
With Newcastle enjoying the upper hand in terms of possession, both the sides went into the break with a goal apiece.
Second half: Tottenham 1-1 Newcastle
Frank made three changes at the interval, while Newcastle stayed the same. And Newcastle thought they had taken the lead just minutes into the second half. Gordon found the net again after being picked out by Jacob Murphy, only for the linesman’s flag to rescue Spurs.
Then came the moment. Around the 65th minute, Heung-min Son was subbed off for the final time.
His teammates formed a guard of honour, and the Newcastle players joined in. Sonny, smiling wide, hugged his teammates, the Tottenham staff members, and waved to the fans, only to then break down into tears on the bench as his name was chanted by everyone in the 66,000-capacity stadium.
Back on the pitch, Spurs had their chances. Lucas Bergvall darted into the box but his shot was easily gathered. Odobert had a great opportunity to slide in Richarlison but delayed it, only to then thread the tightest of passes to the Brazilian, who fired wide. It wouldn’t have counted anyway.
Then, a worrying sight for Spurs fans as James Maddison went down off the ball. The stretcher came out and Maddison looked in real distress. Frank confirmed post-match that it was the same knee Maddison has had problems with before. The England star left the stadium on crutches.
Yang Min Hyeok came on late and nearly made an instant impact. Odobert sent him through on goal, but Dan Burn was too strong for the South Korean youngster.
And that was that. FT: Tottenham 1-1 Newcastle
Spurs Web man of the match: Archie Gray
Thank you, Son
Another chapter closes for Spurs – and what a chapter it’s been.
It’s almost impossible to picture that left wing without Heung-min Son. The South Korean legend will go down as one of the greatest to ever wear the lilywhite shirt. In an era where many chased trophies elsewhere, Son stayed.
And he won.
Thank you for everything, skipper.
Next up for Spurs: a trip to Germany to face Bayern Munich and then PSG in the UEFA Super Cup.
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