In his post-match press conference, Ryan Mason has heaped praise on both Emerson Royal and Pedro Porro for their role in the win over Crystal Palace.
The young coach saw his Tottenham side win for the first time since he took over as Acting Head Coach with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace this afternoon.
(Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
It was a hard-fought contest at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium but it is the home side who take all three points.
The game was ultimately decided by Harry Kane’s goal at the end of the first half, which came from a Porro assist.
The fixture also saw the return of Emerson Royal, who returned from injury for the first time since March.
With both right wing-backs now available, Mason had a tough decision to make on which to leave out of the starting lineup.
Ultimately, Mason decided to start both players, with Porro pushing up to play on the right wing, and the choice proved to be a successful one.
Speaking to Football.London after the game, Mason had plenty to say about Emerson: “He was outstanding. I thought the whole team without the ball worked hard, they worked together. And obviously [Emerson] has had a period out. But I trust him. We trust him.
“I thought today he did a very good job along with the rest of the players on the pitch. When you keep a clean sheet it’s a collective, it’s everyone and everyone fought for the clean sheet.
“The players on the pitch but also the ones who didn’t because in the training week we’ve all worked hard together and they’re the results you want.”
On Porro playing as a winger, Mason added: “Pedro has been quite effective for us, even in the previous system. He’s scored goals, he’s created chances.
“He’s a good guy, he works hard, he fights for the team and I thought we saw that today.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It actually makes perfect sense to utilise these two players in the way Mason has today.
We know Emerson is better at the back than he is going forward, while Porro has struggled defensively but has brilliant attacking attributes.
It will be interesting to see if he goes with this structure again.
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