Pedro Porro’s 25-yard special helped Tottenham stumble into the FA Cup fourth round with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Burnley.
Spurs were far from vintage and a replay at Turf Moor appeared on the cards until Ange Postecoglou watched full-back Porro make the breakthrough with a superb strike in the 78th minute.
It earned Tottenham a deserved fourth win from five matches, but Clarets boss Vincent Kompany could take positives after a solid display and they will now concentrate fully on staying in the Premier League.
Spurs had already beaten Burnley 5-2 this season, but they were missing their hat-trick hero from that sunny September day with Son Heung-min away for the Asian Cup and the visitors started brightly in north London.
Fully COYS. pic.twitter.com/etHxbnFZsH
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 5, 2024
Anass Zaroury blazed over early on before Wilson Odobert tested Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario with a long-range effort.
Postecoglou had only made two changes for this third-round tie and arguably his strongest available team soon started to click into gear.
Richarlison scuffed wide after a slick move before Brennan Johnson’s curler forced Arijanet Muric into action.
The stadium was united in applause soon after when the clock struck 16 minutes as a tribute took place for Tottenham fan Harry Pitman, who was killed on New Year’s Eve.
Giovani Lo Celso hooked over at the end of a touching minute’s applause before VAR checked Rodrigo Bentancur’s tackle on Zaroury, but Spurs’ stand-in skipper avoided punishment.
Weathering an early storm ⚽ pic.twitter.com/YVcK5GL9lw
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) January 5, 2024
Kompany’s side created their best chance with 27 minutes gone when Zaroury’s scooped pass put Zeki Amdouni through on goal but he fired over, and while the offside flag was raised, it would have counted.
Johnson did flash wide from a Porro centre before half-time, but a drab first 45 ended goalless in N17.
Second Half
Tottenham were sent out early for the second half and it initially had the desired effect with Dejan Kulusevski driving over, while Lo Celso and Johnson tested Muric.
Spurs were still trying to walk the ball in, though, and groans were audible from the home fans when Kulusevski decided to pass instead of shoot from a promising position.
Lo Celso limped off moments later and Burnley also lost Charlie Taylor to a shoulder injury, which forced Kompany into a triple substitution with Nathan Redmond amongst those introduced.
Johnson had called Muric into action again by this point with a volley into the ground before the hosts had half-hearted penalty appeals waved away when the attacker went down after slight contact by Josh Brownhill.
OH MY ?
A moment of brilliance from @Pedroporro29_ for @SpursOfficial ?#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/XYtGcPcTf7
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 5, 2024
A replay at Turf Moor seemed to loom large as the seconds ticked away, but Porro had other ideas.
Moments after Richarlison failed to get on the end of Kulusevski’s cross, Porro won back possession from Ameen Al-Dakhil and let fly from 25 yards, with his dipping effort nestling into the corner.
Tottenham substitute Ryan Sessegnon nearly put the game to bed in the 86th minute but Muric saved and Burnley’s goalkeeper almost set up a late leveller from a corner only for Amdouni to volley wide.
By George Sessions, PA
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