Bodø/Glimt 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur: Lacklustre Spurs escape Arctic Circle with a point | OneFootball

Thomas Frank’s side managed to come back from two down to escape the far north with a point after a performance which left a lot to be desired.

As it happened

Spurs travelled to Bodø for the first time since their impressive display enroute to winning the Europa League last season. Frank’s men had already tasted victory in the Champions League after their 1-0 win over Villareal. It promised to be a difficult evening.

It started out that way as well. Bodø started strongly and created a great early chance after an impressive passage of play resulted in a strong attempt from striker Kasper Høgh which required acrobatics from Guglielmo Vicario to keep it out. This wasn’t just a slow start from Spurs, rather a sigh of things to come.

Good efforts from Høgh, Patrick Berg and Håkon Evjen brought Bodø close to the opener, but all failed were denied by Vicario in the visitors’ net. It was a worrying state of affairs as the Norwegians’ dominance continued deeper into the first half. Defender Odin Bjørtuft saw a close-range header drift just wide of goal to further unnerve Spurs.

They failed to improve throughout the first half apart from slight chances from Brennan Johnson and a stinging Richarlison effort which was comfortably saved by Bodø goalkeeper Nikita Haikin.

The hosts would count themselves unlucky to not have the lead, but all their efforts were rewarded with a golden opportunity when Rodrigo Bentancur brought down Høgh in the penalty area. It looked as if the pressure from the Norwegians would yield some return but Høgh, with an unconventional run up, skied his penalty high over Vicario’s crossbar and almost into the Arctic Ocean.

Bodø didn’t let this deter them and they came back in the second half to continue as they had begun, dominating what was a below-par Spurs side still reeling from narrowly avoiding a shock home defeat at the hands of bottom placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Despite showing moments of defensive resilience, Spurs couldn’t hold off the Bodø pressure for long and in the 53rd minute, Jens Petter Hauge buried his shot in the bottom corner to give the Norwegian side a thoroughly deserved lead. The goal seemed to have finally sparked Frank’s side into life, and it wasn’t long until they had the ball in the back of the net themselves. However, Bentancur’s effort was ruled out by VAR for a foul committed by Micky van de Ven.

It would be easy to be disheartened; however, Spurs slowly grew into the game, carving out chances curtsey of Johnson and Xavi Simons. Still, they weren’t to score next. Bodø and Hauge got their second shortly after to all but end any hope of a comeback from a lacklustre Spurs side.

Or so they thought.

The visitors needed a response, and they quickly found it. A Van de Ven header halved the deficit and after some positive substitutions from Frank, Richarlison managed to turn home the equaliser in the 89th minute.

Spurs thought their celebrations would be cut short yet again as a lengthy VAR check ensued, however the goal was given and Frank’s side managed to escape the arctic with a point after a hard-fought comeback.

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