Tottenham Hotspur narrowly beat Newcastle United in the Premier League at the weekend.
Garth Crooks has claimed that Heung-min Son’s return to the Tottenham squad was like ‘pouring petrol into a Ferrari’ following his side’s 1-0 win over Newcastle at the weekend.
The BBC Sport pundit also stated that Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka should ‘hang his head in shame’ for the manner in which he dealt with Son’s winning strike [BBC Sport] during the Premier League clash at Wembley.
With the seven minutes left on the clock, striker Fernando Llorente laid the ball off to Son, who took a shot from outside of the box and that resulting effort crept under Newcastle’s shot-stopper.
Crooks, who was delighted to see Son return from international duty with South Korea, clearly wasn’t pleased with Dubravka conceding the goal in that fashion.
“Son Heung-min’s return to the Tottenham line-up was like pouring petrol into a Ferrari,” Crooks told BBC Sport. “Without Son in the side, Spurs looked like they were running out of gas.
“Yes, his goal against Newcastle was fortuitous and Martin Dubravka should hang his head in shame. But Son is a class act and, missing the injured Harry Kane, Spurs are lost without him.”
For large parts of the season, Dubravka has been a key player in between the sticks for Rafa Benitez and his side as they currently sit outside of the relegation zone.
The defeat against Spurs and 18th-placed Cardiff’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth [BBC Sport] means the points gap between the two clubs is now just two points.
For Mauricio Pochettino and his team, they are in third place, two points behind second-placed Manchester City and a further four points behind leaders Liverpool, who travel to West Ham on Monday night football.
Tottenham’s next league encounter will be at home to Claude Puel’s Leicester City, while the Magpies will travel to the Midlands to take on high-flying Wolves.
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