The game between Ryan Mason and Roy Hodgson was 44 years ago, but the interim head coach of Tottenham showed the tactical maturity to get his first victory under him when he beat Crystal Palace.
Mason takes his hat off to Spurs' work on a long-term basis, but admits he has little time to make an impact and salvage something after their unsuccessful season.
But as the auditions progressed, a close home win over Palace - scored by a first-half goal from Harry Kane - was euphoric as Spurs impressed in a new and innovative system.
With just two days to prepare for both the draw with Manchester United and the heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Liverpool last weekend, Mason stuck to Antonio Conte's familiar 3-4-3 system, but he used his spare week at the training ground the previous day. Visit the palace to prepare something new.
Spurs used four full-backs without possession, with Emerson Royal in high form at right-back and Pedro Porro pushing forward, but switching to a flexible three-man defence upon possession, with Porro and Ben Davies push forward to create width. Emerson interjected. Notably, Mason's former teammate at Spurs, Eric Dier, had to sit on the bench after struggling matches against MU and Liverpool.
The result was a much-improved defensive performance and the first clean sheet in the league since February 26, against a Palace team scoring comfortably under their caretaker boss and proud to be major threat to Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze.
What the hosts have achieved in defence, they must admit, they have lost their consistency in attack, recalling Jose Mourinho's description of his Spurs team as a swindler ("Like when you have to take a shot and your feet come out," said Mourinho in February 2020." And then you cover your legs but half of your body is exposed. That's us.")
But problems starting up front are acceptable when you have a player of Kane's quality up front, and Spurs have their other best chances of the game, with Cristian Romero brilliantly heading over the bar. level and Heung-min Son forced Sam to block Johnstone after breaking the offside trap. It seems unlikely that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will give Mason the job permanently, especially when there are so many attractive options in the bracket, but the 31-year-old has had a positive impact on the team. and show that he has a clear idea of ??the style of play.
Spurs will have another week on the training ground to perfect Mason's new system before a trip to Aston Villa next weekend in the play-offs for a place in the European Cup.
They will now go into this game with renewed confidence, especially in a solid and motivated defence, especially after Villa's loss to Wolves.
Kane delivery again
What would Spurs be without Kane? His 209th Premier League goal - putting him past Wayne Rooney and second on the league's all-time top scorers list - tackled an often tense London derby, and also his 26th goal of the season. That's been enough for the Golden Shoe in the last four campaigns, and there's no doubt Erling Haaland's remarkable achievements mean another stellar season for Kane has almost flown under the radar. .
His winner was the perfect amalgamation of both sides of Kane's game, as he found Porro with a superb pass over his shoulder before storming into the box to deliver the player's cross. Spain went home from the edge of the field to make repairs. As everyone knows by now, he is the perfect 10 and 9 in one.
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