Antonio Conte lauds Steven Bergwijn as Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham United 2-1 in Carabao Cup quarter final
Steven Bergwijn was decisive on the night as Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham United by a 2-1 scoreline in the Carabao Cup quarter-final, prompting Antonio Conte to acknowledge it. The former was given a chance to showcase his quality, and he took that with flying colours.
The clash was a timid affair overall except for the flurry of chances that occurred around the half-hour mark. The 24-year-old opened the scoring after some intricate play with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. West Ham hit back instantly through Jarrod Bowen after a mistake from Eric Dier. Tottenham responded within minutes after the Dutchman found Lucas Moura, who scored the winner.
Speaking in the post-match press conference (h/t Tottenham Hotspur official website), Conte hailed Bergwijn for his decisiveness which saw them qualify for the semi-finals. The former added that the Dutchman could do more as his ceiling is much higher than what he has shown so far.
“He played a good game. I think he can do much better because he has good qualities, one against one, he’s very fast, but he has to give continuity and also to give me the possibility to be sure, to count on him. Tonight, he deserved this chance to play, he played a good game, scored and made an assist, he was good but I think he has the potential to improve and to be better.”
More to follow?
There was uncertainty surrounding the future of the Dutch international coming into this game. Through this performance, the attacker may have earned himself a few more chances to stake his claim as a starter.
It is good to see how the fringe players have made an impact in the past two games showing steady improvement under the Italian manager. With games coming and fast, we need all our players to step up and make themselves count.
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Since the Spurs forward had a splendid display, he is bound to earn more minutes in the coming games. A scintillating player on his day, Begwijn’s inability to maintain his consistency has been a major drawback.
We will face Crystal Palace on Sunday in the Premier League, followed by a league fixture against Southampton on Tuesday. That shows how tight the schedule is, and the team would have to be rotated to keep everyone fresh moving forward.
