Thomas Frank opens up on the controversial penalty decision against Newcastle and praises Tottenham fans for their incredible support.
An incredible Cristian Romero brace helped Tottenham Hotspur hold Newcastle United to a 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Tuesday evening.
Spurs headed to St James’ Park on the back of three consecutive losses in all competitions, meaning the pressure was huge on Thomas Frank. The 52-year-old was searching for a response from his boys after the limp 2-1 defeat to Fulham last time out, and to some extent, he got it in Tyneside.
In reality, Newcastle United had some promising chances to take the lead in the first half but they didn’t. It took until the 71st minute for them to take the lead in the game via substitute Bruno Guimaraes’ clean strike from the edge of the box. Cristian Romero replied seven minutes later with an excellent diving header from Mohammed Kudus’ cross, before Anthony Gordon restored Newcastle’s lead from the penalty spot.
Romero delivered the goods in the fifth minute of stoppage-time by scoring a fantastic overhead kick, grabbing the headlines. But what stirred controversy in the game was the penalty decision awarded to Newcastle United.
Thomas Frank gives verdict on controversial penalty decision, happy with travelling fans
At 1-1, Newcastle made it 2-1 from the spot after Rodrigo Bentancur and Dan Burn tangled at the back post from a corner, and the VAR advised referee Tom Bramall to go the monitor. Bramall saw the video footage and awarded a penalty, which substitute Anthony Gordon converted coolly.
In an interview with BBC Match of the Day (h/t BBC Sport), Thomas Frank was asked about his team’s response against Newcastle and the penalty decision. The Spurs boss said:
“We suffered the first 25 minutes. The way the team handled two setbacks showed a lot about the character of the team, which I love.
“It’s never a penalty, we want the ref calls on the pitch, to support that, it can only be a clear and obvious mistake. It’s never a penalty in my opinion, there are ten of those a game.”
Frank also applauded the travelling fans after the game, insisting the players could hear them all game.
“I’m happy with our fans, there were 3,000 of them and we could hear them all game,” he added.
Thomas Frank praises travelling Tottenham contingent at St James’ Park
Frank incensed the Tottenham supporters when criticised the ones booing and jeering Guglielmo Vicario after his mistake against Fulham last weekend. This led to a backlash online, with many calling for the board to sack the Danish tactician.
When addressing the media ahead of the Newcastle game, the Danish manager insisted that his squad needs the entire fanbase on side to make the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a fortress. Our fans have been extremely loyal with the team, showing up in large numbers at home despite performances being awful this season.
They’ve been brilliant on the travels as well, playing a big part in the Lilywhites strong away record under Frank. That said, it was good to see Frank acknowledging our supporters for their constant support after a hard-fought point at Newcastle.
