José Mourinho and Marine show that the cup still matters
Marine 0 Tottenham Hotspur 5
Henry Winter, Chief Football Writer
Sunday January 10 2021, 6.00pm, The Times
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
Football
Marine had dared to dream for 24 minutes. Only when Dele Alli began weaving around and creating goals did the gulf in class begin to show. Only when Carlos Vinícius, the Brazilian on loan from Benfica, began building his first-half hat-trick, leading to a brace of poacher’s finishes and a clever strike from the edge of the area, did Marine look all at sea.
The odds were always stacked against the Crosby side but it was very clear how much the FA Cup still matters. José Mourinho took it seriously. Dele took it very seriously. Vinícius defied anyone at the end to prevent him taking the match ball home. Marine took it incredibly seriously. Whoops of joy emanated from residents viewing from their back gardens, the shed ends, when Neil Kengni, a trainee plumber at Trafford College, struck Joe Hart’s bar after 20 minutes, showing the love of the cup.
The throng outside the ground highlighted that. Hundreds of locals had gathered by the entrance to the Marine Travel Arena, spilling off the pavement outside Dace Tea Rooms, Moose Coffee and The Edinburgh pub (“The Bug”) on College Road, craning necks for a glimpse of Marine players and celebrated visitors such as Dele, Gareth Bale and Heung-min Son and their manager, Mourinho. They did well to spot Mourinho given how heavily wrapped up he was. If it was reassuring to see that interest in the cup remains healthy, there was obviously also understandable disquiet at the absence of social distancing.
Few Marine players got close to Dele in a magnificent 65-minute performance full of energy and invention. He seemed almost on a mission to make a point to Mourinho, to remind the manager of his qualities and also fight his way back into the England squad. Marine are hardly Milan but the opportunity was there, and Dele was determined to seize it.
He floated across the turf, too quick for Marine tackles, moving between the lines, from flank to flank, almost scoring early on with a shot saved by Bayleigh Passant. Another Dele run brought the first of Spurs’ four first-half goals. He exchanged passes with Gedson Fernandes before freeing Vinícius. Passant, who works in a supermarket, saved, but Vinícius simply regathered possession, dribbled around the keeper and rammed the ball almost savagely in. Dele created the second, crossing to Matt Doherty, Passant saved but there was Vinícius again.
Marine’s defiance faded. Some residents of Rossett Road congregated at their shed ends, peering through the fencing into the ground, greeting the sight of Spurs Welsh contingent, Bale and Ben Davies, with a blast of “Football’s Coming Home”. Those at No 11 received an early souvenir when a ball looped into their garden. Those at No 9 (Rossett Road, not Bale) occasionally put down their flasks and picked up airhorns, which were particular used when Spurs took set-pieces. Just before Lucas Moura connected with a free kick, the airhorn let rip, and the ball cannoned into the Marine wall, followed by a cackle of glee from No 9.
Football’s food chain had asserted itself, romance given the elbow, but all the focus on the tie, the presence of the BBC, who even brought in their own floodlights, reflected the cup’s enduring appeal, its endearing nature. Such was the intense interest that the side sixth in Northern Premier League Division One North West received requests for interviews with Neil Young and his squad from all over, from Russia and Estonia as well as Germany, Italy and Spain. Such was the obsession that Young took a week’s leave from his role as a manager with Merseyrail to deal with all the questions about life as Marine manager.
Fascination with the cup clearly persists, with the 161 places between a team in the eighth tier of English football and opponents who appeared in a Champions League final 19 months, the biggest gap in third round history. Marine’s weekly wage bill is £1,750 and their team is made up of teachers and students, bin-men and plumbers. Spurs had a four-time Champions League winner on the bench. Yet for all the frustration of defeat, and not being able to have fans in their 3,000-capacity ground, Marine will have made more than £400,000 from the tie, including the £220,000 from the 22,000 virtual tickets sold at £10 apiece. Some buyers made additional donations to Marine in the Community. So many people have benefited from the FA Cup’s visit to Crosby.
It was a fleeting visit. Spurs, slick and professional, quickly added to their two-goal lead. Moura curled in a free kick after 32 minutes, confirming Spurs’ superiority, but there was still yelps of joy in the shed ends of Rossett Road when James Joyce, Marine’s full back, had a shot athletically blocked by Joe Rodon. Marine were not sinking without trace.
Yet Vinícius completed his hat-trick with an elegant left-footed lobbed finish.
Mourinho had left the likes of Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Hugo Lloris at home but again took the cup seriously. Even if full of second string players, this was a Spurs side full of international talent and prospects like the confident 19-year-old midfield player Harvey White making only his second appearance for Spurs. Mourinho was not taking any risks. He wants to win the cup again.
Only when the tie was clearly settled, by half-time, did he remove Toby Alderweireld and Moussa Sissoko, his two first-choices amongst his starting XI, for Japhet Tanganga and Alfie Devine, Spurs’ youngest ever first-team player at 16 and 163 days. Devine promptly celebrated his historic arrival with an exceptional finish, tricking his way past Josh Solomon-Davies before sliding the ball past Passant. The cup now showcased Spurs’ vibrant youthful elements.
Marine’s fans in their gardens continued to support their side loudly, blasting their airhorns. The residents of 21 Rossett Road even waved a cardboard cutout of Jürgen Klopp behind Mourinho as he made Spurs’ final substitutions, Bale for Dele and Jack Clarke for Moura, followed by Sergio Reguilón for Davies. The tie was over but there was still the memory of Passant saving a Bale free kick, a story to have them dancing in the aisles when he returns to his job at Sainsbury’s in Liverpool.
Down the other end, Hart was so unemployed that he kept his concentration sharp with a rigorous stretching session, pausing only to sit briefly on the perimeter wall behind his goal. But he was professional, talking constantly, keeping his team-mates on their toes. Marine’s fans certainly remained defiant to the end with strains of “We are the champions” drowning out the final whistle.
‘Four goals were poor . . . but i saved a Bale free-kick!’
Bayleigh Passant, Marine goalkeeper’s matchday diary
I am a little disappointed to be honest. We gave away four crap goals and, at certain times, we showed them too much respect. When Gareth Bale came on he had a free-kick within two minutes just outside the penalty area. I thought it was going to be an inswinger, but then I saw his stance and realised it was going to be his knuckleball. I was thinking, ‘oh, no, don’t bring any more misery to the game.’ But lucky enough I watched it all the way and kept my body behind it. I can say I saved his knuckleball. I had a nice chat with Joe Hart at the final whistle. He was asking how I was, how I found it. For Covid reasons we were not allowed to swap shirts, but I have heard Tottenham have replicas with them so I hope I can get one that he hasn’t worn. As a young player and as a club, we can learn from this. We don’t know when we are next going to play because of lockdown but it has been a proud day for everyone.
Devine intervention
At 16 years and 162 days old, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Alfie Devine became the youngest player to feature in a senior match for the club. He needed just 15 minutes to become Spurs’ youngest goalscorer when he made it 5-0. “A kid of great potential. He is not a stranger around the first team,” said José Mourinho of the former Liverpool trainee. “I like him and today is special for him.”
