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“I am not a goalkeeper but I have known football since I was a child and I know when I stand there and open my arms and I know the distance, so I immediately felt that something was wrong.”
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 09/24/20 11:14 pm
0:59
José Mourinho reveals what happened after he went to examine the goals before Tottenham’s game in North Macedonia
José Mourinho revealed how Tottenham were forced to move the goal posts ahead of their Europa League qualifying win over Shkendija.
Spurs needed goals from Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane in the final 20 minutes to beat their North Macedonia hosts 3-1 and advance to next week’s play-off against Maccabi Haifa.
But Mourinho says his goalkeepers noticed that the frame at the Tose Proeski Arena in Skopje was too small in height before the match and demanded that they be changed.
Mourinho then posted photos on Instagram of himself almost touching the crossbar as Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris easily grabbed the wood.
There are no suggestions of foul play by Shkendija, as the stadium in the capital of North Macedonia is not his stadium.
“Before the game it was a funny situation because my goalkeepers told me that the goal was small,” said Mourinho.
“I went alone and of course the goal was small. The goalkeepers spend hours and hours and hours in the goal so they know when the goal is not the right size.
“I am not a goalkeeper but I have known football since I was a child and I know when I stand there and open my arms and I know the distance, so I immediately felt that something was wrong.
Mourinho said that Tottenham goalkeepers noticed that something was wrong with the posts
“We got the UEFA delegate to confirm and yes it was 5cm smaller, which of course we required that the goals be replaced by goals of the correct dimension.”
The Spurs could have done it with even bigger goals in the first half as they struggled to put the minnows to bed after taking an early lead through Erik Lamela.
And they paid the price early in the second half when Valmir Nafiu’s thunderbolt threatened to sour Spurs’ night.
But the trusted duo Son and Kane, who was taken off the bench, came to the rescue with goals in the final 20 minutes to get the job done.
“It’s good to win,” added Mourinho. “Three in a row even better. Three in a row away from home even better.
Harry Kane scored Tottenham’s third by beating Shkendija
“We just did our job. We didn’t play great. We did our job at the end, which is to qualify for the next round.”
“When Harry came into the game and Sonny started coming down the left, it’s more of his natural habitat and he got his chance and scored a goal that was very important to us.
“We were going in a direction of great risk when you have 1-1 in the result. If you let go of the game you are in great risk, so the second goal was important.”
“When Harry scored, he killed the game, which we probably should have done in the first half. In the first half we went 41 minutes without scoring and then we gave them room to play.
“In the second half the game became more difficult for us after our changes and something that I like a lot, because I like to feel the players on the bench committed to the team and willing to make an impact. The people who came from the bench made the difference “.
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