WILSON ODOBERT went from Mr Forgettable to the centre of attention by rescuing Ange Postecoglou in his hour of need.
The Frenchman, 20, has hardly played since joining from Burnley in August for £25million due to a serious hamstring injury.
But he stepped up when it mattered most here as his first goals for the club helped Spurs to a second-leg comeback against AZ and into the Europa League last eight.
Odobert netted either side of a James Maddison strike, which he also had a hand in, and a Peer Koopmeiners’ effort which gave AZ some short-lived hope.
It was vindication for boss Postecoglou for starting the youngster despite his lack of game-time.
And a decision that may well have helped save his job.
Make no mistake, the heat could have cranked up to intolerable levels on the Aussie if he had lost this game.
It would have effectively ended their season, given they are out of both domestic cups and down to 13th in the league.
But victory last night keeps their Europa League dream alive and the possibility that this difficult second season can still have a glorious finale under the ex-Celtic chief.
Postecoglou’s side had stunk the place out in the first leg at the home of the Cheese Farmers.
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That is the delightful nickname for AZ Alkmaar on account of the town’s association with the much-loved sandwich filler.
Tottenham were lucky to lose only 1-0 and were it not for a couple of top stops from goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, they would have been toast at the halfway stage of this tie.
Postecoglou was boosted by his first-choice centre-back pairing being able to start for the first time in three months.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven had not lined up alongside each other since they both got injured at home to Chelsea on December 8.
Romero made his comeback in Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Bournemouth and looked rusty as an old nail, misplacing passes left, right and centre.
But here he looked far more focused from the off and looked to spark attacks from deep whenever he could.
The Argentine World Cup winner also added that fire that has been sorely lacking from the Spurs in recent months, snapping into tackles and giving former team-mate Troy Parrott a rollicking when he felt the Irishman was feigning injury.
Vicario, Postecoglou and Son had urged the Spurs fans to generate a buzzing atmosphere ahead of the game to give the team every advantage of turning it round.
And in fairness, the crowd duly obliged by bringing the noise.
Spurs looked far sharper than in the Netherlands – admittedly, a low bar to overcome – and their pressing game was on point.
In fact it was from some tireless closing down by captain Son Heung-min that the hosts took the lead.
The South Korean’s industry paid off as Wouter Goes’ poor pass deflected off the Spurs skipper into Dominic Solanke’s path.
Solanke then squared for Odobert, who blasted in his first strike since the opening day of the season for Burnley against Luton in the Championship – four days before he joined Spurs.
Postecoglou often criticises his side for being “too passive” after bad displays but they were aggressive in everything they did here, with Romero and Van de Ven setting the tone.
But Spurs have always looked capable of shooting themselves in the foot during Postecoglou’s reign – and long before that, in truth – so you always feared a mistake.
Pedro Porro provided one just before half-time with a weak pass straight to the opposition which led to the excellently-named Zico Buurmeester firing a warning shot wide.
Then shortly after half-time, Vicario had fans having kittens as he messed around with the ball at his feet and almost lost it to Parrott right in front of his goal.
Yet seconds later, Spurs were 2-0 up.
Porro won the ball and played it to Odobert, who shipped it on to Maddison.
The England man, desperate for a recall to the national squad today (FRI), exchanged a clever one-two with Son before firing home his 11th goal of the season.
Spurs looked relatively comfortable at that point – but then, just after the hour, disaster struck.
Odobert had raced back to intercept but then saw Bergvall’s careless pass ricochet off him into the path of Koopmeiners, who provided the most clinical of finishes.
Eleven minutes later though, the former PSG academy man more than made up for it by finishing off a breathtaking team goal at the far post.
Maddison began the move with a clever turn which led to Spence cutting the ball across the box, Solanke backheeling it on and Odobert sticking it in at the far post.
It was Ange Ball at its finest – which could not have come at a better time for Postecoglou.
The goal reminded everyone what his team is capable of when they are purring, and just why this season can still be a success.
