Hearts 1-5 Tottenham: Lankshear celebrates new contract and Bergvall impresses on Spurs debut
Tottenham made the perfect start to their pre-season preparations with a 5-1 win over Hearts on Wednesday evening.
Ange Postecoglou is gearing up for his second season in charge of Spurs and although he has restored Europa League football with a fifth-place finish, he’ll be expected to break into the top four in year two. Heading north of the border to face a Hearts side that finished comfortably in third in the 2023/24 Scottish Premiership was certainly a challenging way to start the summer rehearsals.
Spurs made hard work of the first half, only taking a 1-0 lead into the break thanks to a 39th-minute strike from Brennan Johnson. Things didn’t get any better as Scotland international Lawrence Shankland equalised right after half-time, with Hearts capitalising on a loose pass from Emerson Royal.
Sky Bet offer: How to get £30 in free bets from a 5p wager
Not signed up to Sky Bet yet? The bookmaker has arguably the most generous welcome offers we know about. Eligible new customers get £30 in free bets when they sign up and place any qualifying bet of 5p or more.
- Sign up at Sky Bet using this link
- Place any qualifying bet of 5p or more
- Claim your £30 bonus
NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY. 5P MINIMUM STAKE. ODDS OF 1/1 OR GREATER. 3 X £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS EXCLUDE VIRTUALS. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. FREE BETS EXPIRE AFTER 30 DAYS. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY. 18+. GambleAware.ORG
But if anything, the equaliser sparked Spurs into life and from there, they netted four goals in 30 minutes to put their Scottish opponents to bed.
Mikey Moore, Djed Spence and Ashley Phillips finished off the rout, but it was exciting striker Will Lankshear who opened the floodgates, firing home inside the left-hand post from a Spence delivery to put Spurs back ahead just nine minutes after Shankland’s goal.
Lankshear’s strike came just a couple of days after he signed a new five-year contract at Spurs, where he’s very highly thought of after netting 30 goals in 39 appearances across various youth levels over the past couple of years. The 19-year-old might well be a future England great as well, and he’s already scored three goals in his first five youth national team caps.
Football.London’s Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold has hinted in the past that Lankshear has a ‘little bit of Harry Kane about him’. While it may be a little early to compare him to England’s all-time top goalscorer, Postecoglou was certainly happy to offer up praise of the teenager’s performance in Edinburgh.
“Will was good. We kind of brought him in this last week. He’s looked bright in training. He worked hard,” Postecoglou told reporters after the match. “He’s had a very good year last year and it’s about rewarding him for that. It’s about coming in and making an impact. He did well and he took his goal well.”
Lucas Bergvall announces himself in style
Summer arrival Lucas Bergvall will also be very pleased with his evening’s work. Coming on for his Spurs debut after the half-time break, the Swedish teenager created three chances in just 45 minutes, one of which was converted by Moore to make it 3-1, while he was also involved in the fourth goal.
Bergvall also completed 42 of his 48 attempted passes, while making eight passes into the final third and chipping in defensively with an interception and a recovery.
We can think of worse ways to introduce yourself to the Spurs fanbase and it’s safe to say Bergvall has them buzzing with this performance.
🔥| Lucas Bergvall is a baller!pic.twitter.com/TLvXl3K5jT
— Sweden Spurs (@TottenhamSweden) July 17, 2024
What a goal this would’ve been. Lucas Bergvall has the composure of a veteran. Alfie Devine with the exquisite pass. pic.twitter.com/t66bMQD558
— Hotspur Edition (@HotspurEdition) July 17, 2024
I get to watch Gray and Bergvall play football every week
pic.twitter.com/wxwWUBZFLL— Kanefromthelane (@kanefromthelane) July 17, 2024
Up next for Spurs is a trip to Loftus Road to face QPR on Saturday afternoon.
