Ange Postecoglou does not seem prone to introspection and rarely succumbs to self doubt but maybe, just maybe, a little part of Tottenham’s manager wishes he had never left Glasgow.
Things were so much simpler for the Australian when he was hoovering up trophies during his Celtic tenure. Back then Angeball not merely entertained but pretty much worked and he revelled in putting Rangers in their place.
Such old certainties seemed cruel chimeras as Postecoglou failed to turn back time here, leaving his current Spurs players heading back to the airport nursing a record of only one win in their last eight matches.
In truth a draw was the least Rangers deserved from a Battle of Britain punctuated by a soundtrack featuring renditions of “Sacked in the morning” aimed for Postecoglou’s ears.
It was a bitterly cold night with temperatures hovering around freezing point by the Clyde but nothing could surely rival the inner chill Tottenham fans must have felt as they watched Philippe Clement’s side enhance their chances of direct progression to the Europa League’s knockout phase, leaving their guests contemplating the lottery of the playoffs following January’s final two initial stage games.
Perhaps everyone had underestimated a Rangers side currently third in Scotland’s Premiership. After all they kicked off unbeaten in their previous eight fixtures and as Nedim Bajrami forced the excellent Fraser Forster into a fine save involving Tottenham’s former Celtic goalkeeper’s fingertips coming between the ball and the top corner it was easy to see why.
By then Timo Werner was already underwhelming with every touch and a ferociously fast counterattacking Rangers dominated. At times Tottenham’s defence lived extremely dangerously with Forster required to save smartly from Vaclav Cerny before Bajrami somehow failed to connect with Jefté’s gloriously inviting cross that demanded to be tapped in from close range.
After a slide to 11th in the Premier League and considerable debate about both the feasibility of “Angeball” and his own job security, Tottenham’s manager was in need of a restorative night on his first return to Govan but, instead, he looked increasingly stressed.
For all his past success with Celtic Postecoglou won only one of his four visits to Ibrox with his old employers and here he could have done without needing to deploy Archie Gray out of position as an emergency centre-half in a defence badly missing, among others, the injured Micky van de Ven.
When Forster again saved superbly from Cerny, with his feet this time, it was clear that Gray and co were struggling to cope with Rangers’ alacrity on the break. It did not help that the visitors treated the ball as a toxic object. With the exception of the efficient Yves Bissouma, they forfeited possession with alarming frequency as Clement’s players revelled in closing them down at ferociously high tempo, leaving James Maddison and co no time to sprinkle any stardust on proceedings.
Rangers deservedly took the lead early in the second half. It started with a deep, lofted cross from James Tavernier and concluded with Hamza Igamane unleashing a sublime left footed shot that left Forster utterly helpless and Pedro Porro doubtless reflecting on how easily Igamane had dodged him.
At least it served to galvanise Spurs and with Jack Butland finally making some important saves an equaliser beckoned. It finally arrived when Dominic Solanke and Maddison belatedly showed their class deconstructing the home rearguard before the substitute Dejan Kulusevski slipped a deceptive left-foot finish beyond Butland’s reach.
Although Tavernier’s fine block subsequently denied Solanke, another substitute, a goal only further Forster brilliance prevented Cyriel Dessers from claiming a late home winner that would only have amplified those “sacked in the morning”choruses.