Updated at 11.46
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Nottingham Forest
TOTTENHAM CAME FROM behind to claim a morale-boosting 3-1 League Cup win over Nottingham Forest at White Hart Lane.
After starting the campaign with four straight victories, Spurs had gone as many games without success, with Premier League losses to Liverpool and West Brom at home included in that barren run.
A completely fresh line-up struggled to find any spark up front and 19-year-old Jorge Grant made Tottenham pay for that lethargy when netting his first senior goal on the break after 61 minutes in the third-round clash.
Tottenham predictably pushed for an equaliser, though, and the response was stunning when it came, with substitute Ryan Mason blasting into the back of the net from 25 yards out. Roberto Soldado then deflected an Andros Townsend strike past Dorus de Vries late on and Harry Kane made sure the comeback was complete in stoppage time, much to the relief of the home fans.
The visitors went into the game as Championship leaders and on a 10-match unbeaten run this season following earlier wins at Tranmere Rovers and Huddersfield Town in this competition.
They were also cheered on by vociferous travelling fans wearing green jumpers as a tribute to legendary former manager Brian Clough, four days after the 10-year anniversary of his death. But Tottenham’s extra class finally told as Forest’s brave resistance ended. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino made 11 changes from Sunday’s defeat against West Brom, including giving former Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm his debut.
Soldado started up front for just the second time this term, while wingers Aaron Lennon and Townsend came in too. Stuart Pearce also shuffled his Forest pack, with only Kelvin Wilson and David Vaughan retained from a weekend draw at Millwall. The visitors, who had already kept six clean sheets this season in all competitions, were content to sit back and soak up early pressure as Tottenham enjoyed 70 per cent of the possession in the opening quarter of an hour.
Forest sprung into life on 23 minutes, though, when Ben Osborn breezed past two defenders on the break and rattled the crossbar with a thunderous strike from the edge of the area. At the other end, Federico Fazio let fly with a long-range effort that only just went over, while the pace of Lennon and Townsend caused problems out wide, but there was no breakthrough before the interval.
The second period started in a similar pattern to the first, but there was frustration from the home fans at a lack of creativity from midfield pairing Benjamin Stambouli and Nabil Bentaleb. Paulinho almost rectified matters when flicking a Ben Davies cross just wide of the post, but it was Forest who went ahead on the hour mark.
Lars Veldwijk found some space down the left and when his cross fell to Grant, the youngster kept his cool to stroke his shot low past Vorm.
Kane went close to levelling with a close-range header, but then Mason did manage to beat De Vries with a superb long-range strike on 72 minutes.
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Townsend almost put Tottenham ahead soon after when his free-kick came crashing back off the bar, but that proved only a brief respite for Forest as Soldado struck on 83 minutes with a real striker’s goal.
There was still time for one more goal as Kane beat the offside trap and coolly slotted across De Vries into the bottom corner of the net, while Erik Lamela hit the post as Forest tired.
