Stellini Reacts to Preston Victory

A comfortable Saturday evening for Spurs saw them defeat Preston North End 3-0 and progress into the 5th round of the FA Cup. Read the match report here, player ratings here, or have your say on the match at the Vital Spurs Fan Forum here.

After the match, Cristian Stellini reflected on the comfortable nature of the victory and praised the professionalism of his players on the night.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Stellini started by praising those who had not featured heavily this season, insinuating that they took the opportunity of being handed rare starts well:

“It was what we expected from this game, and what we expected from the players who didn’t play in the last game (against Fulham).”

Stellini then praised the goalscorers on the night, Heung-min Son and debutant Arnaut Danjuma, stating that he is excited to work with the latter as he and the other coaches seek to find his most effective position:

“Sonny waited for his moment and the momentum in the game to find the target. We are also excited to work with Arnaut. We want to discover this player. He has good qualities we can use in many positions in attack.”

Continuing to lavish the praise on the team, Stellini was particularly impressed with Davinson Sanchez, who captained the team on the night and was part of a backline that stifled Preston throughout:

“We are happy with him, happy with the team and I want to give a lot of compliments to the three at the back, because they played a great game. We’re so happy. It was a good evening for Davinson to be captain, a clean sheet and to lead the defensive line.”

Stellini then commended Preston’s first-half efforts, while admitting that he felt Son’s first goal made the difference in opening the game up and setting the tone for a comfortable afternoon for Spurs:

“Preston defended very well in the first half, they ran a lot and I mentioned the three at the back because they never allowed them to counter-attack in the first half, and it was a good first half. Then the difference in the second half was Sonny finding the target and that created the comfort.”