Postecoglou's homecoming dampened in Spurs loss

It definitely wasn't the homecoming that Ange Postecoglou was expecting when he arrived back in Melbourne for his Tottenham side to play Newcastle United on Wednesday night.

Instead of a victory for his Premier League side, Postecoglou's men went down 5-4 in a penalty shootout at the MCG after the sides finished regular time locked at 1-1.

The shootout itself took the Australian coach by surprise, as he walked over to shake United coach Eddie Howe's hand when the 90 minutes had elapsed.

Spurs midfielder James Maddison's scored in the 31st minute to take the London-based side ahead, before United's Alex Isak broke through Tottenham's dominance to level the scores in the 45th minute.

postecoglou's homecoming dampened in spurs loss

The game ended in a 5-4 result, after a penalty shootout.

But Maddison's goal could very well have been disallowed, with vision showing his hand was used to control the ball before he scored.

There was no VAR in the friendly, so the goal was counted and the game moved on.

When it came to the penalty shootout, Tottenham's Bryan Gil had his shot saved by Newcastle's Mark Gillespie to even up the scores at 4-4.

Then came Harrison Ashby, who had the job of penalising Spurs for their mistake and seal the shooutout 5-4.

postecoglou's homecoming dampened in spurs loss

James Maddison.

It wasn't the game Postecoglou would have liked, but nonetheless, the support he received from the Australian crowd was out of this world.

Postecoglou was given a rousing round of applause when he entered the MCG, as a short video montage of his rise to highest level of the game was played.

https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1793263885530579404

In front of a massive 78,419 fans, he proved he was one of Australia's favourite sons.

Both sides flew Down Under just days after finishing up their Premier League campaigns. Newcastle finished seventh while Spurs, after a promising run at the top of the table to begin the season, fell to fifth to narrowly miss out on a place in the lucrative UEFA Champions League.

Postecoglou earlier defended the friendly amid concerns for player welfare.

The Wednesday night friendly was Spurs' last match before the off-season break.

Newcastle will front up again on Friday, facing off against the A-League All Stars at Marvel Stadium.

OTHER NEWS

14 minutes ago

Holders Dublin get quarter-final tie with Galway after edging clear of Mayo

14 minutes ago

Just one term? There is a strategy that can get Keir Starmer to No 10 – and keep him there

14 minutes ago

Boris Johnson demands Starmer denounce Jeremy Corbyn in latest column

14 minutes ago

'James had been very supportive of me'

14 minutes ago

Labour: Conservatives have utterly let renters down

14 minutes ago

Armagh power past Mayo to reach first All-Ireland minor final since 2009

14 minutes ago

PSL Awards: Sundowns and Pirates stars big winners

14 minutes ago

Tories have 'no leadership from top' as General Election betting scandal deepens

14 minutes ago

WATCH: DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small’s dancing video

14 minutes ago

Fired-up New Yorkers protest troublesome migrant tent city: ‘we’re going to keep the pressure on’

18 minutes ago

Rapper Foolio killed in Tampa shooting

18 minutes ago

‘I can’t move’: Ontario woman opens up about stiff person syndrome fight

20 minutes ago

Video: Katy Perry puts on a leggy display in Paris ahead of the Vogue World event after sparking Ozempic speculation

21 minutes ago

Labour would have to raise taxes to fill immediate £2bn black hole, Tories claim

21 minutes ago

Duda arrives in China to discuss trade, security in Europe

21 minutes ago

England suffer fresh injury concern ahead of Slovenia fixture

21 minutes ago

Russia vows military and legal response against US, holds it responsible for Kyiv attack

23 minutes ago

Tesla, opponents of Musk's pay package clash over resolving compensation lawsuit

27 minutes ago

Darwin Nunez is 25/1 with Sky Bet to score a hat-trick - as Uruguay open their Copa America 2024 campaign against Panama in Miami

28 minutes ago

Medicaid spending on migrants in Florida plummets after DeSantis crackdown on illegals: report

28 minutes ago

Illinois may return land stolen 175 years ago from a Prairie Band Potawatomi chief

29 minutes ago

Justin Reid opened the Chiefs “ChampionsHaus” pop-up in Frankfurt, Germany

29 minutes ago

Chelsea go ALL-IN on Nico Williams - Gianluca Di Marzio

29 minutes ago

Golden Nuggets: Ten more Sundays without real 49ers football

29 minutes ago

Chelsea ask Barcelona about signing young forward after Michael Olise snub

29 minutes ago

Ukraine reports successful attack on Russian military command post in Belgorod

29 minutes ago

Mailbag: Biggest villain in 2024, Jahmyr Gibbs or Jameson Williams?

29 minutes ago

Micah Parsons named NFL's ninth-best player by CBS Sports

29 minutes ago

A 4-year-old boy was rescued after surviving nearly 24 hours alone in California woods

32 minutes ago

Arsenal and Liverpool eye Joshua Kimmich transfer - but he's 'not interested' in Man Utd

32 minutes ago

Benoot's candid assessment: "Van Aert not at last year's level, Visma | LAB does not dare to bet money on Vingegaard"

32 minutes ago

Daniel Lismore arrives at the V and A summer party

32 minutes ago

Mets Morning News for June 23, 2024

33 minutes ago

The late 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek will be honored with a U.S. postage stamp

34 minutes ago

Researchers 'crack the code' for quelling electromagnetic interference

34 minutes ago

Kraken-Canucks Set To Kick Off 2024-25 Pre-Season Slate

34 minutes ago

Washington Commanders: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Was Outbid By Josh Harris For Ownership, Per Report

34 minutes ago

NASCAR race today: Live updates for USA TODAY 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

34 minutes ago

UAE: FTA urges taxpayers to register to avoid penalty

34 minutes ago

Nostalgic for your turbulent youth? Read this novel and you won’t be