Mauricio Pochettino has congratulated Championship side Barnsley for making life tough for Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup at Wembley, as Spurs edged the tie 1-0.
Tottenham were made to work hard by a resolute Barnsley side looking to cause a shock at the national stadium and did not register their first shot on target until midway through the second half.
Spurs did eventually break through in the 65th minute after good work from Kieran Trippier gave Dele Alli a chance from six yards out and he made no mistake.
Barnsley did have chances of their own, but were not clinical and slipped out of the EFL Cup in front of 24,000 fans at Wembley.
But Pochettino was keen to doff his cap to the visitors and says they made life for Spurs "very tough".
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"It was a very tough game. I want to congratulate Barnsley because they defended very well", Pochettino said on Spurs TV.
"Our first shot on target was after 60 minutes. It was so tough, so tough.
"Happy, I think the performance was good. We dominated the game.
"At the end the objective was to go to the next stage, but I congratulate the opponents because they defended very, very well.
"I think many things were positive.
"It was important to provide minutes to those who have not played so much", he added.
Spurs' win over Barnsley is their second victory at their temporary Wembley home in the current campaign, after a Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
