Brighton once again threw a spanner in the works of the top four race on Saturday. They took a shock 1-0 win against Tottenham in North London, with Spurs sorely missing Irish full back Matt Doherty.
Doherty is out for the season after an injury sustained last time out against Aston Villa, and his creativity was one of the crucial things lacking in a poor Spurs performance.
Fans were crying out for the Dubliner in the aftermath of the shock result.
Spurs 0-1 Brighton: Fans crying out for Matt Doherty
Spurs have been in scintillating form in recent weeks. With Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane firing up front once more, they made their way into the frontrunners spot for a Champions League spot.
One unexpected key player for them in that run of form has been Irishman Matt Doherty. Having struggled since arriving at White Hart Lane, Doherty has finally found his feet, and was one of the league's form players before his untimely injury against Aston Villa last Saturday cruelly ended his season.
Doherty was a crucial part of making manager Antonio Conte's wing-back system work and, incredibly, was level with the likes of Mo Salah and Kai Havertz in terms of recent goal involvements before his injury.
My favourite thing about this graphic…
Matt Doherty is level with Mo Salah. #THFC #COYS pic.twitter.com/7CyPJTxgx6— That Tottenham Feed (@Tottenham_Feed) April 9, 2022
Against Brighton on Saturday, Spurs struggled without the creativity of Doherty on the right hand side. The Dub was on the sideline, but the knee brace on his leg suggested that it will be a while before we see him lining out for Spurs or Ireland again.
Matt Doherty is at the game today, but in crutches and a leg brace.
📸 @MaliqueZahi pic.twitter.com/ELyuCNqWtr— The Spurs Web (@thespursweb) April 16, 2022
Replacement Emerson Royal struggled to live up to Doherty's recent form, and the link-up play of the whole attack looked clunkier without the Irish right back in the side.
Overall, Spurs' creativity looked to be sorely missing the presence of Matt Doherty, and their expected goals showed that, with the team creating only 0.52xG over the course of the 90 minutes.
They would ultimately pay, as Leandro Trossard snatched a late winner for Brighton to give them a second win in North London in two weeks.
North London is ours. 😏
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 16, 2022
During and after the game, Tottenham fans and pundits alike were bemoaning the absence of Matt Doherty.
Badly miss Matt Doherty...
— Tottenham XG (@TottenhamXG) April 16, 2022
Matt Doherty is the glue
— Tomás Keating (@MossBoxx) April 16, 2022
Boy, are Spurs missing Matt Doherty right now.#TOTBHA
— Cartilage Free Captain (@cartilagefree) April 16, 2022
Matt Doherty wouldn’t let this happen… pic.twitter.com/2eROMp2eXN
— Jack ✞ (@JXSpurs) April 16, 2022
We are nothing without Matt Doherty.
— Richie (@richiecoys) April 16, 2022
Matt Doherty pls comeback 😭😭😭
— alyss⁷ (@niceonehm_7) April 16, 2022
In recent weeks, we were getting excited anticipating that Matt Doherty could be about to become the latest Irish player to play Champions League football, as he helped push Spurs towards a top four spot.
In a quaint turn of events, it seems like Doherty's absence could hurt Spurs' chances of dining at European football's top table next season. Time will tell just how long-term the effects of his injury will be felt by Antonio Conte's side.
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