Tottenham Hotspur eased into the next round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory against Newport County on Wednesday evening and fans were delighted with the performance of one of the Spurs stars on social media.
The North London outfit drew the first leg of the fourth round tie 1-1 at Rodney Parade, Harry Kane coming to the rescue just minutes before the final whistle.
Despite the replay, Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side was overwhelming favourites to progress to the next round of the competition, where they will now face League One team Rochdale.
The Spurs manager decided to use the match as an opportunity to give a number of his first-team stars a rest ahead of a busy schedule, including a north London derby and a Champions League knockout tie with Juventus, by making 10 changes.
Tottenham broke the deadlock in the opening 25 minutes of the game courtesy of an own goal by Dan Butler.
The Newport player had diverted a Moussa Sissoko cross into his own net before Erik Lamela secured the Spurs victory.
The Argentina winger scored his first Tottenham goal since September 2016, although he has spent the majority of that time on the sidelines with a major hip issue.
Spurs fans were delighted with what they saw from the 25-year-old and took to Twitter to provide their reactions regarding his performance.
Many of the Tottenham supporters stated that they had felt Lamela had been the standout performer and was the best player on the pitch, whilst others are looking forward to him getting more game time as the season progresses.
Here are some of the Spurs reactions:
That will do Lamela world of good, minutes & confidence. Such a great player in there when fully fit. Job done. #THFC #COYS
— Cory Clark (@coryscoys) February 7, 2018
MOTM today is Erik Lamela. #COYS #THFC
— Cartilage Free Captain (@cartilagefree) February 7, 2018
Lamela MOTM deserved. Been superb. #coys #thfc
— Jay (@JJmessiah) February 7, 2018
Lamela, Son, and Foyth, all fantastic matches for them. #COYS #THFC
— Dan- Angie's Husband -Walsh (@GT_LightishRed) February 7, 2018
Lamela sooooo goood man
— Hamid (@HamidTHFC) February 7, 2018
Lamela today 👏👏👏 #THFC
— Spursleif (@spursleif) February 7, 2018
Lamela is so class, sparks every move. Should be regular starter again! #Thfc #Coys
— Glen (@Glxn) February 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/MB2314/status/961346338800766977
Terrific performance from @NewportCounty. Did the club proud, utmost respect for them. Lamela proving what a wonderful footballer he is, so glad he is back. Just a shame we’ve broken Llorente! #coys #thfc #NewportCounty
— Andrew Neil’s Missing Spine (@guyfarmer1978) February 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/JamesVaughny/status/961355660783964161
With fixtures coming up thick and fast, Lamela will have a role to play for Tottenham despite not being an automatic starter in Pochettino’s side.
The South American’s guile and creativity was fully on display before he got injured and getting the versatile forward back to that level would be a major boost for Spurs.
In the longer term, Lamela’s Tottenham contract expires this summer and as such, if the attacker can stay fit, a new deal must be a priority for Pochettino in the next month or two.