“Stranger things have happened”- Steve Cooper makes bold claim about Andre Ayew penalty miss vs Tottenham | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper claims one moment could have changed Tottenham result

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper believes Andre Ayew’s penalty miss deep into second-half stoppage time helped Tottenham Hotspur win the game with ease.

Spurs recorded a 3-1 Premier League win against the Tricky Trees on Saturday after a brace from Harry Kane and a strike from Son Heung-min. Joe Worrall pulled one back for the visitors in the 81st minute.

Dejan Kulusevski came on in the 84th minute and ended up conceding a penalty for handball in the dying embers of the game. Luckily for us, Ayew failed to convert and we went on to win the game.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Swedish midfielder Dejan Kulusevski is challenged by Nottingham Forest’s Emmanuel Dennis and Neco Williams. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

According to Cooper, a goal here could have helped Forest steal a late draw. A bold claim considering the referee blew the whistle a couple of minutes after the kick. Bringing on Pape Matar Sarr for Oliver Skipp after the miss helped us run down the clock too.

Here is what Cooper had to say about the match with Sky Sports (h/t BBC):

Cooper was clearly frustrated with his team’s effort in the first half, where they conceded twice to Harry Kane. He isn’t wrong about the part where he claims stranger things have happened than a team scoring two goals late in stoppage time.

It would have undoubtedly been a nervy few minutes for us had the Ghana international converted his spot-kick. But we are professional enough to see a game through even in that circumstance.

It’s in the past now and all that matters is the three points on the day. Liverpool’s 1-0 loss against AFC Bournemouth makes this way sweeter because we are now in a strong position to finish fourth this season.