AFTER a season presiding over embarrassment after embarrassment, Ange Postecoglou looked to have got his tactics spot on when it mattered most.
His three bold selection calls were all involved as Brennan Johnson put Spurs in front after just 38 seconds.
Then James Maddison’s scuffed shot and a Dominic Solanke penalty looked to have put Spurs on the brink of only their second major European final in 40 years.
They may well still get there – but a late strike from Bodo captain Ulrik Saltnes punctured the party atmosphere.
And with Glimt famously freezing out numerous European heavyweights this season on their plastic pitch in the Arctic Circle, no Spurs fan will believe this tie is over.
As ever for Postecoglou in his trying second campaign, nothing comes easy.
While he will be sweating on the fitness of Richarlison, Maddison and Solanke, who all came off here and looked like they could be carrying injuries.
But the under-pressure Aussie can take heart from the fact that his side are still in a fantastic position to reach the showpiece of this competition for the first time since they won it in 1984.
And for all the justified flak that has come his way for the team’s horrendous league campaign, the 59-year-old deserves huge credit for putting them there.
He did it too despite his team being rocked by a last-minute ankle injury to their own Scandinavian success story, Lucas Bergvall.
It saw the shock inclusion of Yves Bissouma in the starting XI, despite the Malian plummeting down the midfield pecking order in recent months.
Bergvall’s compatriot Dejan Kulusevski, Spurs’ best player in the first half of the season, was also surprisingly left on the bench.
Instead, Johnson was on the right and Richarlison started on the left wing for the first time since Spurs won at Crystal Palace in October 2023.
That was the final match of Postecoglou’s blistering, ten-game unbeaten start to his tenure which saw the team go five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Back then, anything seemed possible under the Aussie.
But Spurs have fallen to 16th after NINETEEN Prem defeats this term, leaving the Europa League as their only chance to save their season and, quite possibly, Postecoglou’s job.
Fans who attended the game seemed well aware of how fragile their team have been, and so gave their most raucous backing in months to get the ground rocking before kick-off.
Flags were waved furiously and every home player’s name belted out in the stands.
The bouncing atmosphere had its desired effect almost instantly – as jet-heeled Johnson broke the deadlock.
And it was a goal that involved all three of Postecoglou’s bold selection calls.
Bissouma won the ball off dithering Ole Didrik Blomberg and gave it to Pedro Porro, who swung in a cross which Richarlison headed back across the six-yard box.
There to meet it was Johnson, starting over Kulusevski on the right, to nod into the net.
It sent the stadium potty – and Postecoglou punched the air with both fists in celebration.
Spurs were taking a different tack for the second successive European game, after the defensive, low-risk approach that saw them through against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarters.
Here they were happy to cede possession to Bodo and look to hit them on the break.
It left you wondering why they had not tried it more often this term.
But that was by the by, what mattered was that they were doing it here and it was working.
On 34 minutes, it was 2-0 as Spurs went back to front in devastating fashion.
Rodrigo Bentancur just about kept hold of the ball on the touchline, allowing the Spurs backline to recycle the ball from a tight spot.
Guglielmo Vicario set away with Porro, who hit a laser-guided ball over the top where Maddison had timed a run to perfection.
The England man, playing in front of the watching Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel, controlled the lofted ball superbly with a super first touch.
His second was more of a scuff of a shot which managed to evade Bodo’s desperate defenders and roll in.
Just before the hour, Spurs had a spot-kick thanks to VAR which had spotted Cristian Romero being caught by a Fredrik Sjovold kick as they contested a high ball.
Solanke did the business, just as he did in Frankfurt, with a stuttered run-up and ice-cool finish.
The scorer then came off with what looked like a suspected injury, worryingly after Richarlison and Maddison had done the same.
One more goal would have killed off Bodo completely – but instead it was the visitors who struck as a shot from skipper Saltnes looped up off Bentancur.
Now for the nerves in Norway next week.
