Strand Larsen levels late for Wolves and deepens Postecoglou's Spurs woes | first division

A home game against a relegation-threatened opponent should mean only one thing for Tottenham. Instead, there was a sense of foreboding that was impossible to ignore before and during much of this. It is simply the time that Ange Postecoglou and his players live in.

The Spurs followed Hwang Hee-chan, who started his first first division I've been playing for the Wolves since August. They tied through Rodrigo Bentancur. They missed a penalty, with Son Heung-min being the culprit. And then they led through Brennan Johnson. All within the first half. They had the opportunities in the second half to make it 3-1, to calm the nerves that were almost audible inside the stadium.

Everyone knew there could be a late blow and not just because Wolves have been revitalized since Vitor Pereira replaced Gary O'Neil as manager and quickly beat Leicester and Manchester United. And so it happened.

It was an inside cut from Rayan Aït-Nouri followed by a lethal ball that found its way to substitute Jørgen Strand Larsen, who took a touch and whipped it high into the near corner of the net.

There were boos from the frustrated home fans at the final whistle, who have seen their team win just once in the last seven league games; a general feeling of soul-searching. The result here was everything to Postecoglou and, for once, he probably didn't care how it came about. Once again, he would escape.

The Wolves have become something of a ghost team for the Spurs. They had won in three of their five previous trips to this stadium and traveled with an agile step, the rebound pronounced under Pereira.

Pereira heard Wolves fans chant his name five minutes before kick-off and there were more chants after his team took the lead in the opening run. Most notable was the time and space Hwang had when Aït-Nouri launched a short free kick towards him just outside the Spurs box.

Johnson claimed that Santiago Bueno prevented him from leaving, but the lack of intensity of those in white was a concern. Hwang's first curly finish was a beauty. At that point, it was easy to fear for the Spurs.

The home crowd felt a little soporific. Too much Christmas turkey? Or spend too much time watching this team try to cover the spaces in front of the back four to defend against transition? They needed a boost and they got it when Bentancur attacked a Pedro Porro corner to head home.

It was a strange first part. The Spurs grew and ended up on top. And yet they were weak at times, throwing a couple of slapstick moments into the mix, especially the one where Dominic Solanke and Bentancur collided inside the Wolves box and fell to the ground. They had their eyes on the same shot opportunity after a cutback by Dejan Kulusevski. The offside flag would be raised against Kulusevski.

Postecoglou's team missed opportunities. Radu Dragusin headed inches from a Porro corner in the 24th minute. Yves Bissouma shot high in the 39th minute and soon after missed Son's penalty.

The captain had endured a couple of moments of hesitation, prompting murmurs from the crowd, and saw José Sá jump in the right direction to deny him the penalty. The kick had been awarded for an unnecessary tackle by André on Johnson.

Johnson would make Son feel better before the break. Son had just been thwarted by a good tackle from former Spurs defender Matt Doherty when Kulusevski checked inside from the right and returned to Johnson. It was a dynamic incision by Kulusevski. Johnson's conversion was low and true.

Wolves' prospects suffered another blow when Matheus Cunha failed to make a comeback in the second half. They would see him on the bench with ice under his left knee. The Brazilian had been in the mood from the moment he executed an elegant backheel with his first touch. He wandered down the left, extremely confident on the ball, giving the impression that he was sure to make something happen. The Wolves would also lose André due to what appeared to be a muscle problem.

Spurs also had to regroup, their defensive injury problems compounded when Destiny Udogie stopped with hamstring problems shortly after the second-half restart. Sergio Reguilón entered, with fewer points.

The second half was very tough, one of the permanent images that occurred when Son was among the players removed by Postecoglou. Son was a case study in dejection, with his head down and walking at a slow speed. He had waited what seemed like an eternity before taking his penalty. This action took much longer.

The Spurs had the opportunity to extend their lead. Solanke escaped before showing the ball too much to Bueno. Pape Sarr, who came on as a substitute, was unable to carry out the final action after a good run. Solanke was unable to touch a cross from another substitute, Timo Werner. Kulusevski was unable to finish after good work by Solanke.

The wolves continued the fight. They had created little after the break, except for a shot by Aït-Nouri that Porro stopped. But these are the Spurs, a team with a rare vulnerability. The wolves knew that one chance could change everything. When Ait-Nouri did it for Strand Larsen, that's how it was.

Sarr could have scored in stoppage time only to deflect a well-placed header and he said it all when Bentancur was booked for a harsh attack on Wolves substitute Rodrigo Gomes. Bentancur has just returned from a seven-match ban for a racial insult against Son. Now he has one more game suspension for accumulating five yellow cards.