**Tottenham**earned a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United to end their time in South Korea. The stage was set to mark the end for **Son Heung-Min**at Spurs, and Thomas Frank, his boss, was blown away by the "unbelievably beautiful" scenes to bring the house down on a decade of service for the club.
‘It was a very promising performance’
High pressing appears to be an important part of the work that Frank is doing with his new group. Pape Matar Sarr scored a lob off a turnover from Myles Lewis-Skelly in a 1-0 victory over **Arsenal**at the end of July. The first goal of this game for Brennan Johnson also involved a similar sequence.
“It was a good game between two competitive teams. We scored a great goal from high pressure where we are winning it high. It was a big part of what we like to do I also think we won it high four five six times where we could created more of those situations and then we fell a little bit back.”
Archie Gray got a chance to play in the midfield next to Rodrigo Bentancur, and he caught the eye.
“I think of any of our young players, I think Archie Gray stood out. I think he was really impressive. I like the way he was carrying the ball forward. His run down the side in half space runs and I think his aggression in the duels and in the pressure was good. I think it was a very promising performance.”
The Toon fought their way back into the game, and Harvey Barnes rattled a strike off the inside of the post to level the score. In the end, the Dane declared that a draw was a fair result for both outfits.
“Then during the second half we got back to more of that. It was a fair result in an even game.”
However, he will be very sad to have seen James Maddison crumple to the floor with a knee injury.
“It’s like that in life and football. Sometimes, life and football can be brutal but also sometimes very beautiful. I think it was brutal what happened to Madders. It looks like a bad injury. We don't know the exact status on it. It didn't look good. We are pretty sure it is the same knee he injured previously.”
‘I made sure we honour him in the right way’
As much as the sport can be cruel, it is also an arena that can bring people together in reverence.
**Son Heung-min**told the press that he is going to leave **Tottenham**this summer after he has spent ten years in North London. From the moment he walked onto the field until he signed off in the dressing room, the 51-year-old offered his thoughts on all the touching scenes to celebrate his career at Spurs.
*“On the other side unbelievably beautiful scenes with his teammates. The big respect from Newcastle, I can't praise that highly enough from the players on the pitch, the scenes after first walk around and then when his teammates gather around him. You see he is emotional and in the changing room, I said a few things very shortly because it's about Sonny and he said a few things. Very beautiful scenes.”*
Despite the meaning of this match for the Korean, not too much changed for the manager before the kickoff. However, he and all others involved took every effort to give Son the shine he deserved.
“Not too much if I'm honest. Sonny knew he had to play. He will play this game no matter what if this was potentially his last game or not. He would captain the team. The only thing was I spoke a little bit with him to make sure we honour him in the right way.”
After such an emotional tribute, it is unlikely that the club captain will play again for the team.
“I think most likely it was Sonny’s last game.”
His younger compatriot, Yang Min-hyeok, also came on in front of the fans in Seoul. He is looking to make a mark after he spent the first half of the year on loan at Queens Park Rangers and nearly did.
“It was lovely to see Yang on the clear in front of the home crowd. He almost scored the goal which would have been fantastic for him.”