There was a problem before kickoff. It was the kind of problem that anyone who has played Sunday league football in this country at any level, on a cold day on a field full of bubbles, perhaps, when the players may be hungover from the night before, perhaps, when no one could find the The keys to the locker rooms, perhaps, they would have recognized.
The problem was on the network. There was a knot that had come loose and when the linesman saw it, the kick-off was delayed. “That's when I got the shout from Haydn,” Beck-Ray Enoru said afterwards of his centre-half teammate. “He told me to come and jump on his back.”
And so Enoru climbed onto Haydn Hollis's back in front of 4,000 fans packed into the ramshackle stadium, millions of people watching on television and a bewildered team of Spurs internationals running up and down trying to keep warm, and They hung from the crossbar and fixed the knot and then jumped and ran to the halfway line of the field.
Sixty seconds later, Enoru, who works as a salesman at the Zara store in Leicester and was probably the best player on the pitch, beat Radu Dragusin, skinned Pedro Porro and made an excellent save from Spurs' new goalkeeper hero, Antonin Kinsky.
And everyone was reminded once again why they love the FA Cup so much and why they must resist at all costs further step-by-step betrayals by the governing body and the Premier League.
Tamworth, which sits 96 places below Tottenham in England's football pyramid and languishes in 16th place in the fifth-tier National League, was the better team in the first half and much of the second half and deserved to take the tie to extra time.
Tottenham's complicated trip to Tamworth reminded us of all that was beautiful about the FA Cup
Ninety-six places separated the two teams, but Tamworth took Spurs all the way to extra time.
Tottenham's substitutions were designed to cause damage (and were mocked by Tamworth fans) but were effective in the end.
In previous years, that would have earned them a replay at the palace that is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a windfall of around £1 million, a transformative sum for a club that is one of the few teams remaining part-time in the National League. The FA ruined that prospect when they canceled the replays.
But enough of the complaining. Sunday afternoon at Lamb Ground was no cause for complaint. It was an occasion that celebrated the richness of English football. Not the financial riches of the top flight, but the sheer depth of our national sport and the intensity of support for clubs far removed from the Premier League.
Tamworth, whose coach Andy Peaks quit his job as a learning support lecturer at a local college last week because FA Cup money allowed the club to hire him full-time, gave it his all and Spurs found it difficult. to confront its threat.
Not just the long shots of midfielder Tom Tonks, but also the pace and trickery of Enoru and the muscularity of centre-forward Dan Creaney, who, in the old parlance of the game, was adept at letting Spurs defenders know he was over there.
Tamworth fans also contributed. The loudest of the home crowd, packed into The Shed behind the dugouts, serenaded Ange Postecoglou with chants of “You're going to be sacked in the morning” practically from kick-off and banged on the blue corrugated iron that protected them. of the bitter wind with all its might to create a terrible roar.
Spurs, who beat league leaders Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg last week, struggled to make any impression on the part-time players until James Maddison forced Jas Singh to make a decent stop after half an hour.
The urbanites were not trying very hard, but they were completely uninspired. After the break, Timo Werner showed that he can also fail one-on-one against National League teams. Singh saved him with an outstretched leg when the German striker should have scored.
Werner also had a header cleared off the line, after good work from Mikey Moore on the left, but in the last minute of six added at the end of the second half, a slip by Dominic Solanke presented the ball to Jordan Cullinane-Liburd. .
Tamworth needed Beck-Ray Enoru to fix the nets on his teammates' shoulders before the game, and 60 seconds later he had a shot.
The Spurs distinguished themselves with their humility and the time they had for the non-league team.
We must protect the FA Cup at all costs because it can elevate clubs and the community.
Tamworth boss Andy Peaks left his job as a learning support teacher before this because the money generated from his FA Cup run gave them the funds to hire him full-time.
The Spurs got involved in the carnival atmosphere and Son Heung-min met the mascots
Cullinane-Liburd wonderfully made space for himself by dragging the ball under his foot and fooling a defender, but with glory beckoning, his shot on goal was blocked by Yves Bissouma. Tamworth came this close to one of the great upsets in FA Cup history. 'Can we play with you every week?' sang the Tamworth fans.
But their threat diminished in extra time. Postecoglou decided to recruit his best players to avoid the looming embarrassment of a giant-killer in the third round, a fact that did not escape the Tamworth faithful.
'How shitty must you be?' sang the Shed choir. “We only work part time.” However, substitutes Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski made the difference immediately and their quality shone through.
The breakthrough came 11 minutes into the first half of extra time when Maddison orchestrated a clever free kick that surprised the home team. He slipped a pass to Brennan Johnson and when his cross-shot looked destined to be tapped by Solanke, Nathan Tshikuna inadvertently deflected it past Singh.
Kulusevski added a fine second with a low left-footed cross after a typically clever pass from Son and Johson closed the scoring two minutes from time with a crisp, curling shot. To the Spurs players' credit, there were no wild celebrations when they scored. They had no desire to mock their non-league rivals.
The Spurs had not played well. They were clearly normal in normal times. In fact, they were lucky to escape with a draw. But they also deserve some credit, in part because they did not lose their nerve or their heads and achieved a victory that put them in the next round.
And partly because they behaved with class all afternoon. They had walked through the crowd to get to their locker room before kickoff and Postecoglou joked and laughed with the home fans, looking like he was enjoying the ordeal his players faced.
And when the game ended, the Spurs players distinguished themselves by the time they dedicated to the home fans. Archie Gray, a youngster who is increasingly impressing on and off the pitch, took off both boots and handed them to the young Tamworth fans, and Maddison and Kulusevski posed for photographs and signed shirts as they walked back with the Tamworth coach. his team at dusk.
Daniel Levy was sitting in a makeshift hospitality area at Lamb Ground.
Spurs play Arsenal at The Emirates in the north London derby on Wednesday. Tamworth will play Boldmere St Michael's in the Birmingham Senior Cup on the same night before a home game against Boston United in a relegation clash on Saturday.
It is not yet known whether Spurs chairman Daniel Levy enjoyed his pie and chips in Tamworth's makeshift hospitality area at the back of the 518-seat main stand, but in his hospitality to the visitors, so As in his performance on the field, Tamworth lived up to the task. the occasion.
The two teams return to their separate worlds, but for one afternoon at the Lamb Ground, the FA Cup brought them together in a glorious collision.