Antonin Kinsky Shines as Tottenham Hotspur Routs Leeds United in Frustrating Draw
Tottenham Hotspur dropped crucial points in a frustrating 1-1 draw with Leeds United at home earlier this week.
While many would say that Spurs squandered a golden opportunity to go four points clear of the drop zone, it would not be wrong to say that they eventually escaped with a point from the Leeds United fixture.
This is because of Antonin Kinsky’s sensational reflexes deep into stoppage time. He was the hero for Roberto De Zerbi’s side, producing a world-class save to deny substitute Sean Longstaff’s rasping left-footed shot from close range. In the first half, when the score was 0-0, the 23-year-old expertly kept out Anton Stach’s free header. For his masterclass, he earned an 8/10 rating vs. Leeds.
Indeed, Antonin Kinsky has been a massive upgrade over Guglielmo Vicario in recent weeks. Vicario’s hernia surgery during the March international break paved the way for Antonin Kinsky to start in goal against Sunderland in what happened to be Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge of Tottenham, and he hasn’t looked back since. The Czech Republic’s glovesman has been consistent under De Zerbi and won his side points in the crucial relegation battle.
Antonin Kinsky Opens Up on His Tottenham Turnaround
Just two months ago, questions were raised as to whether Kinsky would ever play for Tottenham again. The young shot-stopper endured a nightmare 17 minutes in his Champions League debut against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the last-16 fixture in March, making two high-profile errors that led to goals before being substituted off by then-interim manager Igor Tudor.
Now, he has begun to rebuild his reputation under De Zerbi, playing a key role in Tottenham’s upturn in fortunes. And after overcoming a tough phase in his career, Kinsky has opened up on his Spurs turnaround. The goalkeeper paid tribute to his parents for helping him to develop the mental strength needed to deal with adversity.
“I know myself, I know the way that my parents raised me, it doesn’t matter how difficult the moment is in life, that’s the challenge, to deal with it, and it’s a nice feeling when you do that. While what happened was something that I didn’t wish for, these things happen, and it wasn’t my first bad moment,” Kinsky was quoted by Football London.
“Until the moment that I got here, when I was playing in the different divisions in Czechia, there have been moments like this. The only difference is that more people see it here. I’m not too worried about how those people feel about me. I care about how I feel about myself. I think this is why it hasn’t affected me too much.
“I think for me, coming back in goal, even after something like that happens, I get confidence from the work that I put in if I know that I do the maximum every day I can. If there is a game that I’m not playing in, in the morning I do some warm-ups, and after the game I go on to the pitch because I have a lot of energy. For me, it’s another day to use wisely and get the most out of.”
Tottenham Make a U-Turn on Kinsky
With Vicario having reached a full agreement to join Inter Milan in the summer, recent reports suggest that the North London club would like to keep faith in Kinsky if they go down.
Ideally, the N17 chiefs would likely seek a quality replacement for Vicario should De Zerbi manage to keep the club up in the top flight. It won’t be surprising if the Prague-born talent goes into the next season as the club’s No.1; that’s how well he has been playing in the past few weeks in the relegation fight.