Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke celebrates scoring their first goal.
Credit: Reuters Photo
London: Striker Dominic Solanke scored his first goal for Tottenham Hotspur as Ange Postecoglou's team recovered from conceding inside the opening minute to beat Brentford 3-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Bryan Mbeumo's acrobatic volley stunned the home crowd but 65-million-pound ($86.59-million) signing Solanke calmed the jitters when he tapped in a rebound in the eighth minute.
Brennan Johnson fired Tottenham ahead after 28 minutes but Tottenham's lead looked vulnerable in the second half until James Maddison was set up Son Heung-min to make it 3-1.
Tottenham's second win of the season lifted them to 10th with seven points from five games with Brentford, who have six points, dropping to 12th.
Despite an unconvincing 2-1 victory over second-tier Coventry City in the League Cup in midweek, questions were being asked about Tottenham manager Postecoglou after the club's worst start to Premier League campaign since 2015.
So when Mbeumo met a cross by Keane Lewis-Potter with a swivelling volley into the top corner 23 seconds after kickoff it looked ominous for the hosts in the late summer sunshine.
It was the second week in a row that Brentford had scored in the opening minute after Yoane Wissa scored after 22 seconds against reigning champions Manchester City, but just as at The Etihad they ended up pointless.
Tottenham responded to the setback positively and when Maddison seized on a sloppy pass out of defence by Ethan Pinnock his shot was parried by keeper Mark Flekken, Solanke was alert to stroke home the equaliser.
"Dom worked his socks off. He was gone at the end. He is still getting back to match fitness, but I know he is going to provide so much for us in that central position," Postecoglou said of the striker signed from Bournemouth.
"All strikers love goals so it will be a great moment for him especially at home."
With confidence restored Tottenham began to dominate and Son played in the lively Johnson down the right and his angled shot flashed past Flekken and into the net.
Tottenham lost control though and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario almost gifted Brentford an equaliser but made amends to deny Fabio Carvalho and then Mbeumo.
Johnson squandered a chance to make it 3-1 after the break and Vicario was forced to make a stunning save to claw out a header from substitute Kevin Schade midway through the half.
There was a sense of anxiety around the stadium until a flowing move from the hosts saw Son release Maddison on the left and he finished in style.
"It was a good win, a good performance," Postecoglou, whose side begin their Europa League campaign next week, said.
"Our performances have been good all year but today we got the result as well which is the most pleasing bit. We should have won by a fair bit more but we still got the job done."