Tottenham 3 Forest 1: Van de Ven hits the winner for Spurs as they leapfrog Aston Villa to take fourth spot

IF TOTTENHAM end up securing Champions League football, then Micky van de Ven deserves a hefty performance bonus.

When the Dutch defender is involved, Spurs rarely lose – if only they could keep him fit for every minute of this campaign.

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Micky van de Ven was the hero for Spurs as his winner fired them towards the Champions League[/caption]

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The Dutchman fired left-footed to make it 2-0 to Spurs[/caption]

And when he is in the mood, the centre-back can strike the ball with some venom, too, as he demonstrated in Tottenham’s ruthless second-half display against Nottingham Forest.

It was his left-footed screamer on 52 minutes that set Tottenham on the path to a 12th league home win.

Oh Micky, you’re so fine – and your worth to this top-four race could be invaluable.

This result, which did not require late goals for a change, saw the North Londoners draw level on points with Aston Villa but move ahead into fourth place thanks to their superior goal difference.

And with a game in hand – provided the Holland international, 22, is starting – they can maybe start dreaming of top-level continental action this autumn.

Given the demanding run-in they have – which involves clashes with Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool – this was a must-win match for the home side.

Forest had arrived in N17 on the back of a morale-boosting 3-1 thumping of Fulham.

And boss Nuno Espirito Santo – returning in a managerial capacity for the first time since being sacked in November 2021 following a 17-game tenure – stuck with the same starting line-up.

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Now, Murillo might play in Forest’s defence but he is Brazilian after all and, like most of his countrymen, there is flair and unpredictability within his boots.

And the Sao Paulo-born star tried his luck from 70 YARDS on 10 minutes when he noticed Tottenham’s Vicario, like most Premier League goalkeepers these days, was positioned outside of his penalty box as a sweeper-keeper.

The long left-footed drive got the better of the Italian stopper but the ball ended up bouncing only a few yards wide.

What a goal it would have been, perhaps even the goal of the season, had he applied more accuracy.

Murillo did end up scoring five minutes later – the problem was it was in his OWN NET.

Timo Werner, who dispensed with his gloves seconds before kick-off, crossed the ball in front of the Forest backline and Murillo, under no immediate pressure from an attacker, diverted it right-footed past goalkeeper Matz Sels.

It must have been a funny feeling for Tottenham fans to celebrate the opening goal given that in their previous SIX home matches their team had conceded first.

Murillo could have had another own goal, in the 25th minute, but this time he showed enough awareness to clear the Werner cross after Brennan Johnson saw his flick come off Sels.

Spurs, however, have a habit of letting in soft goals – they have not kept a clean sheet in the league at home since October 23 – and another one arrived on 27 minutes with Forest’s first meaningful attack.

Anthony Elanga benefited from a one-two with Neco Williams down the right and his delivery had the sting taken out of it following a deflection off the diving Cristian Romero.

This set it up nicely for Kiwi striker Chris Wood, who poked the ball through the legs of Pedro Porro and beyond Vicario for his 13th club goal of the season.

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Forest’s Murillo deflected into his own net to hand Spurs the lead[/caption]

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Chris Wood kept up his brilliant scoring run to get one back for Forest before missing a sitter[/caption]

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Pedro Porro put the icing on it for Spurs with the third[/caption]

Wood should have doubled that tally on 34 minutes but after Vicario saved the attempt from captain Ryan Yates, the New Zealander then rattled his drive off the post from three yards out.

James Maddison was a lucky boy to escape without at least a caution, especially when VAR got involved, following his cheeky right-fisted punch into the stomach of Yates, who went down as if he had been shot.

At half-time, manager Ange Postecoglou surprisingly replaced his two defensive midfielders, Papa Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

And the Danish midfielder almost scored minutes into the second half with a rifling shot that took a deflection and drew a fine save off Sels.

Van de Ven does not score that often but he will remember this occasion for a long time, producing one of the best goals of his career after Spurs had patiently kept possession from a short corner.

The coup de grâce came before the hour mark when Maddison’s cross flicked off the head of Bentancur and Porro supplied an excellent finish, which the Spaniard celebrated with a kiss to his loved ones.

Son Heung-min did not get on the scoresheet but Sels deserves credit for that as he denied the South Korean with a wonder save on 84 minutes.

Forest, still without an away win since Boxing Day, sit outside of the relegation zone via goal difference but the scrap between them and Luton Town will only intensify over the remaining six matches.

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