What can we takeaway from Tottenham Hotspurs’ second friendly?

Tottenham Hotspur continued their preseason midweek with a trip northeast to Colchester United and looked a right better side than in friendly one just a few days prior.

While much of the first team continues to be out for Tottenham Hotspur, one-star – Heung-Min Son – did return, and his presence was certainly felt in the Spurs win. Son was influential in all three goals for Tottenham but was not the only player of note from the match. Here we look at our takeaways from preseason-friendly number two at Colchester United.

Tottenham looked bright from the off

Whereas, the Spurs were a bit sluggish at times in the first preseason match that ended a draw against Leyton Orient; in match two Tottenham looked a proper side.  The overall performance – for the full 90-minutes – was a nice contrast from the 1-1 draw against the O’s. From the opening kickoff, Tottenham was more assured in possession and on the front foot against the U’s.

The Spurs nearly converted on three different set-piece efforts within the first five minutes with a free-kick and two corners all creating opportunities in front of the net. Dele was able to send Son’s free-kick back across the mouth of the goal but no one could reach it. On the two corners, Eric Dier found the ball but his headers could not find the net.

Despite not converting, the Lilywhites were off and running early. These early chances at goal were certainly a harbinger of things to come for Colchester as it only took 11 minutes for Son to score Tottenham’s first.

Seeing a bright start and some potential early success on set pieces is a good thing for this team. Of course, hanging onto those early leads was a problem last season, so keeping them clean sheet throughout in this one was just as significant as the bright start. The teams that finished the match were nothing like the teams that started – such is the preseason – but Tottenham still did the job, which is big for the mentality this team needs to build.