Johnson grabs late winner to send Tottenham fourth

LONDON :Tottenham Hotspur moved back into the Premier League's top four as substitute Brennan Johnson struck deep in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

Johnson slammed the ball high into the net from a low cross from Tottenham's returning captain Son Heung-min who had started on the bench after finishing his Asian Cup duty.

Son's introduction, shortly after Pape Matar Sarr had equalised for the hosts, provoked the loudest cheer of the day until Johnson's late winner.

It had been hard work for Tottenham who fell behind early on to a Pascal Gross penalty after Danny Welbeck was fouled.

They improved after the break, though, and levelled in the 61st minute through Sarr who tucked in a rebound after his initial low cross had deflected against the post.

A point apiece would have been about fair but Johnson's late show sent Tottenham fans home in full voice as their side moved into fourth, above Aston Villa with 47 points from 24 games.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou had Son back earlier than expected after South Korea's surprise defeat by Jordan in the Asian Cup semi-finals.

He opted against throwing him on straight away but when Son did come on he once again proved his side's catalyst, giving his side a new level of energy and providing the perfect low cross from the left wing for Johnson to convert.

It was tough on Brighton who did a great job at nullifying Tottenham in the opening stages.

They took the lead when Tottenham's Micky van de Ven, who had got away with one bad mistake, was penalised for fouling Danny Welbeck in the area.

It was a clear penalty and Gross sent Guglielmo Vicario the wrong way to give Brighton the lead in the 17th minute.

In-form Tottenham striker Richarlison