Sunday 29 January 2017 10:29, UK
Mauricio Pochettino hailed the FA Cup as a "special competition" after Tottenham overcame a stunning performance from League Two Wycombe to advance to the fifth round with a 4-3 victory at White Hart Lane.
Heung-Min Son struck deep into added time to snatch the win for the Premier League side, who had twice fallen behind to Gareth Ainsworth's League Two promotion hopefuls.
Wycombe led by two goals at half-time and again when Garry Thompson's header put them 3-2 up with six minutes to play, but late goals by Dele Alli and Son sealed Tottenham's progress in remarkable fashion.
Having watched Spurs run so close by a team three divisions below, Pochettino, whose side will discover the identity of their fifth-round opponents when the draw is made on Monday, described the FA Cup as a unique competition.
"It was difficult for me at the start when I arrived in England four years ago to understand the magic of the FA Cup but now I realise it is a special competition," Pochettino said.
"I think it is the most special in the world because you cannot replicate it in Spain or France or Italy, the same passion, the same on the pitch, the way a small side from League Two like Wycombe can be exciting.
"They believed they could beat us here and that is an important thing. The FA Cup creates that feeling and that is fantastic."
Pochettino insisted his side did not underestimate Wycombe, who raced into a two-goal half-time lead thanks to Paul Hayes' double, and the Spurs boss instead paid tribute to his opponents.
"Full credit to Wycombe for how they played in the first half," he added. "They were better than us. From the first moment they played well.
"They had a clear way to play but we never underestimate our opponent. They were solid and they played better than us but we found a way to beat them.
"They found a way to create chances and it was difficult in the first half more than the second half, when we increased our level."
Pochettino made three early substitutions in the second half and the hosts were reduced to 10 men in the latter stages when Kieran Trippier was forced off through injury.
On the injury, Pochettino added: "I haven't seen him now. He got a knock on his hip but now we have an opportunity to see.
"To play the last 30 minutes with one less, I think there are a lot of positives to take.
"Maybe that is the beauty of the FA Cup, that there is different levels of teams but they show similar potential, a similar quality. This is the magic of the FA Cup."
Wycombe, who sit sixth in League Two, saw their 16-game unbeaten run fall in cruel fashion, but Ainsworth was understandably proud of his players after the game.
"The result is obviously frustrating, there are a couple of incidents in the game," the Chairboys manager said. "I thought it was a very soft penalty [Vincent Janssen scored Tottenham's second from the spot] and the goal [Son's winner] seems to have come in overtime of overtime.
"But I don't really want to go negative, I want to go totally positive and say as a manager you can't ask for any more from your players.
"They have done the whole town proud, they have done me proud and they have done themselves proud.
"I was gutted at the end but the overriding emotion is just how proud we are of what we've achieved and how far we've come as a club."
