Tamworth 0-3 Tottenham (AET): Ange Postecoglou’s side progress through to the FA Cup fourth round after being taken to extra time by their non-league opponents

Part-timer Tamworth produced a heroic performance to take Tottenham to extra-time before the Premier League club cruised into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win.

Andy Peaks’ National League team pushed Spurs all the way to a vibrant Lambs Ground, an occasion the whole city could be proud of – albeit with a hint of disappointment after missing out on a potentially lucrative replay.

Tamworth had threatened to win the tie in second-half stoppage time before Ange Postecoglou saw two of his substitutes help them progress.

Dominic Solanke’s deflected effort broke the deadlock in the 101st minute before Dejan Kulusevski grabbed the hard-fought victory by a second six minutes later.

Brennan Johnson added an unwarranted gloss to the scoreline with a third after 118 minutes, but it did not make for a memorable occasion for the non-league club, who received a standing ovation after extra time.

Tamworth had asked for volunteers to help clear the ground on Saturday morning to ensure the biggest match in the club’s history could go ahead 24 hours later and Postecoglou showed great respect with his starting line-up.

Ange Postecoglou’s team scored three times in extra time and thus booked a place in the fourth round

Postecoglou had to use some key players after seeing his team limping into extra time

James Maddison captained a five-player Spurs side in the midweek win over Liverpool but kick-off was delayed due to a problem with the net on one of the goals.

The game finally got underway five minutes later after Tamworth’s Beck-Ray Enoru stepped onto the shoulders of goalkeeper Jas Singh to help repair the net and almost stunned the visitors inside 25 seconds.

Enoru raced past Pedro Porro on the left but his rasping cross-cum-shot was knocked over by Tottenham’s January recruit Antonin Kinsky.

Tamworth’s long-throw specialist Tom Tonks was brought on after four minutes and yet Spurs managed it comfortably to calm the partisan home crowd.

That wasn’t the case on the next one as Tonks’ long throw beat Kinsky and hit the post, but referee Peter Bankes had already awarded a foul.

Tottenham struggled to get to grips with the artificial surface at the Lambs Ground until Maddison began to dictate play midway through the first half.

Maddison had already tried his luck twice to no avail, but came close in the 31st minute with an excellent curling effort, which Singh impressively parried wide.

Pape Sarr had a shot blocked moments later before Maddison should have scored after 38 minutes.

Tamworth defended resolutely from the kick-off and came close to opening the scoring early on

Timo Werner found Maddison in the area but the Spurs playmaker could only shoot straight at Singh in the Tamworth goal, leaving it goalless at half-time despite a brief moment of worry for Kinsky after a poor pass from Sarr .

A loud cheer greeted the return of the Tamworth players for the second half as the sun began to break through freezing Staffordshire.

The breakthrough almost came in the 55th minute when Mikey Moore leapt clear of his opponent and picked out Werner, but his header was cleared off the line by Haydn Hollis.

Three minutes later Tamworth came agonizingly close when Enoru had a shot blocked before Callum Cockerill-Mollett’s follow-up was deflected wide.

Chances were now being created more often and Johnson played in Werner, but Singh quickly stepped out and brilliantly denied the German forward and Jordan Cullinane-Liburd produced an equally fine block to thwart Werner again.

It was almost followed by a sensational breakthrough for the non-league side when Ben Milnes’ corner was headed away from goal by Cullinane-Liburd with 22 minutes of normal time remaining.

Postecoglou had seen enough and introduced Solanke and Lucas Bergvall, which did not bring about a dramatic change in momentum.

As the seconds ticked away, frustration began to grow within the Premier League side, with Porro shown a yellow card before six minutes had been added in the late 1990s.

Tamworth drew on their energy reserves to continue and were almost rewarded with a dramatic stoppage time winner.

Solanke’s slip presented a chance for Thomas McGlinchey, but Yves Bissouma was able to block the other side and Kinsky gratefully collected the loose ball after Cullinane-Linurd threatened again.

It was already a result to be proud of for Tamworth and they unfortunately saw Son Heung-min and Kulusevski set for extra time.

As the part-time team began to tire, quick thinking helped create the opener when Son found Johnson from a quick free-kick and his cross found Solanke, who beamed home.

Kulusevski made it 2-0 in the 107th minute with a fine finish after Son’s pass and Johnson rounded off the scoring with two minutes remaining as Tottenham reached the fourth round after a huge scare.