Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has criticised Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins for sparking a mass brawl following their FA Cup third-round clash on Saturday. Villa secured a 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with goals from Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers, despite Wilson Odobert's second-half strike for Spurs.
The altercation occurred after the final whistle when Spurs midfielder Joao Palhinha took exception to Watkins' celebrations. A number of players from both sides became involved in the confrontation. In his post-match press conference, Frank accused Watkins of provocation, stating: 'It's about keeping a cool head, the players gave everything. Losing a tight game, season not going perfectly and Ollie is very provoking. He can easily just walk around. Everyone who has been in a competitive nature, that can trigger things.'
Frank acknowledged the fine line between passion and discipline, adding: 'You need to play with passion, sometimes you play to the line and sometimes borderline. I see players with big passion and that is important, but we also need cool heads.' The Villa camp, however, offered no complaints about the incident, focusing instead on their victory.
Goal-scorer Morgan Rogers praised his team's resilience: 'We wanted to build on the first half, we were good in the first half, but they came out well in the second half. They're a good team, they're at home in front of their fans, and we had to dig deep, we had to work and defend our box. We did well and I think we deserved the win in the end.' Rogers, who now has eight goals this season, expressed his delight with his form and the team's collective performance.
Villa will next face Everton at Villa Park, while Spurs host West Ham United in their upcoming Premier League fixtures.
