Danny Murphy criticises Conte decision on Scarlett in Tottenham upset

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Danny Murphy has hit out at Antonio Conte during BBC’s coverage of Tottenham Hotspur’s FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough over the decision to only bring Dane Scarlett on in the final moments of extra-time.

Spurs will have to wait until next season to potentially get their hands on a trophy after a big upset at the Riverside Stadium. Chris Wilder’s side more than held their on during the 90 minutes and then got their reward in the first-half of extra-time.

Josh Coburn thundered home the only goal just after the break in the additional 30 minutes. And Tottenham were unable to hit back and take the game to penalties.

Interestingly, Conte only made two changes during the 90 minutes, bringing on Emerson Royal and Steven Bergwijn. And he also introduced Sergio Reguilon for Dejan Kuluševski at half-time in extra-time.

But it was eight minutes after the goal when Conte was able to throw Scarlett on. Of course, the 17-year-old has long been considered the most exciting prospect at the club.

Conte himself, labelled Scarlett the best academy product at Tottenham. So when that was put to Murphy on commentary on Tuesday, he insisted that the Spurs boss waited too long to bring him on.

“Well, he should have put him on earlier then, if he’s got that much belief. Give him the opportunity, they’ve been that poor,” he told BBC.

Decision to not throw Scarlett on immediately may have been error from Tottenham boss

You can understand why Conte initially delayed introducing Scarlett. When Middlesbrough scored, Tottenham already had Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Bergwijn on the pitch. They had more than enough to get themselves through.

Having said that, there were around eight minutes between the goal and Scarlett’s introduction. In fairness to Conte, the striker was ready for a little while before he was able to come on.

But he was only able to have one touch (Whoscored). It was more of a last throw of the dice. And ultimately, the change came too late for Scarlett to come to Tottenham’s rescue.