City EDS and Spurs played out an entertaining, topsy-turvy 3-3 draw for the second consecutive season at the Academy Stadium on Friday afternoon.
Kenny McEvoy opened the scoring for the visitors with just five minutes on the clock before a close range Thierry Ambrose strike and a Manu Garcia wonder goal turned it around in City’s favour.
Ismail Azzaoui levelled up the match after 51 minutes when he capitalised on a mix-up in the home back four and Spurs looked to have won it in the last minute when Chriustian Maghoma rose highest to meet a corner and headed past Angus Gunn.
However, City proved that they fight to the end yet again with an equaliser in the last minute of stoppage time for the second consecutive game.
City kicked off their season with a 2-2 draw at Southampton on Monday in a game which saw Ambrose head home in the final seconds.
Patrick Vieira made just one change to the side which started on the South Coast, bringing Ambrose back in for a first competitive start since the long-term injury which curtailed his 2014/15 season.
Jose Angel Pozo was the player to make way for the French striker.
The teams played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in last season’s corresponding fixture three months ago after rallying back to recover a two goal deficit.
This time, the Blues could have been behind again inside two minutes when Shayon Harrison pick-pocketed George Evans and charged towards goal.
The City no.4 pulled back the Spurs no.9, halting his run towards goal and fortunately referee Paul Marsden decided that Cameron Humphreys’ covering run meant it was not a goalscoring opportunity, opting to book Evans rather than send him off.
It proved to be little more than a reprieve as the North Londoners took the lead three minutes later through McEvoy.
Azzaoui won possession deep into opposition territory before passing to Goddard who duly found McEvoy with a side rule pass and the Irishman did the rest, thumping into the far corner past Angus Gunn’s despairing dive.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time City had lost the ball in a problematic area in those early minutes and Spurs showed that they would keenly punish any disorganisation in the opposition ranks.
City dusted themselves down, tightened things up and Bersant Celina went close with a dipping free-kick which was palmed away by Tom Glover on 18 minutes but the home side were indebted to their goalkeeper for keeping them within a goal of Tottenham a few minutes later.
Harrison sprinted clear again, looking odds on to double their lead but Gunn pulled off a brilliant save with his feet and it was a stop that took on even greater significance after 25 minutes when Ambrose scored his second equaliser in a week.
Celina wriggled his way to the byline and took his time before picking out the Frenchman who slid home clinically from ten yards out to make it 1-1.
Gunn rescued his team again with a fine one-handed save in the remaining minutes of the first half to keep the scores level going in at the break but it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
Seconds after Ambrose flashed a shot wide of the far post, Manu Garcia produced a moment of exceptional technical quality to put City ahead for the first time.
Nothing looked on for the pint-sized playmaker when the ball dropped to him in the corner of the penalty box but he somehow thrashed in a volley into the near top corner before the goalkeeper had moved.
Sadly, the lead only lasted five minutes as Azzoui capitalised on a defensive mix-up between Gunn and Pablo Maffeo to loop a header into the back of the net.
It turned into another absorbing contest between the sides and, if Spurs could have made claims to have dominated the first half, City unquestionably could make the same assertion of the second.
There were good chances for Kean Bryan and Celina but, just when the game seemed to be petering out to a 2-2 draw, Maghoma looked to have won the day against the run of play for the away side.
His header from a Spurs corner bounced in off the post in the 89th minute.
However, Vieira’s side proved that they fight to the end in their last match and so they proved again here, equalising in the last minute of stoppage time for the second game in a row.
Celina provided the finish from close range but the goal was really all about Brandon Barker who drove down the left flank. beating his full-back to get the byline before pulling back for his teammate to score.
City are next in action at the Academy Stadium on Wednesday when they open their International Premier League Cup defence against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
